I laugh ruefully, looking up with resignation.
“Defeating Perun.”
Jaga’s expression doesn’t change as she nods briskly. “So it works.”
“What, you’re not offended? I thought you wanted me to choose you above all else.”
She shrugs, flicking her fingers at a bench. It slides over to me with an unpleasant screech of wood on stone. I brace myself and sit heavily. Even my tail hangs limp, tingling in all the places that were broken.
“I am different, Woland. I want nothing from you.”
“Then why are you still here?”
She sighs, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead. I realize with a jolt, Jaga is tired.Exhausted.This is so different from her former apathy.
“Where else would I go?” she asks softly, sitting down at the table. She pounds on it, and platters of food appear in front of her, but she doesn’t serve herself. “My best plan was to go to Weles. Now here I am, and it solves nothing. I want Dar to grow up in a just, beautiful world where he won’t be exploited. So what do I do, Woland?”
I float a plate of meat into my lap, knowing I must eat yet loathing the chore. “Are you asking for my opinion? Is your brain damaged, love?”
A fleeting ghost of a smile passes over her lips. “You can’t lie. It’s worth exploring.”
I shrug, biting off a large piece of meat dripping with juices, and swallow it whole before I answer.
“You should give yourself to me, of course. We’ll end this war. I’ll remake the world and ensure Dar’s well-being for you.”
She hums under her breath, slowly shaking her head. “But what of other Dars, those you and I don’t care about? What of other Jagas, other Radas, other Bognas? Will you remake the world to let them thrive, too?”
I hesitate. “I don’t know. But no one will give you that guarantee.”
She shakes her head with despondence. “True. See? You’re so pleasant to speak with when you can’t lie. We should have done this long ago.”
“I wasn’t in your power long ago.”
She snorts with amusement, her mismatched eyes sly as they settle on my face. “And you are now? Be serious.”
I shrug and swallow the rest of my meat, making the grease vanish from my fingers. “Love, I am fucked without you, and that’s the goddamn truth. What’s worse, you’re no longer undermy thrall. Consider everything I let you do to me today. I am desperate.”
“Very well. Let me try again, because I asked the wrong question. What should I do to end this war in a way that benefitsme? How do I stay independent and give us peace?”
I think it through before I shake my head. “You can’t. The prophecy was clear. The god who owns you wins. Fate made a tool of you, and tools are only that. I’d say I’m sorry, but I can’t do that honestly. It’s better to accept the truth than wallow.”
“Ouch.” She smiles a small, private smile and pours herself wine from a crystal pitcher. “Well then. I shall bide my time until someone worthy of owning me turns up. It’s just as well. This is a lousy war. The stakes are so low when no one can die for good.”
“No one—but you.”
I murmur it softly, only realizing the truth of my statement after the words leave my mouth. Jaga shrugs, and I know immediately she’s already aware of that.
“Show me your soul,” I demand, standing. “I have to see what happened. Maybe I can fix it.”
She looks at me with cold insolence. “I have no idea what you’re raving about. Besides, I’m the one asking questions. Sit down.”
I shake my head, advancing on her. “No, Jaga. Don’t you understand? You died, and your soul was nowhere to be found. It vanished. You ceased to be. If you die for good, you’ll…”
“Sit. Down.”
She presses her hand to her pendant, and I choke, an invisible force squeezing my throat. I purse my lips and stop, folding my arms on my chest. For fuck’s sake, I don’t need air to live, and I’m used to discomfort. Compared to my previous torture, this is nothing.
Her furious eyes light up with more anger when I don’t obey her command. I can’t help it. My cock swells, because she looksso beautiful when she glares. It turns out I really like choking when she does it.
