“And I want to live in a world where I don’t have to worry about radiation poisoning, but neither is going to happen anytime soon.”

I can hear Marco’s huff, but he’s smart enough to realize a lost cause when he sees one.

This evening Marco leads me to a different area of the mansion. We stop in front of a solid wood door and Marco knocks twice.

“Come in Marco.” I can hear the king’s muffled voice on the other side of the door.

Marco twists the handle and ushers me inside. The king’s back is to me and he’s staring at the walls of the room.

I suck in a breath of air. The walls are covered with maps of every nation on earth. Strings crisscross the images, connecting one section of land to another. Pins hold the strings down, and beneath a few of these pins are images. Most are of people whose faces have been crossed out; only a precious few remain unscathed. My earlier nausea rises.

“Feeling better, Serenity?”

“Fuck off.”

The king turns to face me, his expression unreadable. “You’re not wearing my gift.”

“You can’t bribe me into liking you.”

The king’s eyes flick to Marco. “You can go.”

Behind me Marco’s footfalls fade, and a moment later the door clicks shut. There’s no one else in this room but the two of us. No guards, no servants. Like the pool last night, it’s just the two of us.

“I can’t have you clouding my judgment during negotiations,” he explains without me asking.

My hands fist. “Right. Because how awful would it be to compromise for once in your life?”

“I haven’t spent the last decade waging war with your country to finally compromise.”

“No,” I agree, “you haven’t.”

The king glances away from me at the maps that line the walls. “I’m not an idiot,” he says, not looking at me. “I know the WUN sent you here to seduce me.”

My body goes rigid. I have no idea why his confession shocks me; it doesn’t take a scientist to put two and two together.

He laughs, the sound hollow. “The problem is, it worked.” His eyes move over me, and something in them softens for a moment before he shutters the expression.

“Uh huh.”

His lips curl into a smirk. “You find that hard to believe?” he asks. I’d say that he was mocking me, except his eyes are too serious.

I fold my arms over my chest. Of course I do. “Why are you telling me this?” I ask.

“To warn you.”

“Warn me about what?”

“I get what I want. Always.”

“You keep telling me that, yet I haven’t seen any proof.”