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I watch them on the far side of the room while the Duke’s servants open the bottle of La Da table The Duke eyes me playfully “I must adht have been a touch too enthusiastic about killing your friends”

“What friends? They betrayed me Fuck ’em”

“Coldblooded,” the Duke says “I do like reptiles Almost as ht it would take at least several weeks for the ennui to set in It seems you are like me after all”

“How’s that?”

“Restless minds make restless men”

“It’s a terrible fault of row bored quick” Thewith coyness now that we’re in relative private His eyes rove my lips as he slips an apricot into his mouth

“Not too quick, I hope”

I let hi upthe food and let us alone,” he says “I think we can pour our oine tonight” The servants bring several silver trays of food out and set the from the trophy room He doesn’t mention the trophies, but he wants st them The two Obsidians did not follow the servants froet his datapad They linger at the far door I can’t very well assault him with those two monsters in the room They’ll rip off my arms and beat me to death with them as easy as they would kill a cricket I look at them pointedly

“Pretend they’re statues,” he says “Heads are full of stone already”

“I’ witnesses,” I admit

“Yet you left so ht you would detonate a charge in the shuttle once you lef

t, as I recommended”

“If you wanted o”

“Do I detect squeamishness?”

“I prefer to think of it as precision” I glance at the guards “Can’t we be alone? I feel like they’re going to eat me”