We Leave Together, стр. 47
“Jona, there is a woman dancing beside your old friend, Salvatore, late into the night. You know where she lives, do you not? I want you to bring her to me gracefully. Do not disturb her husband. Do not disturb Salvatore about it. Just bring her here.”
“Why?”
“Because it will answer your question.”
“I don’t want to help you, anymore. It’s time for you to start helping me.”
“It would be very easy to destroy you,” she said. “You should know why you are still alive. It’s time for you to see what your real choices are.”
“Salvatore is a monster.”
“So are you. Bring me Mishaela, Lord Joni. Do it now.”
“I am a monster. She’s already floating in the bay. She’s dead. I killed her and dropped her in the water. You were going to use her like you did Aggie, only worse.”
She petted the dog gently. “You’re lying,” she said.
“I’ll kill her before I bring her to you.”
“Well, that leaves us in an awkward position. I don’t have room for disobedient monsters.”
Jona had enough of her games and intrigue. He had had enough. Here was the Night King, alone and unarmed. Here she was, and she had made him do such terrible things. He had his hands around her throat before he could think. He picked her up. She stared at him, coldly. She stood with his grip. He lifted her up to the edge of the balcony. The men from below shouted and waved their arms. Some of them were already running up. He realized he could kill her so easily. She was staring at him with a fury that would not end. She was so angry. She was trembling like a bird or a leaf. Her skin went pale, and her eyes were so angry.
Then, he saw her eyes surrender. He saw the fear come into her face. He saw it, and this was the first time he had ever seen her. It was the first time he had ever seen her for who she was, what she was. He saw her life before him, and the shape of it, like something from a dreamcast. He knew her. He looked in her face and saw her. He felt something killers aren’t supposed to feel. He let her go.
She sat down. She rubbed her neck where it was already bruising. The men from the yard were there, shouting, but she waved them away. She said she was fine. She coughed. Everything was fine.
“Everything’s going to be fine,” said Jona. “If I was going to kill her I’d have done it.”
She coughed and threw the dog on the ground, kicked it. She sat down so angrily, and looked up. The dog was mute, without a tongue to bark, and it gurgled a whimper at the balcony door.
“What do you want, Jona? What could you possibly want? I gave you everything! I gave you everything and you threw it in my face!”
He shrugged. “You never really asked me what I wanted,” he said. “And when I told you, you didn’t like the answer.”
“Where is your whore’s maid, anyway? Who even cares what they did to my men?”
“She’s leaving town. She would if you let her. Her and her brother just want to leave town. They’re never coming back, not when you got so much demon weed pouring out of the dogs’ backs.”
“No.”
“I’m not leaving. I’m staying. My mother’s here. My life is here. I want to help her, though. I want to help her leave. I want her to be safe. You know, I bet nobody ever asked you what you wanted and meant it. I bet your whole life nobody ever looked you in the face honest-like, and said something to you they really meant, and asked what you really wanted.”
“Lord Joni, you ask too much. For what you’ve done to me you’ll be dead before you ever see your mother’s face again.”
“I just saw you for what you are, exactly as you are. I saw you dying. I saw you facing death. I know everything about you. I’m asking you now, what it is you want. Don’t be ashamed to be yourself. I’m worse. I was born worse. I never sleep. I never dream. I never face the demon in me. I don’t regret. It’s like I can’t.”
“Would you be the king of the day, to rule the streets and the stars and moon over this city? Will you let them crown you and let me rule here, as I see fit?”
Jona shrugged. “Why do you want to rule, anyhow? What’s the point of power?”
“Power means I can… I don’t know, Lord Joni. I guess it doesn’t matter. I don’t even know if I really want it. But, someone has to have it, and I don’t want anyone else to have dominion over me. I hate the idea of someone ruling me.”
“I hate that, too.”
“With you beside me, we would build a city like no other, and push our power out into the world. The day and the night together, imagine it? Two worlds living together in harmony, hidden from each other always, but together.”
“Elishta, too. You want demon children here?”
“I do,” she said. “There’s a power in your bloodline. It’s a power I want for my own children, as long as I can protect them. I want children with power, Jona. Your long nights are so powerful.”
“Mishaela goes free. She’s not touched.”
“Salvatore must live, too.”
“And Rachel?”
“Everyone lives that can be spared, Jona. She will be free to go. I’ll hire her and her brother for a caravan. There is room in the world for a little poison. It is a fire that rises up from the depths, and burns the sky clean.”
“What’s next for us, then?”
“You will need to be an officer before we can wed, and you’ll need a little