Page 91 of The Ruler
I grabbed the first thing on my desk and threw it across the room with a roar of internal pain.
An hour later, Pearl was still sleeping, but Boulder, Finn, and Magni were in my office.
“Just send her back,” Magni said pragmatically. “You said it yourself: no woman is worth starting a war over.”
“They’re not declaring war on us,” I corrected him.
Magni scoffed. “Of course they are; there’s no way we can let them run us like little powerless school boys. They’re keeping our boys and we can’t accept that. I say we gather our forces and start fucking with them.”
“Literally?” Finn asked with a surprised expression but didn’t get an answer.
“What are our options?” Boulder asked and spread his elbows out, placing both hands behind his neck. “Maybe Pearl can convince them to see it her way. She’s fucking brilliant at that shit. Remember when she spoke to Edward and his followers that night?”
“That’s different,” I pointed out. “I doubt the council will be as impressed with her words as Edward and his friends were.”
“They shouldn’t be allowed to force her home if she wants to stay with you,” Finn said in support of me.
“What did Pearl say?” Boulder asked.
“She hasn’t seen the video yet and I really don’t want to show it to her.”
“Why not?” Finn asked.
“Because she’s going to think of everyone but herself; she always does.”
All three men stood silent and troubled. “You think she’ll go to keep the peace?” Finn concluded.
“Of course she will,” Boulder said.
“Unless it’s just a big fat plot to fool us,” Magni muttered low.
I rolled my eyes, but he still spoke up. “Think about it. They planted a spy among us, and what better way to make her look innocent than to force her back? She’ll go back to make it look like she needs to convince them that she truly loves you, and you’ll welcome her back with open arms and tell her all our secrets. You’ve got to hand it to them for their ingenuity.”
Finn stared from Magni to me. “He has a point, I once saw a movie about a female spy that was trained to seduce men and kill them.”
“Pearl isn’t a spy and her mission isn’t to kill me!” I exclaimed in annoyance.
“But is she a council member? I mean what do we really know about her?”
“Yes, she’s a fucking council member.” I raised my voice. “Enough with your crazy conspiracy theories. Christina knew Pearl as a council member before she came here.”
Magni huffed and went to sit in a large soft chair. “Maybe, but I still think you’re being played, brother.”
“I’m not going to let her go,” I muttered, because I couldn’t take the chance of losing her.
“Then don’t. If she’s a spy, they won’t start a fucking war,” Magni argued.
“And it’s not like they don’t need what we have either,” Boulder chipped in. “The sanctions will harm both sides.”
He was one of the few who knew that we delivered sperm to the Motherlands, and I appreciated that he didn’t blurt it out since Finn didn’t know about it.
“Just tell her they made demands but it’s nothing to worry about,” Finn suggested. “It’s best if you don’t show her the message. Let the deadline run out and take it from there.”
“Does this mean Kya and the children won’t be coming either?” Boulder asked and sat down on the armrest of a large leather chair. “Christina is going to be devastated by that news.”
“Don’t tell Christina anything until the deadline is up,” I ordered and rolled my shoulders. “Whatever happens, happens.”
“Christina and Pearl are going to be pissed at us for not involving them,” Boulder told me. “Are you sure you wanna keep them in the dark?”
