It is the nature of dreams to end // Raul

[Warlight]

He thought she was reckless, or she thought she could read that in his tone. But here she was, softening the truth, and she knew that this was one of the few instances where she was afraid. She is afraid of the words that may come out of her mouth, of dealing damage she can never take back.

What would have happened if she had said no to a god? She hadn't had the bravery to find out. Warlight had said nothing as he came down from the stars, he had told her how it would be and she hadn't fought it. Maybe it was greed or ambition - she didn't want her months of suffering to be wasted if he refused her now.

But she didn't want him. She didn't want his child.

It hurts. Her chest constricts, and just like the time she had struggled to tell Raul of her death, now she struggles to speak of what had happened with Carnage. The reckless part of her tells her he doesn't need to know all the details, this was her life, and they were her decisions.

Her consequences to endure alone.

But the other part of her wants to fall into him and tell him how broken, helpless, and used she felt.

But the perfect words are impossible to find the way her heart is hammering, and he expected answers.

"In the spring, I will have his child."

They are too blunt, she knows it as she speaks them, but there was no way around the truth. It was just a transaction, she thinks, but this won't make things better. And anyway, it wasn't the truth. She hadn't held any of the power - she hadn't had time to make the decision, much less negotiations.

She had been powerless. And when her dark eyes finally find Raul's, they are weary.