43 Fuck Me (1/2)
”And then we will be invaded by monsters in mech suits and die in our dinner plates.”
”We will never be that careless again,” Pharaoh insists.
”It's not a matter of careless. It's a matter of being outnumbered, of having no guards, no people to defend us. You say there is war. But war always leads to people fleeing, and there have been no refugees from Dallas. Not a single person has crossed these plains. There is no indication anyone will. The kings will take the people, as they always do.”
”Alexios, tell her this is a crazy idea,” Pharaoh insists grimly. ”Tell her we can't go back to Dallas, under any circumstances.”
”It's very dangerous,” Alexios agrees, rubbing the stubble that accumulates between his shaves. ”And it likely wouldn't work.”
”You know what doesn't work? Sitting out in the middle of nowhere. That doesn't work.”
”Alright, alright, calm down,” Silver says. Ever the peacemaker, he tightens his arms around me. I pull away. I don't want him mentalizing me right now. Sometimes I let him calm me down. But sometimes I don't.
”We do nothing here. We eat. We shit. We sleep. We waste our lives,” I insist. ”I won't condemn my offspring to that.”
”They're not just yours. They're Tore's. Which makes them ours.”
”Uh, no. They're inside me. If they're inside me. Which means I can do what I want with them.”
”Spoiled little girl,” Pharaoh growls. ”You have forgotten how many died to give you that choice.”
”Oh, you fucking tax collecting parking warden fucking...” I lose it. I lose my temper. I lose my mind. How dare he? How dare he throw the carnage in Dallas in my face like this? Try to use it control me, make me small and compliant.
”Stop this instant!” Pharaoh thunders through my cursing. ”I will whip your ass if you raise your voice to me one more time.”
I draw myself up and fall silent, but only in order to take the deep breath I need to in order to truly swear.