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Azar frowns, his expression blank. "Who?"
I should have known he'd have no idea. I bite back a sigh of pure frustration. "A few weeks ago, one of your militia soldiers asked permission to marry Manda, who's in the panty program. You said no. You said if she left the program, she'd be thrown out of the fort. They have nowhere to go, so they've stayed on but they're both unhappy. Their lives shouldn't be fucked over just because they fell in love."
He shrugs. "I do not care about them. I would rather not lose one of the females I've been feeding all this time." He ignores the angry look Melina shoots him. "But if it must be done, so be it."
Now comes the hard part. I keep the bright smile on my face. "And we want you to free the dragons that you're holding hostage."
Azar clenches his jaw. A moment later, he slaps the glass of water away from his place at the table and it shatters on the wall nearby. He jumps to his feet, furious. "You go too far—"
"Stop it," Melina says to him. She turns to me, shaking her head. "I don't like it either, but he's doing this to protect everyone."
"No," I say calmly, even though I'm quaking inside. Mhal's hand is on my thigh, holding me tight and letting me know he's got my back. I know he'll eat Azar if I so much as nudge him in that direction, but we're supposed to be working together. Compromising. Well, on this I won't compromise. "He's doing it to protect himself."
"He needs all of them to protect us against the thing in the Rift," Melina says.
"The babies protect everyone. The dragons he has are zombies. They can't do anything. Their minds are gone. He's using them to protect the fort, sure, but you've got three able-bodied drakoni males right here at this table. They can protect the fort from anyone that comes into this territory. If you free the ones you have captive right now, more will probably match up with some of the women you have in the program. They've been smelling their scents repeatedly for weeks now. You might get a few more pairings and children if you just let them go. The fort is protected.
"I will not," Azar hisses.
Melina is silent.
"You won't do it," I continue, "because you're afraid you won't be able to keep control of the fort. Here's the thing—you've been a good leader to the people here. The single girls are safe and protected. The streets are cleaner than they were, and the militia listens to you instead of running rampant. Fort Dallas isn't great, but you have things under control and we don't want to take that from you. No one wants to run the damn place. You do whatever you like, but you can't enslave drakoni just because it gives you an edge. If you want drakoni to help you, you've got to give that up. You're the enemy as far as we're concerned. You've always been the enemy. You need to compromise."
"I will lose all control of the fort if I free the captives." He looks incandescent with rage. I've never seen his eyes so dark before. He's always careful to seem sarcastic or unaffected, but right now he's utterly furious. It feels like a storm cloud brewing right over the dining table, and I reach out to hold Mhal's hand, pressing my thoughts against his so Azar can't slip in. "It is a necessary evil."
"Is it?" Melina asks. She clasps her hands in front of her. "Because they sound like they can protect the fort. Is it true that you're just protecting yourself?"
He gives her a thin smile. "Not even you are with me, my mate? I see. Then hear this. The moment I release those drakoni, these will murder me." He gestures at our end of the table. "I am, as they say, their enemy. I am a Salorian. To them, I am better dead than alive. If I give up my control, I have nothing left."
"I'm sure you'll find some way to be useful," I call out, unable to resist taking another bite of cornbread. Why does his taste so much better than the stuff they give everyone else? It's really incredible…and a little unfair.
Melina speaks up again. "You're good at amplifying the children's voices. Perhaps that can be your focus instead of enslavement." She looks at Azar with cool eyes. "You will keep control of the fort because everyone has seen you with the dragons in the past. They will think that you can call them back at any moment. You don't need to keep them if we have volunteers to keep the fort safe."
Silence falls.
Azar gives Melina a look of profound betrayal, then straightens himself. "You'll have my answer in the morning." He walks out of the room with brisk steps, and I get the impression that he's madder at Melina than anyone else. A moment later, Melina murmurs an excuse, sets her napkin down, and follows him out.
