Page 19 of The Ruler
“Hmm,” I grunted. “We’ll see about that.”
Pearl arched a brow but didn’t say anything.
“All right, I’ll think about it, but it would have to be here in the Northlands. There’s no way I’m letting any of my boys live in the Motherlands, unless you’re prepared to let me freely travel there to make sure that my boys are still raised as real men?”
She moved in her seat. “I asked you to stop sayingrealmen.”
I loved that I was getting under her skin; for her to bring this subject up was like honey to a bear. She wanted our nations to unite. The thought alone made me smile smugly, because I wanted that too. With me as the ruler of course, but those details weren’t important for now. If she was willing to give us a whole class of girls to form and influence, I would take it. Let them grow up with our boys and fall in love. Ahh, the thought of teen pregnancies and children being created naturally made my blood flow faster.
“I think your idea of that school is growing on me. What age group were you thinking?” I asked.
“Oh, from the youngest children possible. I think that’s necessary if we want the best outcome.”
“No,” I argued. “You know damn well that no mothers will allow their toddlers to come live here. They have to be older, like teens.”
“Teens?” she said and wrinkled her nose. “Teens are the worst. They don’t listen to adults to begin with and they’re already full of prejudices.”
“Pre-teens then,” I compromised, thinking I could be patient.
Pearl gave a solemn nod. “I’ll have to contact the council to get their feedback. If they say no, there’s no need to entertain the idea further.”
Squaring my shoulders, I stated: “And that is why I love being the sole ruler. No one to argue with, no one to ask for permission. It’s much easier that way.”
Pearl gave me a look that told me she was keeping her thoughts to herself, again, and it pissed me off.
“You know, about this prejudice thing,” I said. “Christina has revealed some of the rumors about us, and it’s hard to believe that Momsies are so naïve as to think we’re all cannibals and rapists.”
“Don’t call us naïve,” Pearl objected. “And I don’t see why it’s strange that we would fear the worst, what with the history between our nations.”
“Cannibals?” I spit out, “Really?”
She smiled. “Yes, well, I for one am pleased that you’re not cannibals, but as for the rapist part, I can’t help wonder why a woman needs protection here, if not because you don’t trust your men.”
I stiffened and tapped my thumb on my thigh. “Why do I get the feeling we’re still playing chess and you just took my queen?”
“Because it’s a legitimate question.” Pearl lowered her voice and threw a nod to the door. “Are the guards there to hold me in or keep us safe from people on the outside?”
“Both,” I said.
“You admit that there’s a danger?”
I gave a curt nod and her expression grew worried.
“That only proves that I’m not naïve. We both know that some of your men would have no quarrel with raping me if I wasn’t protected.”
Fuck her!She was right, but none of those fuckers would ever get to her. I didn’t want to explain to her that my biggest concern was my own brother. He was a ticking time bomb whom I didn’t trust to be around her, and I didn’t want to explain to her that the only person who could truly keep her safe from Magni was me. Spreading my legs, I sunk lower in the chair. “Are you sure you wanna know?” I asked.
“Yes.” She nodded.
Slowly, I massaged the bridge of my nose and spoke quietly. “The truth is that your timing is really bad. You see every five years there’s a heathen ritual where a virgin is sacrificed under a full moon and it’s been almost five years since the last victim was found.” I narrowed my eyes. “The guards are here to protect you because I worry that the bastards will try to get to you. I’ll spare you the gory details, but let’s just say she wasn’t a virgin after that night and she didn’t survive the brutal treatment the men subjected her to.”
I expected Pearl to laugh at the absurdity, but she pressed her legs together and swallowed hard as her left hand grasped the armrest of the sofa and squeezed until her knuckles went white.
“The ritual is illegal, of course,” I said. “Women are precious to us and it’s a great loss when we lose a female. I suppose that’s why the heathens see a female virgin as the highest sacrifice they can offer their gods.” I sighed. “I wish I could find a way to break their necks so they would stop the barbaric tradition. It’s a damn shame for any woman to end up drained of her blood and violated like that.”
Pearl’s nostrils flared as she hyperventilated. “Is this true?” she asked in a shaken voice.
“Do you think I would lie about something this serious?” I shot back, while finding amusement in my point that Momsies were naïve. “Are you calling me a liar?”
