Page 50 of The Ruler
“If you start a rebellion and overthrow Lord Khan to take power for yourself…” She pointed to Edward. “Then I guarantee you that you can start all over and wait another thirty years before we’ll want to start negotiations again.”
He frowned and sank lower in his chair.
“Do you want that?” she asked the men at the table.
“No,” they muttered.
She drew a deep sigh. “It won’t be easy or quick, but no ruler has ever made this much progress toward working with the council as Lord Khan has.”
I squared my shoulders and saw Edward’s followers turn their heads from looking at Pearl to looking at me.
Meeting their eyes, I spoke. “If you lowlife fuckups sabotage the work I’m doing to get every Nman what he wants, then I will be sure to point all ten million of them straight to this miserable dump of a bar and give them your names.”
Finn growled low to signal that he would be first in line to find them.
“Enough with the threats,” Pearl interjected. “If you want women, then you all have to grow up and show us that you men are worth getting to know. We don’t want brawling, violent men who don’t know how to talk calmly about things.”
She threw up her hands. “You want to know what modern women find attractive?”
The men nodded.
“We want someone who can make us laugh. Someone to talk to and be friends with. Someone who respects us, challenges us, and someone we can learn from and feel safe with.”
When Pearl turned her face and looked straight at me I felt chills run down my spine.
“We want someone who makes us feel special and wanted.”
“I’ll make you feel wanted.” One of them grinned smugly and spread his thighs suggestively.
Magni instantly smacked his head from behind.
Pearl raised a brow. “You obviously have to learn how to solve conflicts without violence.”
“That’s easy for you to say, but it’s not like we have a parliament and people to represent our opinions,” Edward whined.
Pearl arched a brow at me and gave me the I-told-you-so look.
“This isn’t a fucking democracy,” I reminded them all. “I’m not interested in sharing power with anyone.”
“Then how do you imagine a union would succeed?” she asked calmly.
“I don’t want to discuss that here,” I growled and was relieved when Pearl didn’t pursue it further.
She pinned Edward with her eyes again. “After what I just explained to you about my work with Lord Khan, can you agree with me that overturning him would only get you and your friends farther from your goal of having more women?”
Some of the men grunted in agreement, but Edward still looked mad as hell.
“I too wish we could fast-forward and have one happy nation with men and women living in harmony tomorrow, but I ask you to trust that we’re sharing your vision and working toward the same goal,” she told the men at the table.
“That’s good news,” one of them said while the others nodded.
I clamped my hand down on Edward’s shoulder. “As a gesture to Councilwoman Pearl, and proof that we are civilized and merciful men, I’ll let you live despite your treason. And in return you’ll cease your activities causing trouble.”
She smiled at me and I signaled for Boulder to escort her out before I leaned in and hissed loudly to the men.
“Unlike the pretty lady, I’m no fucking pacifist and I’ll take great pleasure in castrating each of you retarded traitors, just so that when I succeed in opening the borders, you limp-dick men can look on in envy as everyone around you fucks themselves silly.”
They were all quietly scowling at us when we left the bar.
