lives to be valued higher than the rest. Humanity is a plague upon this Earth, and culling a few thousand is a paltry thing. You will continue to spread, to eat, to destroy, until this world has shrunk and there is not enough for any of you. I am doing you all a service.”
“Horrifyingly enough, I think you believe what you say.”
“I do.”
“And what happens when you are done feeding your wolves, and the livestock in the city are all dead? When you have made a metropolis of ruins, what then?”
“I will leave.”
“And will you leave me here in the tomb you have made? An empty corpse? Tell me what you would have me be to you in this world of bones and ash you would wreak upon this city. Speak to me of why you desire all this from me, and perhaps I will listen.”
“No. Not yet.”
“Then agree to my trade. My life, for this city.”
“You are convincing, Miss Parker. A truly skilled negotiator. I am tempted to take you up on your offer, and I am not a warlord who is easily dissuaded. But you do not wish for what you ask.”
“I believe I very much do.”
“Very well. I will trade this city for you.”
She smiled.
Her victory was only momentary. He grinned. “Strip yourself naked and kneel at my feet.”
“What?”
At her look of horror, his grin faded to a cruel and austere smile. “You have your wish, do you not? You can spare this city. You offered yourself up to me. Do you not want to make the trade any longer?”
He was right. The feeling of being commanded to do something to save lives was mortifying. She had been foolish to think it would be anything else. “I…”
“You find yourself disgusted already by the prospect of obeying my commands. Did I not say as much?”
“You did.”
“If you truly pledged yourself as my slave in return for this city, I could demand you kneel between my legs and pleasure me. I could have you bend over this table, and I could take you right here in front of all these witless fools. And to spare your city, you would be forced to do so. This is what I wish to avoid. It is this look on your face that you wear right now that I do not wish to see. Loyalty built on fear is fragile, but loyalty built on trade is a lie. To that end, I will ask you one last time. Do you wish to make such a bargain? Can you do it without it being built upon a falsehood?”
She shut her eyes and felt her hopes fade. She had failed. “No.”
“Good. It is a child’s bargain that you wished to make, nothing more.”
“Do not insult me.”
“I am not. Believe me, I am not. Kings, Emperors, and Pharaohs have offered me all the same. You are far wiser than they. You admit your mistake so readily. Fealty cannot be bought. What I want from you can only be given, not taken.”
“I will not stop trying to find a way to spare my city.”
“And I will not ask you to. You have taken the hunters who seek to end my life in under your roof, and I have not once asked you to spurn them, now, have I?”
She paused. No, and she hadn’t even realized it until he pointed it out.
“I do not fault you for your nature. I ask that you do not fault me for mine. Now…please, remove your hairpins. I find this modern hairstyle disappointing when it comes to you.”
She reached up to her hair and pulled the pins that kept her long, wavy hair in its loose bun on the back of her neck. She let it all tumble loose. Placing her pins on the table next to her plate, she resumed eating, despite her stomach being tied in a knot. “There. As you requested.”
“Now you are upset with me for that I beat you in this game of chess.”
“Yes. And I suppose it is childish for me to feel that way. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised I have been outplayed by you.”
He sighed. “No. This is not how this evening is to go. I will not have you despondent and hopeless.”
“How am I supposed to be, faced with what I now know? That you will have all of me, to what ends you will not say. That my city is doomed, no matter my fate? How am I supposed to feel?”