Page 16 of The Warrior
“I know, but you’re too busy cleaning up this border mayhem for us to talk anyway. You’ll deal with it on this side, and I’ll track down and bring those men back before they hurt innocent people.”
“No!” Magni said in a non-negotiable way, his brows lowered and his stance intimidating.
I couldn’t back down now, or he would succeed in bringing back the old dynamic between us, with him being in complete power. “Yes!” I exclaimed and placed my hands on my hips to stop them from shaking.
“Laura dear,” Pearl said softly. “This is a job for the most skilled mediators in the Motherlands; I doubt they will let you put yourself in danger.”
I raised my chin, signaling that I wasn’t backing down. “We’ll see about that. I want to give back after everything the Motherlands have done for me, and they’ll be fools not to take my offer.” I held out my hand to Khan. “Give me every file you have on those shitheads, and I’ll find them.”
Khan didn’t have a chance to answer before Magni grabbed me and pulled me aside. “Have you lost your damn mind?” he hissed.
“No. I can do this.”
“I won’t let you! What kind of protector do you take me for?”
“I’m not asking for your permission. I can take care of myself.”
“By storming after violent men bigger and stronger than yourself, I don’t think so.” His voice grew low as he spoke through clenched teeth. “I’ll lock you up in our suite before I let you go after them.”
I scoffed. “If you do that, I’ll find some way to escape again, and believe me I won’t be returning to you,ever!”
“Then I’d better make sure to lock the door.” Despite my protesting, Magni picked me up on his shoulder and walked up the stairs. Behind me Athena and Pearl were pleading for the other men to help me, but I didn’t want to be rescued. I wanted to fight my own battles, even if I had to use dirty tricks. Not knowing what else to do, I planted my teeth in Magni’s neck, making him growl and spank my behind, hard.
“Put her down,” Khan commanded in a loud booming voice. Magni stiffened and the distraction that it caused gave me a chance to wriggle out of his hold and run back to the group.
The two women quickly moved in to shield me, and Athena stroked my back in a soothing manner.
Magni stood halfway up the staircase looking at me with fury on his face, before he turned around, and ran up three steps at a time.
“Laura, Magni is right,” Khan said and rocked back on his heels with a deep frown. “Chasing down criminals is no job for a woman.”
Pearl shook her head at Khan before taking my hands. “Don’t listen to him, Laura,” she said in a soft voice and turned her head to Khan. “When will you accept that women are as capable as men?”
“When will you accept that when it comes to handling violent Nmen, they aren’t?” he said in a sharp tone.
Pearl wasn’t intimidated. “You’re forgetting that women were police officers and soldiers before the Toxic War.”
“And you’re forgetting that they had training,” Khan pointed out. “Laura doesn’t.”
That wasn’t true, and although I had been taught to look down when addressing our ruler, Lord Khan, I was so agitated that I looked straight at him. “I’m the best-qualified person for the task. I’m not afraid of Nmen and I have fight training now.”
Khan took a step closer, pinning me with his dark intelligent eyes. “If you aren’t afraid of those men, then you’re the least qualified person for the task. I’m not sending a fool on a suicide mission.”
“I’ll be cautious. I’m not stupid.”
“If Laura wants to do this, we should respect her choice,” Pearl said and stepped toward Khan when he pivoted around and dragged his hands through his hair.
“Laura.” Athena had a worried expression on her face when she looked deep into my eyes. “You have the strength to do this, but I wonder if you’re doing it for the right reasons.”
“I want to help!”
“Yes, but if you’re trying to prove the point that women are strong, there are better ways.”
Maybe there were, but I needed something extreme to make Magni take me seriously.
The sound of running footsteps had us all looking up the stairs to see Magni return. He carried a small arsenal of weapons, and Athena gave a loud scream. “He’s going to kill Laura.”
Magni stopped cold, and then his face distorted in a grimace of anger. “What the fuck are you talking about, Priestess? I took a vow to protect Laura with my life,” he snarled. “And just for the record, I don’t need no fucking weapons to kill a person.”
