Page 106 of Reaper Said Mine

The idea is so absurd it angers me. “Your truth is not betrayal.”

“Good. Remember that when I publish something that makes you furious.”

“I will be furious.”

“I know.”

“I may break furniture.”

“Try to avoid anything load-bearing.”

“I make no promises.”

She smiles, and the archive becomes less cold.

I lift my free hand slowly, giving her every chance to move away. She does not. When my knuckles brush the side of her cheek, her eyes close for the length of one breath, and the sight hits me harder than any weapon. Trust, even a small piece of it, offered by this woman feels like being handed something too delicate for my hands and too precious to set down.

“You help me see the field,” I say. “Not because of the bond. Because you see what others miss.”

Her eyes open. “You mean that.”

“Yes.”

“Then I’ll keep helping.”

“You should be careful. Helping me will make you enemies.”

“I had enemies before you.”

“Mine are worse.”

“I’m sure they think so.”

“Ursa.”

“Gnash.” Her hand slides down from my forearm, but she does not step away. “I am not fearless. I need you to understand that. People keep calling me that because they want courage to look effortless, like if they can make me a symbol then they don’t have to think about what it cost. I get scared. I am scared now. Not of you, but of everything around you. Around us.”

The admission enters me like a blade and settles there.

I want to promise safety. The words rise easily because leaders are expected to offer certainty even when certainty is a lie. I swallow them before they can poison the room.

“I cannot promise nothing will touch you,” I say.

“I know.”

“I can promise that if danger comes, it will pass through me first.”

“That is very Reaper and very dramatic.”

“It is also true.”

Her smile trembles a little. “I know that too.”

A chime erupts from the table, sharp and unwelcome. We both look toward the projection as Vakka’s message expands in urgent red script.

COALITION DELEGATION REQUESTS IMMEDIATE RESPONSE TO REVISED DEMANDS. AMBASSADOR THERYKI HAS ASKED WHETHER LORD GNASH INTENDS TO NEGOTIATE OR HUMILIATE HER IN WRITING.

Ursa reads it and bursts out laughing.