Page 41 of Failed State

She looks at me for a minute, then sighs heavily. “Fine. Let’s go, Rory. We have to eat before it’s time to head to training. I’m not very friendly when I have a weapon and I’m hungry.”

Somehow, I don’t find that hard to believe.

THAT’S A BET I’LL TAKE

SYDNEY

“I’m notinterested in whatever plans you’re hatching for my pants,” I tell him as we approach the gratuitous amount of food splayed out for the teams. “You should know that going in.”

Rory laughs, his head tipped back as the happy sound rumbles out of him. “Ah, Vicious. You cut me, but I promise, eventually you won’t want to do it anymore—unless we’re alone.”

Interesting qualification.

“Being ‘alone’ with anyone isn’t in my goals for this event,” I reply as I pick up a plate. “Not dying is pretty high on the list, though.”

The mage clucks his tongue, sighing as if I’m the most trying person he’s ever met. “Oh, Sydney. It’s not living if all you think about is dying.”

“In Tempest Seven, there’s not a lot to be excited about. You’d know if you lived in a less… accommodating sector, I think.” I purposely don’t say exactly what I’m thinking this time because while I wouldn’t make his choices, I don’t feel comfortable judging him for them. Some people were soattached to the lives they had in the past that they gave up valuable pieces of themselves to maintain that lifestyle.

“Things weren’t as peachy as you think in my sector.”

A change in his mood smacks into me like a truck and I have to press my hand against my gut as it slams into me. I don’t know what the fuck that was, but I don’t like it at all. Licking my lips, I take a moment to gather myself before I start looking at the cold end of the buffet. I’m not hungry suddenly, and that’s a sensation I haven’t felt for years. It roils within me as I pick things off the platters anyway, determined not to be weak and angry later on.

Whatever just happened to me can fuck right off.

“Okay. I don’t know shit about the three El Dorado sectors except that’s where the wealthiest supes went,“ I admit as I pile some fruit on my dish. Nice, ripe fruit is a luxury here and I’m going to gorge myself on it during this stupid contest.

Rory snorts as he grabs salad and fruit, making a huge pile on the first plate in his hands. “The only one of uslivingin an ED sector was the mosquito, Vicious. I may have been a frequentvisitorto those camps, but it’s not where I lived.”

I blink as we move towards the bread, trying to summon my appetite again as the fresh smell makes me drool a little. “Um…I thought… well, I assumed maybe…”

“I know.”

The handsome magic user doesn’t elaborate and I’d smash a strawberry in his mug if I didn’t want to savor eating ones this juicy looking rather than waste them. “Well, where the fuckareyou from, then? You sure as hell haven’t corrected anyone who assumes you’re from fancy stock.”

“That’s on purpose,” he says, shrugging as we both scoop up hot rolls and butter them. “I prefer to keep my image intact, so you’d have to earn my truth. Even shady folk like me havestandards and boundaries—allowing certain things to survive doesn’t change that.”

Rubbing my free hand over my face, I sigh. “I didn’t mean?—”

“Oh, but you did. It's a shame, too, because I thought you were someone who wouldn’t judge me. I guess we’re both disappointed today.”

My eyes narrow and I grab his shoulder, turning him to face me. I’m surprised to see a very blank expression on his features and I realize it must be a mask he wears to prevent people from knowing what his real emotions are. “Rory, I actually didnotmean to sound judgmental about whatever it is you do. I believed you were wealthy because of your… behavior and affect… but I don’t hold your choices against you.”

One corner of his mouth quirks for a second, then he shakes his head. “What’s sad, Vicious, is that I think you actually believe that. You’re convinced of what the world was, is now, and what it will become, so you define the rest of us by those standards. It’s admirable in terms of determination and bravery, but you’ve been sold a bill of goods about the rest. Just like Dante has a story much different than you anticipated, so do I.”

I feel like such a goddamn asshole right now and I deserve it.

Pressing my lips together as we scoop meats and hearty entrees onto our plates, I gather my thoughts, picking my next words carefully. “Perhaps you’re right, Rory. We’ve all been fed the tale about the lockdown l—the imprisoned supes and no one bothered to check it. We’re all suffering, so we wrote off that contingent in our minds to make room for those closer to us. Your truth might challenge other things we’ve been told when you are comfortable. I can accept that I don’t know everything if you can accept that I truly did not mean to hurt you.”

His smile is brilliant as he winks at me, all traces of the serious Rory gone. “I didn’t think you meant to hurt me. WhatI thought is that you’d been spoon-fed a prejudice designed to keep as many supes apart as possible to keep us under their thumbs. Now, finish getting your food and shush before we get caught talking about this shit.”

I dip my chin, trying to hide my shock at his words. Stormbringer ismuchsmarter than he lets on, and the himbo act is exactly that—an act he’s cultivated to protect himself. “Okay. But I’m still not fucking you.”

A brow arches as we approach the dessert section and my eyes widen with excitement. “Twenty bones says you’ll be looking at my cock like that before these fucking games are over.”

Snorting, I stack plates on my arms, desperate to maximize how much I can carry back to the table. “You’re on, magic wielder. But you’d better be good for it because I kneel for no man.”

His smug grin doesn’t give me a lot of confidence, but I’ve managed to fend guys off for years before he showed up; I’ll be fine.

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