Page 127 of Even Robots Die
I should also acknowledge the fact that the heartless bastard that I am just said that I love Florentine, but I’ll leave that to when we’re allsafe and sound and she’s not in any danger of being sent in pieces to me once she’s in the hands of the birds.
Twelve hours. We only have twelve hours before they send another piece of her father, and I have a feeling the finger was just a warning. Anyone can live without a pinky, but I don’t think they’ll be sending a finger every twelve hours. I wouldn’t put it past them to send something bigger next time. Say like the whole hand instead.
I start scratching my head before I remember that I’m not supposed to. The part when my scar was supposed to be itchy should have been while I slept. It’s probably the most annoying thing about being awake right now.
There are painkillers next to where my holo used to be. I grab one and swallow it without even drinking and set an alarm on my holo for the morning.
We just need a few more hours of sleep.
It’s awful that the birds sent Stephane’s finger in a box with another ultimatum, but it’s also a blessing—I’m not going to say that to Florentine, though, as much as I like to see her anger color her cheeks, I don’t want to piss her off anymore.
It is indeed a blessing, because Florentine wanted to wake up before the sun and start her plan immediately and go to Versailles at first light, but she’s exhausted.
Sleeping a couple hours extra won’t change a thing for her father now. We thought we had until the sun rises today, instead we have earned about six extra hours to be ready.
I settle back on the bed.
It’s tight fitting, but I don’t care. I hold Florentine close to me and try to calm my mind.
Tomorrow is going to be a long day, and I already know I’m going to hate every single second of it, but right now, I’m basking in the smell of Florentine and I squeeze her against me.
And I hope to hell that everything is going to be okay.
73
Florentine
Waking up after such a tough night is hard. Especially when I know what’s coming today.
The only thing making it better is the hand on my cheek, slowly stroking me awake.
“Good morning, Furious,” Brice says with his lips at my forehead before depositing a small kiss there.
“Why is it so late?” I ask him.
I know my sentence doesn’t make complete sense and that what I was meaning is that we should have been awake for hours already, even if my groggy mind thinks we actually need more sleep.
I feel Brice tense under me with his hand still at my cheek.
“Spill it,” I say with a sigh. I know I’m not going to like whatever he’s about to tell me, but I need to know in case I need to recalibrate the plan.
“We have until two this afternoon to start your plan,” he says.
“And?” I ask, because surely there is more to it. We couldn’t have ‘won’ more time just like that. Something isn’t adding up.
“But your Dad had to lose one of his fingers to buy us that time …” he says with a wince.
I can’t see it from where I’m nestled against his chest, but I feel it against my forehead.
I take a second to carefully answer what he just said.
“Do you mean hewillinglygave up one of his fingers to buy us some time?” I ask as I tip my face up so I can look him in the eyes.
“No, Furious, it was sent in the middle of the night saying that the three days they gave us were over and that if you didn’t come to them in the next twelve hours, they would send another part of him,” he tells me softly as if waiting to see how I’m going to react.
Fuck.
I messed up.
