He lifted one dark brow. “Coward,” he murmured with amusement.
Amaryllis’ lips tightened. Instead of retreating, she slammed the door and very pointedly turned and strode down the corridor. Cain fell into step beside her. After a few moments she gave up the effort to try to out-walk him. His legs were far longer than hers. She’d have to run to outdistance him.
She sent him a resentful glare.
“Where are we off to today?” he asked agreeably.
“I’mgoing for a walk—in the countryside—alone.”
His dark brows rose. “Out for a lover’s tryst?”
Amaryllis ground her teeth. “I said alone.”
“You said you were going alone. You didn’t specify that you intended to remain alone,” he pointed out pleasantly.
She ignored that. “Where are you going?”
“By curious coincidence, I, too, am going for a walk in the countryside, alone.”
Amaryllis didn’t know whether to laugh or punch him. They’d exited the building by that time and had stopped by the road. “Which direction were you headed?”
He seemed to consider it for several moments. “Which direction were you headed?”
She pointed.
He looked pleased. “I was going that way myself. Perhaps we could walk together? I don’t mind telling you, this place makes me uneasy. I’ll feel better to walk with a military woman.”
Amaryllis chuckled in spite of her irritation. “And you can’t defend yourself, of course, having no similar training.”
He shrugged. “I have no weapon.”
Amaryllis plunked her hands on her hips. “Well, I’m not armed either.”
“Au contraire! You have a sharp tongue and a rapier wit.”
Her eyes narrowed. “If you’re implying that I’m stupid….”
All traces of amusement left his face. “I would never imply anything of the sort. I’m merely pointing out that you have no more idea what roams the countryside than I do, no more training, and no weapon to defend yourself if you should meet with trouble. And there are beasts here in plenty that would just as soon drag you off and force you to accept them if they can’t convince you to be willing.”
“The cyborgs?”
“What else would you call them? They have been given nothing but the most rudimentary humanity and cannot react with anything but animal instinct and the programming they were given—which doesn’t leave a lot of room for finesse. They are barbarians, and until and unless that is corrected with additional programming, they will remain little more than that. At the moment, they happen to be in hunter mode. They are hunting mates. Thus far their military programming has kept a modicum of order, but there are none that are not aware that females are in limited supply. The more aggressive will make certain that they are not the ones left out in the cold with no mate and no hope of one unless they can kill off one who has a female and take her.”
Put that way, the situation was far more frightening than she’d realized. Uneasiness drifted over her, causing the fine hairs on her body to lift as if sensing danger.
“But you have—finesse?”
His lips curled at one corner. “Artificial, but, yes. I’d be more than happy to demonstrate, if you like.”
Amaryllis reddened as the suggestion sank in, but she felt far more comfortable with this line of discussion. “Strictly in the interests of education, I suppose?”
His eyes gleamed with amusement. “Absolutely.”
She shook her head and turned along the road, deciding it might be best to have company on her walk after all. He fell into step beside her. “Pardon my persistence, but is that a yes, or a no?”
She chuckled. “You weren’t serious?”
“That depends.”
