“Well, we should have cats,” Gwen comments. “We could use a few good mousers. If you have any ferals that want to be transplanted to somewhere that has a lot of rats, this is where you want to go.”

Nudging my soup with my spoon, I grimace. “Maybe we don’t talk about rats over lunch.” Now I’m wondering if I should stop eating while I’m ahead.

“To be fair, this fort is far less gross than others I’ve seen, right, babe?” Gwen gives her dragon husband a meaningful look.

“It is a fort,” Vaan says, his words slow and careful. He turns to Murr. “Do you recall who you served?”

Murr shakes his head, tapping his temple. “Much confuse. No good. No remember Thess, see her, then remember.”

Vaan nods. “Memories are difficult. Mine are…polluted. I recall some things, but not others.”

“Which is also why it’s important for us to spend time together,” Thess says, clasping her hands under her chin. “The more we share, the more we can help each other recall.”

“Thess,” Gwen says in a warning tone.

“I know, I know,” Thess says. “I will not bring it up again.”

But she shoots me a pleading look anyhow, as if I can somehow make a difference. “We’ll talk about it,” is all I say again, but my answer grows more firm by the moment. I’m already feeling a bit overstimulated by how many people are around. A noisy group enters the cafeteria, sweaty and tracking in dirt, and they talk over each other to the point that my head hurts. I’d forgotten how loud so many people can be so close together.

I must be turning into a hermit.

Vaan eyes Thess. “Not all want their memories back. Some are happy to be where they are.”

“But if we can remember things, it can help us with what we’ve lost. Like our connection.” She presses a fingertip to the center of her forehead. “I miss having everyone in my mind. It’s so quiet now. So lonely. If we can all share what we know, maybe we can somehow bring it back.”

My irritation at Thess vanishes and I’m filled with sympathy. I get why she’s trying so hard to bring more drakoni together. She’s gone from a world where she had someone always “touching” her mind, a great many someones. Being completely cut off must be so lonely. Murr turned to his cats. Vaan has a wife. Thess has…the fort, I guess?

And possibly Samir, but we still haven’t met him.

Gwen clears her throat, ignoring Thess’s pleading. “So what’s on your list for the day? The trading post, I assume? What else?”

I think of the flourishing gardens we passed over. “I want to talk to your gardeners. I got some seeds from an old store, but the instructions on the packet are rubbed off and I’m not sure if I should plant them or wait. I’m new to gardening and wouldn’t mind some tips.”

“And I should find Samir,” Thess says, getting to her feet. She offers us all an apologetic smile. “While you eat and speak with the gardeners, I will check on him and see how much longer he will be.”

She gets up and leaves.

OceanofPDF.com

OceanofPDF.com

CHAPTER 94

DAKOTA

Samir isn’t what I expect.

I know Thess is wildly in love with him, and Jonah is a good-looking, tall teenager. I guess I thought his father would be an older version of him. Samir isn’t, though. He’s balding, wears glasses, and has a wiry frame that seems small and compact for all that he’s a normal height. He wears an old, faded pair of scrubs and can’t sit still for a moment.

Thess watches him with adoring eyes the entire time, like a schoolgirl with a crush.

We’re back in the freight container, now that we’ve accomplished most of our business for the day. It’s been several hours, and I’ve spent a lot of the day with Gwen, chatting about forts and survival tips and being married to a drakoni. She calls it being “mated” instead of marriage, which I find fascinating. We had a ceremony, though, and even if it was just a bite and a declaration, I still feel married. I like Gwen, too. She’s practical and has no time for anyone’s bullshit. Every time Thess hints that we should move to the fort, Gwen shoots her down, which I’m grateful for.

“Thess is just one of those people that thinks if she asks enough times, she’ll get you to change your mind,” Gwen tells me when we approach the gardens. “It comes from a good place, but it can be annoying. Be firm with her and she’ll eventually get the idea.”

Now, hours later, I have a bunch of seeds from the friendly people here and a bunch of notes scribbled down on a piece of paper. My pack is no longer full of dried meat and old electronics, but light now. I’ve traded everything for beans and enough corn meal to make a cake. I have a recipe thanks to a kind woman in the cafeteria who told me that if the beans are mashed up enough, it can almost act like flour. I’m skeptical but willing to give it a try.

I haven’t told the others that I got the ingredients for the cake yet. They return from eating at the cafeteria, and Rabbit has her hand through Jonah’s arm, his cane in his other hand. They look cute together, and happy. Aggie and Dottie seem tired from the long day, but their faces are bright and both are smiling.

The moment Samir arrives, Aggie insists he look her over.

“Been a long time since this old lady saw a doctor,” Aggie says as Samir peers inside her ears with a flashlight. “I figure I might as well get the full spa day experience.”

“This isn’t a spa,” Rabbit protests, laughing. “And you can’t pay him.”

“I don’t mind,” Samir says, moving to Aggie’s other side and peering in her other ear. “The best payment for a medical professional is a patient that doesn’t need him at all.”

Thess sighs with pleasure at his words, the dreamy look on her face more intense than ever. “Such a selfless human.”

Oh, brother. She’s got it bad. “It’s nice of you regardless,” I say, and shoot Rabbit a meaningful look. We brought a packet of extra dried meat that we didn’t trade. It’s in Rabbit’s bag and we can thank Samir for his kindness with a bit of jerky if nothing else. “Do you need any particular books? Maybe we can bring you some when we return.”

“No time to read,” Samir says in an easy voice. He touches Aggie’s neck, presumably checking her lymph nodes, and then has her breathe in and out while he listens with a stethoscope. Once he’s done, he beams at her. “Very healthy for a twenty-nine-year-old woman.”

Aggie titters at him. “You flirt. Now I see why Thess is obsessed with you.”

Thess beams. I could swear Samir blushes.

The doctor turns and glances at our group. His gaze lingers on Dottie, the one he’s really here to look over. “Who’s next? You?”

Dottie shakes her head. “Nah, I’m good.”

Uh oh. That wasn’t in the plans. “Why not have him look you over while we’re here?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light. “I’ll go after you. It can’t hurt for all of us to get checked out.”

“I’m fine,” Dottie says.

“Don’t be stubborn.” Aggie frowns at her, hauling herself off the cot where the doctor’s doing his check-ups. “Everyone should get checked out.”

Dottie just shakes her head as if it’s decided. She pointedly ignores the doctor and eyes her fingernails, waiting for someone else to speak up and take the attention off of her.

I’m not sure what to do now. I knew Dottie would be resistant, but I didn’t think we’d have to hold her down to get her looked at. “Can you please do it for me, Dottie?” I ask. “It’ll make all of us feel better.”

“I said no.” She gets to her feet, glaring at all of us. “Leave me alone about it.”

I stand up, too, but it’s not like I can stop her if she wants to leave. “But you haven’t been well…”