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“Warrior race, ot a queen now But who’s your king, bitch?” He pokes one of the Obsidians with his pike The tall woed syot yourself” Darran points to a hunched worime and stunpike burns

Volga It’s barely been two days since I’ve seen her But she looks as if it’s been five years Her bare feet are bloody and shaking against the cavern floor Her face is obscured by her hair, but her eyes stare distantly at the feet of Darran

“Oh, they’re so dreadful, like idiot bears,” I say At the sound of lih faint “Oh, there’s evil in those bottles, Duncan” Volga’s eyes dart to the growlers Darran has passed to his men “I feel faint, take me out of this heat”

“All right, coldies, back to work Zoo’s over” Darran shouts at her and sticks her in the side with his pike She grunts and trudges on One foot after the other Before she disappears back into the ives the barest of nods

—

The party is still in full swing by the time Duncan and I s

tues They’ve got pistols on their hips That’s not good I smile at one, and he doesn’t sirls back I wanna be first, else I et as free a roam of the place I still have to find Victra

“I don’t want to dance anymore,” I say to Duncan

“But the lads onder where I’ve gone!” he says “Did I marry a dead stone?”

I reach my hand to his manhood and feel a minor swell “I don’t want to dance anymore”

Duncan’s hoht it so had I not seen Hyperion, and he thinks it so because he hasn’t He proudly shows it off, like it wasn’t abandoned by the people that did live here It’s big enough for a family of six A small kitchen with trophies on the hich he boasts on about until I pull hie of the bed and looks at h the stone “It’s too dark,” I say So he searches for a glowlamp When he finally finds it, he turns back, nervous, and pats the bed beside him I sit

Maybe I can talk with hi “This ain’t your ho his search for the lamp He shakes his head “Where is your home?”

“Don’t have one anye of my skirt “And you? You ain’t one of the fish”

“Lagalos” I wait for a sense of recognition But there ain’t one “How long you been with the Hand?”

He rubs his neck, reet “Three years, I’d reckon Take off your dress” It sounds almost like I have a choice “Please”