“We were created with all the advantages of human beings and none of the disadvantages.”
“You think so?”
That effectively silenced him for several moments. “I am as human as you are. Why do you consider me a machine and yourself … human?”
He couldn’t have said anything more certain to cut her to the quick than that. Amaryllis lost her appetite. Ignoring the question, she very carefully covered the food and looked around for someplace to put it.
“You are finished?”
“Yeah.”
Dante frowned. “You have hardly eaten any. No wonder you are so tiny.”
Amaryllis glared at him.
Something flickered in his eyes. After a moment, he took the food from her wordlessly, rose from the bunk and placed the containers in his locker.
She was staring at the floor when he returned to the bunk. She studiously ignored him as he stood over her, eyeing her curiously.
Finally, he settled on the bunk beside her. “You are offended.”
“You are so fucking observant.”
His brows rose. “Why were you reconstructed with bionics? Were you injured in duty?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” Amaryllis snarled.
“You have no data banks,” he observed pensively.
“No shit.” ThankGodhe couldn’t access her memories!
“The gutter language does not become you.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t give a fuck,” Amaryllis snapped. “Ifeellike using it.”
“Why?”
“Why don’t you just go … recharge or something?”
His face tightened with anger. “I derive energy from food, the same as you.”
“Really?” Amaryllis said sarcastically. “I had no idea we had so much in common.”
“I don’t particularly care for the sarcasm either,” he said tightly.
“Too fucking bad.”
He caught her jaw in one hand, forcing her to look at him. She made an aborted attempt to pull free, but realized fairly quickly that she couldn’t. Instead, she glared at him coldly. He studied her in angry silence for several moments before his expression softened. “I wounded you.”
Surprise at his perception flickered through her. “You wish,” she said derisively, but not nearly as convincingly as she would’ve liked.
“You are wrong. I do not wish it at all,” he said. “And I think we have much more in common than you are willing to admit.”
“Wrong. We have nothing in common,” Amaryllis said tightly, feeling her anger rise once more as it occurred to her to wonder if he meant to bring up her bionics again.
