Answered Prayers

by slingzarrowz

Levi and Petra are in love and together. They are finally, perfectly happy. But as the world around them falls to madness, their love will change not only their own destinies, but the course of history as well. Rivetra.

18. Chapter 18

Petra sipped her tea and tried to listen to the other ladies. It was three days after the opera, and Kanada had learned that Reiner left Valle to report for duty up north. The three of them could move freely again, and Giulia had immediately wanted to bring Petra to tea with other society women. They were seated on the balcony of the Continental Hotel with palm trees swaying beside them. A monkey scampered across the railing, making Petra shriek. The women laughed heartily at that and gave her a sweet date to lure the creature in. She fed the little animal, and immediately fell in love.

She'd worn her best tea dress for the occasion, a peach colored ensemble with matching hat and delicate lace gloves. She loved how the clothes looked, but also wished she could move more freely. But she was here to listen and gather information. Petra listened to them go on about their men, children, the latest fashions and gossip with some interest. Mostly, though, she considered what to try uncovering. What was she even supposed to learn?

Giulia sat to her left, resplendent in a white summer dress with a fashionable hat. Beside Giulia sat Tamalyah, a Nambian woman who'd come with her ambassador husband for a small business trip. She had the same dark skin as Onyankopon, and was quite beautiful in a pink gown. She laughed gaily at something the woman to her left said, a Marleyan society girl named Carlotta who apparently made the gossip pages on a regular basis. Her bright green skirt was shorter than the other women's, and her hair was dyed a loud, artificial red. Then, seated to Petra's right, there was Willy's younger sister, Clara.

Giulia had foregone her high-necked gowns for this occasion, but Clara Tybur wore the high lace collar with stoic neutrality. Her gown was black, unseasonable and, Petra imagined, very hot. She was in her early thirties, but had the type of face that unfortunately aged much faster than she did. She appeared at least forty to Petra's eye. Her dark hair was pulled back in a low, severe bun.

Petra had smiled when they first sat down to tea and tried to make friends with Clara. The Tybur woman hadn't been rude, per se, but she'd answered Petra's questions with the fewest amount of words possible. She barely ate or drank anything. She sat there with folded hands and seemed not to listen to the other women. She lived in a world of her own.

There was something in her dark, haunted eyes that Petra recognized, but she couldn't place it.

"Dear Clara's been such a help with the children," Giulia said, tossing her head in badly hidden irritation. "Willy tells her to get out a little and enjoy herself, but I'd be absolutely helpless without her. So nice to have such a reliable sister-in-law. She feels like a piece of old furniture you couldn't do without. In fact, you can almost forget she's in the room. That's how well she fits in."

Petra winced. She hated this kind of cruelty most of all. The smiling kind.

"Do you have any favorite hobbies?" she asked Clara, trying for a smile. The women tittered around the table, but Clara looked at Petra as if surprised. Maybe it was because the younger woman had asked it just to ask. No innuendos or prodding.

"I like to read," Clara said.

"Me too! What are you reading?"

"Ribberschmidt's Theory of Radical Decomposition. Have you heard of it?"

"My husband probably has." Petra kept smiling.

"Petra is the dearest little thing in the world," Giulia said to the ladies. "She's so agreeable." They looked at her like she was a precious kitten. Petra dug her fingernails into her thigh to keep from shouting at them to stop being so damn condescending.

"My husband really should meet yours, Mrs. Smith," Tamalyah said. "Perhaps Nambia and he can do some business together."

"Perhaps." Petra also couldn't stand how the women viewed her and seemingly themselves: as lap dogs of their men. Carlotta, at least, wasn't married, but she did seem to enjoy flirting with all of the most handsome and richest men in Valle. As she started regaling them with a story about dancing in the city's central fountain at two in the morning, Petra looked again at Clara Tybur. The woman was withdrawn. She doesn't belong here. Neither do I.

Petra didn't just want to be sweet. She had opinions, she argued, she was forthright. She'd battled giant monsters for god's sake. She loved beautiful dresses and romance novels, but that wasn't the sum total of her being. Why did Marleyans seem to like squashing everyone into neat, easy boxes? Why did they act like the best thing you could be as a woman was some rich man's wife?

"Could you lend me your book when you're done?" she asked Clara. "It's not my usual thing, but I'd like to try it."

Clara again looked confounded. "Oh. Do you think you'd enjoy it?"

"Well, I won't know if I don't try."

Clara's lips tugged into a small smile. She was like Levi: everything kept close to the chest. The realization made Petra's heart bleed for her a bit.

"Maybe we could trade books," Clara said. "What are you reading?"

"Um. Heart's Loss Under the Elms." They'd found a bookstore, and Petra had immediately located the novel that seemed the most romantic and sad. "It's pretty frivolous."

"Yes, Clara hates frivolity," Giulia said, wrinkling her nose. "She's quite a brilliant mind. Stories of love would only bore her. Why read about what you don't understand?"

"I won't know if I don't try," Clara said. Her voice was small but steady. Petra wanted to hug her, right after she punched Giulia in the face.

Be calm. Be gracious to everyone. You need these women to trust you.

"Great! I want to start a reading club at some point. Maybe when I come back to Valle, we could organize one?" She kept her voice light, her smile broad. Warm and welcoming to everyone, that was her.

"Sweet girl." Giulia beamed. "What a wonderful idea. I ought to organize it; Willy says I drink less when I have a project." She sipped her tea.

"Less than what? All of it?" Carlotta snickered. The three women made exaggerated faces of outrage at one another and laughed while Petra turned back to Clara. The woman looked so worn. Dark circles were under her eyes. Petra imagined she could see what the woman's life was like. Unmarried women in Marley didn't seem to have many options, so she probably did live like Giulia said. Furniture. Useful and easy to ignore.

"Maybe we could go for a walk in the park sometime. Do you like walking?"

"Oh. Yes." Clara's pale cheeks got some color. She's not used to receiving attention. "I'd like that. Very much."

She smiled a little. Petra smiled back. There was still that worn look in her eyes, though. Like she was exhausted—

Oh.

Petra dropped her teaspoon. It clattered on the floor, making the women jump.

"Sorry!" She started to duck to retrieve it, but Giulia waved her hand.

"Leave it, sweet. That's what busboys are for."

A young boy hurried over and retrieved the spoon, bowed, and went to get another. While the women critiqued his appearance, Petra looked back at Clara Tybur.

She had seen those tired eyes before.

In Eren Jaeger.

"I think I discovered which of the Tyburs has the War Hammer," she said quietly to Erwin. They were alone in the bedroom; Levi had gone to quickly answer something from Kanada. Erwin sat on the opposite end of the bed.

"Who?" he asked.

"Clara Tybur, Willy's sister. She looks like she has the world on her shoulders. Eren inherited his father's memories, and it wears him down. I think she has the same thing." She bit her lip. "Does that help at all?"

"It can." They knew from history books that the Tybur family controlled the War Hammer titan. Discovering the identity had been on Erwin's list of things he wanted to accomplish. He grinned at her. "Information can be leverage when used properly."

"You won't…hurt her. Will you?" Petra asked.

"Why?"

"I think she has a hard life. People ignore her. She doesn't seem to have anyone to talk to except her brother." Clara seemed to genuinely enjoy discussing Willy. She was warm towards him.

"We all have had hard lives, Petra." He looked at her with some surprise.

"I know. But that's why I don't want to hurt anyone if I don't have to."

Erwin shook his head, smiled. "You're so…"

He didn't finish his thought. Levi entered the room, carrying a letter. He closed the door and leaned against it, flourishing the envelope.

"I think Petra made some kind of impression at tea." He looked grim. When he caught her eye, a spark flared. Petra wanted to go to him and kiss him all over again. Her face heated up, and Levi's eyes softened when he saw her. If only they could…

No. The walls had ears. And eyes.

"What is that?" Erwin took the envelope.

"An invitation. Tyburs are heading for their house in the interior day after tomorrow. Want us to come along."

"The interior? In the tropics, in summer?" Erwin frowned deeply as he read the letter. "That feels insane to me."

"Something about a family ritual. Special. Private stuff." Levi nodded at Petra. "It's not from Willy. Invitation's from Clara Tybur. Says she hopes Petra can come. It's addressed to you." He shrugged at her. "Sorry."

Petra gasped.

"It's a three day trip, there and back again." Erwin tapped the corner of the envelope against his chin. A light was growing in his eyes. "A special Tybur family ritual."

"It could be a trap," Levi whispered. His eyes were hard. "Karl." He spoke louder now, in case someone was listening. "I don't think it's a good idea. We'd be out in the middle of nowhere in some kind of jungle. Plus, it'd be rude to Kanada, don't you think?"

"It says here Theo Magath and Zeke Jaeger will be in attendance." Erwin was paying no attention to anyone else. "And some man, a Dr. Fischer. Clara says he may be able to help Petra with what she discussed." He looked up at her. "What did you say?"

"I…I asked about women's doctors. What are they called? Gynecologists." She'd just learned the word.

"Why did you ask about that?" Erwin looked mildly impatient.

"Because I said I wanted to think about getting pregnant. I thought maybe I was having trouble."

"We've been married two months. You don't need to worry just yet."

She knew why Erwin was angry. Petra was still sniffing around for any way to help Brigitta. She held up her chin.

"That's what Giulia said. But when I mentioned I'd never seen a gynecologist before, she thought it might be a good idea to check."

"So you want to go to the interior to see a family ritual and talk to a baby doctor. This is a bad idea," Levi said flatly. "Do we have any real reason to do this?"

"Theo Magath," Erwin said softly. "He runs the Warrior project. There's information to be had."

"Karl," Levi muttered. He drew near to them both, lowered his voice. "That's three days of having to be constantly on our guard. There'll be no safe house. No Kanada. Nothing. We'll be surrounded by jungle, no easy escape. If we're not back on time in three days, the boat leaves without us. Kiyomi can't help us once we leave Valle. If any of us slips, we're all in the shit. We don't need intel on the program so bad that we should risk ourselves like this."

"This is it, Kenny," Erwin hissed. He held up the letter, gripped it in his fist. "I don't know how yet, but the answer I need is in the interior with these men. If we don't go, this trip will have been for nothing. Besides, once Willy leaves Valle, we have no other reason to stay."

"Right. So we go home early. Worse things have happened."

"Petra?" Erwin looked at her. "We have one vote to go home, and one vote to go with Willy. I understand this is a risky proposal. Therefore, I won't proceed without a majority vote. What do you say?"

She played with the envelope, considering. Levi was right. It was a huge risk, and she wasn't sure what the reward could be. She might never see Kuchel again if she went, and if she said no she could be with her daughter the day after tomorrow. But…

But two things. One, Erwin's hunches were rarely wrong. If he believed the answer lay in those three days, it was worth their lives to try.

And two, Brigitta needed answers. This Dr. Fischer—who, according to the letter, was the preeminent specialist in his field—could give her some answers. Petra would risk her life to make her sister's dream come true.

Levi saw the answer in her eyes, and swore.

"Yes," she said. "Let's roll the dice."

Erwin beamed at her. She could not have said anything to please him more.

Petra hadn't expected that traveling to the Tyburs' interior house would take this long. They'd boarded a train at six thirty in the morning, traveled for two hours west, and then had disembarked only to board a private riverboat. It would be another three hours until they made the house. Apparently the Tybur estate was very secluded. Mostly jungle for miles around.

It made her wonder if she'd made a mistake. She stood at the railing, watching the green river water churn against the boat. The others were having coffee on the upper deck, but Petra wanted to be alone. She watched her shadow in the river. What was this Tybur ritual, anyway? She'd asked Giulia and Clara upon boarding the train, and was told it was 'symbolic.' Of what?

Please tell me I made the right choice. She shut her eyes. No regrets. No fear. Live in the moment.

"Hello."

She opened her eyes to discover a young man standing beside her. He was of medium height, with a heavy blond beard and shaggy hair. He wore rounded glasses as well, trying, it seemed, to disguise his youth as much as possible.

Zeke Jaeger. Eren's half brother. And the man Levi hated most in the world.

She stiffened, but had to keep up the façade.

"Hello. Mr. Jaeger, is it?" She forced a smile. He gazed sidelong at her.

"Mrs. Smith. Funny. The name doesn't seem to suit you," he drawled. He had the most irritating voice, low yet also lazy, as if he couldn't care less what you thought. He flicked the tip of his ear absently.

"No. I sometimes think I'm dreaming being Petra Smith, and I might wake up."

"Hmm. Yes. The dreamer has many lives and names." He leaned his chin in his hand.

"I sometimes think when I wake to my real life, I'll have a name like Mrs. Ackerman."

Zeke almost slipped. He looked fully at her now, his face paling. She saw that he understood. Levi's wife. The message was clear: don't fuck with me. Zeke cleared his throat, and hastily put himself back together. She continued to glare at him as they leaned on the railing side by side. This was the man who had wiped out over half of the Survey Corps by himself. Levi had told her that Zeke laughed as he threw rocks at deadly speed, tearing people open and spilling their guts. He had called it a game.

Maybe they needed Zeke Jaeger, but she would never like or trust him.

"I never got to ask. Why are you and Colonel Magath on this trip with us?"

"I honestly don't know."

"Why do I feel like that isn't the truth?"

He slid his half-lidded gaze to her again. If it was possible to fall in love right away, it was also possible to slip into hate. She felt revulsion towards him, and he to her. But he was too smart and cowardly to antagonize her.

"We're all on the same side, aren't we?" she asked.

"Yes." He made certain no one was listening. "The Warrior program is on the skids right now. Tybur thought a few days of privacy might be good to hash out the best way to spin public relations."

"Why on earth would Willy Tybur be taking that kind of meeting?" she whispered.

"Because he is the apologist for Eldia and Eldians. Where he leads in this regard, others will follow." He gave her the most condescending look possible. "I know you were secluded in your little convent, but surely it hasn't escaped you how the treatment of Eldians in Marley differs from around the world."

"Um." Shit. She had no clever answer.

"Compared to places like Nambia and the Mid-East, Marleyan Eldians live in luxury. True, we have to wear armbands and stay in our internment zones, but if we keep to ourselves we are more or less left alone. We're allowed some movement outside our walls with the right paperwork. And some among us can even become honorary Marleyans—Warriors, for example. Because of my service, my grandparents and I are allowed movement and legal freedoms that others can only dream of. Whereas Nambia? Oof." He shook his head. "Vigilantes enter the internment zones at night and rape and murder Eldians with no retribution. Eldians in the Mid-East aren't even classified as human, and as such aren't subject to the concept of human rights. They take children from their mothers and vivisect them to determine differences in structural anatomy. You can kill an Eldian in the street and no one will blink."

Petra was shaking, gripping the railing so hard her hands almost slipped. She imagined Kuchel, smiling, happy Kuchel who loved her dolls, getting taken away and sliced open upon a table while doctors prodded her insides. The idea almost sent her to her knees. It made her want to take a knife and go out and find those who performed such acts and butcher them. Petra was not one to taste rage very often, but now it touched her. She was a heartbeat from crying.

I hate them.

She gasped, wiped her cheeks, and came back to herself. No. No, she…she wasn't like that. She didn't hate people, that is, not whole groups of them. She could hate individuals who were cruel, but not whole nations. She centered herself, calmed down. Zeke, though, smirked. He knew he'd gotten to her.

"If I had to be born into this world, I'm lucky I was born in Marley," he said.

"And I'm glad my daughter is nowhere near this rotten place," she muttered, forgetting herself completely for a moment. To her surprise, Zeke winced when she said the word 'daughter.'

"Ah. So "Kenny" was a busy man." He shook his head, murmured, "What a pity."

Before she could ask what the hell that meant, someone walked down the steps. Levi joined them, glaring at Zeke with barely disguised hatred.

"Gotta get Mrs. Smith back to her husband. We're docking soon."

Petra trembled as he led her up. Levi stopped on the stairs.

"What'd that fucker say to you?" he growled.

"He just told me what happens to Eldians around the world. Apparently Marley is humane. And I think," she said, nodding to Willy Tybur as he and Erwin laughed about something, "it's because of him."

"Okay. Good to know." They kept walking. He couldn't hold her to comfort her, but he whispered, "You're doing great."

She smiled. A kind word from him right now was enough.

The house was palatial, several stories with open balconies all around. Ivy twined up the white-washed walls, while brightly colored flowers grew in abundance. It was humid and sticky, though. Petra and Erwin entered their bedroom on the first floor. Erwin immediately switched on the large ceiling fan. The bed was shrouded in mosquito netting. Petra opened the shuttered doors, finding their own private balcony with a few errant leaves on the tiled floor. They had a private bathroom as well, with a standing shower and tub. The Tyburs lived in extreme luxury.

Petra flopped face first onto the bed, moaning in exhaustion. But she had to change for lunch.

Erwin pushed aside the netting and sat next to her. He spoke low.

"I can try edging into their private talks, but I doubt I'll succeed. I want you to stay close to Clara Tybur. See what you can get from her."

"I'm starting to think we shouldn't have come." Zeke's talk of torture and murder had reminded her just what a threat she faced if this world discovered her true nature. And now they were alone with miles of jungle to every side. Levi was right: they had nowhere to run or hide.

"No. This is right." He sounded sure. Then, gently, "If you're too tired, I'll make your excuses."

"You said I had work to do. So I'll do it." She sat up and ran a hand through her hair. She'd sweated enough that it was a bit stringy; she'd have to fix that. She freshened up, spritzing on a lavender eau de cologne before she changed into a light blue summer dress. She probably wore more outfits in one day as Karl Smith's wife than she'd owned in her entire lifetime. Petra left the bathroom, and Erwin quickly looked elsewhere. Her stomach dropped; he was trying not to stare at her.

Which was another problem. Levi's bedroom was on the other side of the house. Not that she feared Erwin would attack her or anything. But…

She was being silly.

They went to lunch, finding Levi standing by a window in the dining room. He'd taken off his linen jacket, and had his sleeves rolled. She could see sweat glisten on the back of his neck. He turned, and nodded at both of them. He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. Apparently he wasn't sitting at the table with them.

"Come along. Meet the family." Giulia smiled at one head of the long table.

There was a worn-looking middle aged woman Petra learned was Willy and Clara's mother, a wizened looking woman and man—the grandparents—and four little boys who chased one another around and around the table. One was crying for no reason she could discern. Petra got on her knees when he came around and caught him. He kept sniffling, so she took her handkerchief and wiped his nose.

He had blue eyes, just like Kuchel. She smiled softly.

"There you go."

The child fell into her arms. The whole room laughed and aww-ed. Petra sent the little one toddling off to join his brothers. They sat at their own little table while the grown ups ate.

It was quite a party. No wonder Levi had wanted to stand and glower. All together, there were eleven people at the table, not counting Levi and the kids. Petra sat down opposite a small, round looking man with glinting spectacles and a cheery smile. His chestnut hair was thinning. He polished his glasses.

"Hello. Mrs. Smith, is it?" he asked. "I'm Samuel Fischer. Mrs. Tybur mentioned me, I think?"

"Oh! Yes." The gynecologist. Erwin shot her a look, but she ignored it. "Ah. I was, that is, I've never visited a doctor…well, a doctor like you before. Giulia said that…maybe…I should?" Something about his calm, constant gaze made her nervous.

"I told her she must visit you, Sam, if only to set her little mind at ease." Giulia sat back as the servants delivered the first course, papaya salad. Petra's stomach grumbled.

"Are you concerned about anything?" he asked, frowning.

"Oh. No. I just, ah, was thinking about, um…starting a family." She laughed nervously. What was wrong with her? The man kept smiling.

"Well, I can help with some of that. Your husband can handle the rest." He winked and tore a piece of bread. Petra laughed, though she felt herself turning bright red. "Why don't you come over tomorrow around noon? I do research in the mornings, but I'm happy to make time for a friend of Mrs. Tybur."

"Sam delivered two of my boys." Giulia took a bite of salad, washed it down with wine. "He's a real godsend."

"Thank you. I will," Petra said. She felt Erwin's hand rest lightly upon her knee. She gently plucked it away. She'd deal with him later.

"It's not even two hundred yards from the house. Of course, it's hard to see it when the foliage is this dense. Just follow the dirt road, can't miss it."

"I will! Thank you. Thank you, Giulia."

Giulia beamed, then turned the talk to gossip in Valle. Petra noted that Willy's mother listened with feigned interest. She looked a lot like Clara, only less haunted. The Tybur grandparents were dressed odd, in tan robes that belted at the waist. The woman wore a plain head covering as well.

Old Eldian Empire clothes. The older generation wanted to remind themselves of where they came from. Their "sins."

Zeke chewed listlessly as he listened to Giulia. His eyes slid back to Petra. She blankly returned the gaze, then studied Colonel Magath. He was half leaning over Clara to get to Willy at the other end of the table. The men, along with Erwin, were talking about war in the Mid-East, and how they needed to take Fort Slava fast. As Erwin was supposed to be from there, he spoke with great eloquence and knowledge on the subject. He really was an amazing man.

Clara was seated to Fischer's right, and gave a tiny wave and smile. Like a child looking for a friend. Petra smiled back.

She prayed that whatever she got from Clara Tybur would not put the woman in danger.

Levi never sat at the table. Instead, he nabbed a roll and went to inspect the perimeter. Looking for ways out if they had to run, probably. Giulia's eyes followed the man as he left. Petra clutched her butter knife, wanting to jam it into the woman's leg. Or neck. Wherever it would hurt most.

"Your bodyguard is committed," Willy said to Erwin.

"He's worth more than I pay him." Erwin took a sip of wine.

"I suppose in your line of work, a little security never hurt anyone." Magath smiled.

"Indeed. Colonel, you said you wanted to inspect a prototype." They'd brought along an early version of a rapid-firing handgun Hange was developing with the titan crystals. Petra bit her lip. She hoped Erwin knew what he was doing. "After lunch, I could give you a showing."

"Ah." Magath looked quickly to Willy, who stepped in.

"I'm afraid I have to drag Magath and Jaeger in for a small conference first. Diplomacy. It never ends." He waved his hand carelessly.

"No, no. I understand. An arms dealer in a diplomatic meeting is as useful as a butcher in a flower shop." The men laughed, and the conversation turned to sports. Petra noticed the slight tensing of Erwin's jaw. Willy did not trust him fully, or at least didn't see him as useful where Eldians were concerned.

She took a bite of her salad. She'd have to work on Clara.

After lunch, she walked with Clara in the garden behind the house. They'd chopped away the jungle to make room for a lawn, and to add beds of cultivated flowers along the pathways. Petra had never seen oranges or purples quite like these before. Ahead, the little boys were running around and around in a children's game only they understood. Petra beamed at them.

"You like children?" Clara asked.

"Oh yes." She almost said 'I have a daughter', but mercifully stopped herself. "They seem like lovely boys."

"Marcus and Brutus are very energetic. Cassius is sweet." She beamed at the little blond child Petra had caught at lunch. "Julius is only a baby, really."

"Do you think you'd ever want children?" Petra asked. Something dark moved behind Clara's eyes.

"I used to. But no. Not since my father died."

"I'm so sorry. When did he pass?"

"Four years ago." Clara's face fell. She had probably eaten her father to gain his power. Nine years left. Petra wanted to hug her. Still, this was good information for Erwin. "I just thought… I'd feel too guilty to have children."

"Why?" Probably because one of them might have to eat her, or she'd be dead when they were still little. But Clara grimaced; it was as if someone else spoke through her for a moment.

"Because of the sins our family has committed."

Clara stopped, put a hand to her mouth. She looked frantic, so Petra played dumb.

"You okay? Are you too hot?" The woman still wore her high-necked gowns even in the sweltering tropics. Clara breathed in relief. She thought Petra hadn't caught on. "I know. Why don't we get some lemonade? We had it sometimes in the convent on summer days as a treat."

Clara smiled shyly. "All right."

The two women walked back, and Petra picked over what Clara—or rather, the War Hammer titan—had said. She knew that Eldians had committed "sins", but what had the Tyburs done? In the eyes of the world, they'd helped free Marley from her oppressors.

What sin was this?

I have to find Erwin. But right now, she had to play along. She got lemonade with Clara, and then played a few lawn games with the children.

All in good time.

It was hot as fuck in here.

Levi didn't like to look slovenly, but he'd had to remove his tie and unbutton the top of his shirt. He stood in the kitchen drinking a glass of iced tea, a fly buzzing here and there around his head. Maddening. Quick as lightning, he plucked it out of the air and crushed it. Tch. Disgusting. He washed his hands, lathering with soap at the sink.

The cook and servants were gone, cleared out after lunch. Levi splashed some water onto the back of his neck. No matter how many showers he took in this tropical climate, he felt clammy and gross five seconds later.

Focus. Petra was working with Clara; Erwin was doing his best to get to Willy. Levi should be watching them, but he needed a moment.

Watching Erwin and Petra together was wearying him now.

Because, he realized, tomorrow was their wedding anniversary. His wife would spend it sleeping in another man's bed. Chaste, sure. But she wouldn't be in Levi's arms. He'd kill for her to come find him in the dark on the other side of the house. He'd patrol the halls, listening for an attacker…or just listening to make sure Erwin wasn't putting the moves on her.

He wouldn't. She wouldn't. But Levi was getting hard just thinking of how a bead of sweat had tracked down her collarbone before dipping between her breasts at lunch. He'd watched her throat move as she swallowed. Every time her chest rose with her breathing, he felt weak.

He needed to get laid. He needed her.

Maybe there was a moment when she'd be away from everyone and in her room. He could lock the door and have just fifteen minutes—

"Well hello," Giulia said. She sauntered into the kitchen, a slow smile on her lips. She was dewy with the heat, and played with a string of pearls around her neck. She fingered them suggestively.

"Uh. Hi." He wondered if just walking out would be rude. Probably. "Need something?"

"There was supposed to be iced tea on the veranda, but it never made its appearance." She looked at the pitcher, now half empty.

"Yeah. Needed something to pick me up. Sorry."

"Please. It's only tea." Only tea? What a terrifying thought. Giulia continued her hip-swaying walk as she drew closer. "And I like to see a man refresh himself. Really, summer is too hot for all these clothes."

He saw she was staring at his chest, where he'd unbuttoned himself. Levi fixed that problem, then slid on his tie.

"Happen to know where the men got to? Karl should be with your husband."

"Mmm, he may be. Or he may not." She yanked harder on her pearls. She was close enough he could smell her gardenia perfume. Made his eyes water. "Surely you don't think anyone here would try to harm Mr. Smith."

"In my line of work, you take nothing for granted."

"I quite agree. Nothing should ever be taken for granted." She planted herself directly in front of him. If Levi tried rushing out now, he'd make her think she flustered him. It'd make her bold. So he glared at her through heavy lids.

"Get the feeling you take lots of things for granted," he muttered. He didn't move when she slid her hands up his chest, and wound her arms around his neck. Her nose touched his.

"That's a very bold way to speak to a lady." She smiled.

"Maybe for a lady." He let the implication linger in the air. Her lips pursed a bit. When she tried leaning in for a kiss, he grabbed her wrists and held her firmly off. Giulia gaped. Woman like her probably had as many conquests as she wanted. Levi released her gently. Hadn't hurt her. Only wounded her pride.

"You're an insolent man."

"I just call a shit a shit when I see it." She winced at his vulgarity, and he took the opportunity to walk past her. He flipped open his blade and speared an orange as he left. Fragrant juice ran down the knife's handle.

"I don't like having to chase," Giulia said. Her voice was icy now.

"Then stop," Levi said, and walked down the hallway. Once out of her line of sight, he loosened his tie.

"You're certain she said "our family has committed sins?" The wording's correct?" Erwin whispered to Petra as they sat in bed. She'd slipped into a blue satin negligee, and immediately tied a robe around herself to hide the garment. But he knew it was there, waiting to be set free. It was short and enticing and one of the more conservative choices; Kiyomi had a dark sense of humor. He took off his shoes and tried not to look at her.

"I think the Tyburs feel guilty about something specific. Maybe how they've allowed Eldians in Marley to be treated." Her face shone from some oil she'd rubbed into her skin. She looked wonderfully earnest when she was bare-faced.

He avoided looking at her. Again.

"What about you? Any idea what the ritual is? Or what Magath and Willy talked about?" She was very quiet as she lay on her side. Erwin pulled off his shirt, letting the tropical air hit his sweat-slicked back. Even with the fan, it was hell here. Normally Erwin would have pulled on a shirt to sleep, but he couldn't tonight. It'd murder him. Before he went to the bathroom to wash, he shook his head. Nothing. A whole day of nothing irritated him. Magath and Willy and Zeke had spent much of the afternoon locked in conference. Any discussion with Erwin had been relegated to sport or billiards.

When he finished washing and came back to the bedroom, he found Petra lying on her side, the robe gone. She was on top of the covers. It was too hot, after all, but now he could see every inch of her body. Every curve. She didn't look at him as Erwin took off his pants. Now only in his boxers, he pulled the netting aside and slid in next to her.

Petra faced away from him. He stared at her shoulder blades, and the little mole on the center of her back. He imagined Levi running his hands along her, slipping her strap from her shoulder.

"Anything else?" Petra asked. He knew she could feel his stare. She pulled up her legs, so he couldn't examine the line of them.

"Nothing."

She rolled onto her back a minute and stared at him.

"Do you know now what "the thing" that we need from them is?"

He shook his head. "This will be worth it, Petra."

His eyes tracked down her body. The satin clung to her in places. He forced himself not to eye her breasts. She rolled back onto her side.

"I wish Kenny's room was closer."

"I'm not going to… I told you I would only touch you with your consent. Besides, I have Marie."

"I know."

She didn't sound convinced, which made him cross.

"Get some rest. Tomorrow's the last full day we have here." He started to put out the light. "Incidentally, there's nothing for you at Dr. Fischer's."

"You know why I want to go," she muttered. Erwin shut his eyes. Obstinate girl.

"You should talk to Kenny. He'll tell you his opinions," he muttered.

"I don't need Kenny's permission."

"No. You rarely ask permission. I've noticed." He snapped off the light. Erwin waited for her to add something, but she settled down. Their fight had almost been like a real married couple's. He'd never gotten pissy with one of his subordinates before. Then again, Petra didn't really feel like a subordinate now. She was more, and it thrilled and frustrated Erwin. He tried to fall asleep himself, but the heat and the hum of mosquitoes in the room kept him awake. All he could think of was Willy Tybur. What sins had that societal darling committed? What secrets did he keep for his family?

Maybe it was simply the truth of King Fritz and the Titan War. But Willy would never share such truths with a man like Karl Smith. But if he didn't want Karl in his confidence, and wasn't pressed to display the weaponry to Magath, why had Willy wanted them here? Just for Clara's sake?

Perhaps Erwin had misjudged this situation. Even in the tropical warmth, his skin prickled with gooseflesh.

He listened to the woman beside him breathe. She was asleep by now. He glanced over at her. He examined the soft line of her exposed back, the shine of satin at her hips. If he screwed this up, she would never see her daughter again. Had she really been the only choice for this venture? Or had he dreamed of moments like this, where he'd lie beside her in bed. Hoping that at some point she would turn to him, a needful light in her eyes, and give herself to him just once. They were both committed to other people, but one night was all he wanted. Just to satisfy his curiosity.

Because he knew, even if she refused to admit it, that she had enjoyed their moment together two years ago. She had been angry because she knew her body wanted more.

He rolled onto his side, cursing himself as he found himself inches from touching her. His body was so close to hers. If he leaned down, his lips could caress her shoulder. For a horrifying moment, he dared to imagine rolling on top of her whether she wanted it or not. The disgusting idea broke the spell for him. Erwin sat up, rubbing his face. Hot. The problem was the heat, how it loosened inhibitions. Erwin would never do that to her, or to anyone.

But for a moment, he had wanted to.

He pushed aside the netting and got dressed again. Erwin left the room and wandered the halls, looking to tire himself with a walk.

Erwin opened the front door and stepped onto the porch. The summer moon was yellow in the sky, sweaty under the tropical haze. Insects sang in the night, and the wild screech of some unknown bird echoed across the starlit lawn. The air smelled of damp and greenery. Fat, succulent greenery.

He saw Levi on the lawn, hands in his pockets as he gazed up at the stars. Erwin wandered over to stand beside his captain. His friend. To think he'd nearly fallen on top of his friend's wife.

But I didn't. I won't.

Levi nodded at Erwin. "Wanted to check the perimeter again. Couldn't help looking at the moon. Petra all right?"

"She's sleeping."

"Hmm." Levi seemed happy that Erwin was here, and not in bed with his wife. "Tomorrow's the anniversary."

"Yes." He lowered his voice. "This must be hard."

"Two years. I didn't even notice." He kept his eyes on the moon. "Every day I wait for something to go wrong."

"You can't live like that."

"Do me a favor, will you?"

"Anything. What?"

"If I die one day, I want you to look after my wife and daughter."

Erwin was shocked to hear that kind of talk from Levi. Normally he'd worry about Petra or Kuchel's death, not his own.

"Of course I will. But you won't."

Levi shrugged. "It's a bigass world out there. Lot more enemies, and they're a lot smarter than…what I used to deal with. Honestly? Petra's better equipped to handle it than me. She knows how to talk to people. I just know how to break them."

"You don't give yourself enough credit."

"Maybe. But my wife and daughter are going to survive all this. They have to." He looked at Erwin. It almost felt like Levi looked through him. "Even if they can't be with me."

"L—Kenny."

But Levi walked away, trudged back with his hands in his pockets. Erwin couldn't guess what had inspired this. Seeing how large Marley was? The power of its military? The anti-Eldian fury at the opera?

Whatever had happened, Levi had sounded almost defeatist. And Erwin had never known that. He had seen Levi Ackerman beaten, but never defeated.

It scared the hell out of him.

Goddamn, he wanted to lie down for five minutes. Even he got tired now and again. Every second he spent in this house with all of these freaks, he felt himself walk the thin, fragile line between victory and defeat. It wearied him. Levi liked to put his enemies down. He didn't like to sleep alongside them, eat with them, talk to them like they weren't against him. If this was the new way of the world, the new way of fighting, it was only a matter of time before he screwed up. Then he left Petra widowed and Kuchel fatherless.

But he would make sure they were both protected. His death meant nothing if he could give them that.

When Levi opened the door to his room, he kicked off his shoes and reached for the switch.

"Don't."

Giulia Tybur was naked in his bed, her robe spread at the foot. Maybe she'd had four kids, but she looked damn good. She reclined in a shaft of moonlight, contorting herself in such a way as to make her tits look great. Her lips parted. So did her legs.

"Like what you see?"

"Yeah." He'd be honest. She was a good-looking woman. Her lashes lowered.

"Then come on. Enough games."

Yeah. Enough games was right. Levi went over to the bed and scooped the naked woman into his arms. He crossed the room, opened the door with his foot, and dumped her into the hallway. Giulia let out a shriek.

She was still there, trembling in fury, when he tossed her the robe. It landed on her head. Satisfied, he locked the door and went to wash up.

"This is a very interesting way to get to know someone, isn't it?" Petra asked, trying nervous laughter. She was lying in a chair, her feet in stirrups, and Dr. Fischer was using something called a speculum on her. She bit her lip and winced. In order to be convincing for Brigitta's sake, she'd had to agree to a basic examination. She winced and shifted as the doctor studied her, well, anatomy. But there was no lecherous vibe from Fischer. He didn't touch her more than he needed.

They were in the back room of his house, where he kept his home office. You wouldn't think he'd need all his instruments in a tiny house out in the middle of nowhere, but women came from nearby villages for aid. He apparently treated many for free. On his walls hung photos of beaming women holding babies that he'd delivered. She saw certificates from his university and medical school. Everything in his exam room was neat, the metal instruments sterilized.

"Sit up." He removed the speculum, thank god, and placed his instruments on a metal tray. Petra sat up, covering her legs with the cloth he'd given her. "Now. What seems to be the problem?"

"Um. I don't get my period regularly. Sometimes it comes after four weeks, and sometimes six. Sometimes it lasts for three days, and sometimes for five. And usually I have terrible cramps." All this was true of her sister. "Am I too young for that to be happening?"

"Yes, I'd say so. I'd need to do a much more thorough examination with lab equipment I don't have on the premises." He pulled off a rubber glove and tossed it into the bin. "It could be an accumulation of tissue around the uterus or ovaries, which can be tricky to deal with and requires surgery."

Damn.

"Or," he said, "it could be a simple hormone imbalance. If that's the case, I have a series of shots that should help regulate your cycle."

He pulled out a drawer and displayed the bottles to Petra. Six bottles of yellow liquid, along with a selection of needles.

"Do you think it could be hormonal?" she asked. That would be nice. Brigitta could actually follow the treatment in that case.

"Perhaps. But as I say, I'd need further tests. I was planning to be in Valle the week after next for a conference. If you'd like, you could make an appointment at my clinic." He smiled, his eyes kindly.

"Oh. That would be wonderful, but Karl and I are leaving in a couple of days for Hizuru."

"Of course." He nodded. "Well, if you've only been married two months I think you should just wait and see what happens. If you like, you can come back in six months if you're still not pregnant and we can conduct more examinations."

Petra smiled, but looked at the drawer as he closed it. She wanted to take the bottles, but couldn't. Damn.

"Besides, I'm glad you came to see me. Gynecological health is important, especially if you've never seen a specialist before."

"Thank you. You've been very kind."

Maybe she could come back later when he was having dinner at Willy's and nab at least one bottle. He likely wouldn't miss it.

"Enjoying your stay? First time in Marley, yes?"

"Since I was about four years old. I do love it here, though I miss some of the simplicity of island life."

"Ah yes, your convent. It must have been quiet."

"It could be." When titans weren't trying to eat you, that is. Petra stepped behind his changing screen and shimmied back into her dress.

"If you'd like, I can show you something I've been working on. Quite revolutionary," Fischer said as she came back out. He slid out of his lab coat. "Just down the hall, in my study. Might be helpful to your problem."

"Oh. Great!"

Petra followed him out of the office and through the main level of the house. The floor plan was open, the furniture handsome if a bit old. A bachelor doctor didn't need much. The doors were open to let in summer air, though a screen kept the bugs out. They wandered down a long corridor, until they came to a door at the end of the hall. Fischer took out a ring of keys.

"Oh. Very top secret?"

"It is. Only a select few can see my research."

He opened the door and flipped on a light. Petra entered. It was a normal study, with bookshelves and a desk and chair. There were no windows, which was odd. Petra also discovered another odd thing: two large cages at the other end of the room, each of them about four feet high. Inside of those cages were two young women.

"I… Wha…" She staggered back.

"Oh don't worry, don't worry! They're Eldians." He said it like that would explain everything. "Come closer. They won't hurt you."

"I…can't…what?" Petra crept nearer; she couldn't stop staring at the women. One lay naked on her side, knees pulled to her chest. The other wore a dirty smock and huddled in the corner of her cage. She bared her teeth at Fischer, and howled as she banged against the bars.

"Bastard! Fucking bastard!" she screamed. Petra stopped about two feet from the cage. The girl sneered. "Brought some bitch to impress? Fuck you."

"Enough." Fischer calmly took a spray bottle from off a nearby table and spritzed the girl through the bars. She wailed and clawed at her eyes, curling into a ball. He looked at Petra with regret. "Apologies. Inga's usually more docile after lunch."

"Inga. And." Petra gaped at the naked, younger girl. Fuck, she couldn't be more than fourteen.

"Elsa. This one's much calmer." Fischer knelt by her cage, smiling fondly. "I think taking out the ovaries makes them more docile."

When Elsa shifted, Petra saw the bright red scar running along her abdomen.

She looked at Fischer. Kill him.

The voice in her head was dispassionate. Petra had never wanted to kill anyone in her life, but she wanted to kill this man.

"Is this allowed?" Her voice sounded hollow.

"Of course. I have to get the government's consent, but it's all perfectly legal. I try to locate differences between an Eldian woman's anatomy and a normal woman's. So far, I've determined no abnormalities on a structural level. It seems that the differences lie in the blood, not the physical body."

"Then…why keep them?" She was growing faint.

"There are some new frontiers of medical science that can only be explored through considerable risk to the subject. I find it's better to experiment on Eldians so that real women don't have to suffer complications unnecessarily."

Real women. He did not see the girls in the cages as real.

Kill him. She didn't want Levi to do it. She wanted to choke the life out of this man, see the light in his eyes go out.

Pretend. Pretend. Your life depends on it.

"Mrs. Smith? Are you all right?"

"I'm…" She swallowed, and looked at Inga. The girl shivered as she hid her face. "I've never been in a room with real Eldians before. These aren't the Tyburs. They're horrible."

The tears that came naturally to her had their way. She turned and wept into her hands. Fischer made apologetic noises as he opened the door and let her out. As Petra walked away, she heard Inga screaming her head off. When Fischer shut the door, the noise ceased. He'd soundproofed the room.

He held Petra's elbow. She thought of breaking his nose and then mashing his face into the wall again and again. Instead, she let him lead her away.

"Why did you show me that?" He walked her into the living room and set her upon the sofa.

"I'm sorry. I thought it would be easier to explain my methods if I showed you the faces of the test subjects."

That was such horseshit. Fischer had wanted her to look at those girls. He'd wanted her to see their pain. He probably got off on it. Indeed, the pleasant man's pleasant face boasted an unusual sort of smile. Petra's skin revolted where he touched her.

"Do you feel odd treating Eldians next door?" she asked. "I mean, since they're not…real."

"Mrs. Tybur is not Eldian," he said simply.

"But her children are."

"Yes. I respect Willy Tybur and his family. They carry themselves as Eldians should, with quiet dignity, and are always sincerely apologetic for their race's history. They understand they are unnatural. As such, I confess I see them as fully human."

How big of you.

"Sorry I almost fainted."

"Not at all." He went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of ice water. Petra drank greedily; she wanted to finish it and get the fuck out of here. "I'll see you at dinner tonight. We can discuss future steps, if you like."

"Yes." She smiled, got herself under control. "Thank you, Dr. Fischer. And thank you for showing me what Eldians truly look like."

He smiled, his round glasses twinkling. "My pleasure."

Petra left, walking sedately down the path until she knew she was out of sight of the house. Then she ran, arms pumping as she sprinted to find Erwin and Levi. Petra Smith wouldn't have been able to run a hundred yards without getting winded; Petra Ral Ackerman could have gone two miles easy. It felt good to run again. Petra needed action. She needed wind in her hair. She needed life.

Those two girls did not have life. They were alive, but it wasn't the same thing.

Kill him.

She had to bite her lip to get herself under control as she ran across the lawn and launched herself over her room's balcony. She threw open the shuttered windows and found Levi and Erwin chatting. Both men whirled around when she entered. Petra slammed the doors and closed the shutters tight, then found her legs couldn't support her any longer. She collapsed slowly to the floor, sobbing bitterly.

"Petra!" Levi lifted her. She flung her arms around his neck and cried into his shoulder. He was here, wonderfully solid. Nothing bad could touch her if he was near. He carried her to the bed and laid her down. Levi and Erwin hovered over her, both pale with shock.

"What is it?" Erwin whispered. "Are we in danger?"

"N-No." She took a few heaving breaths and regained control. "I need to tell you something."

She told them what she had seen in Fischer's house. By the time she was done, Levi was standing at the foot of the bed, both hands on his hips. He glared at the floor, worked his jaw. He looked calm as ever, but she knew that inside he was raging.

Erwin had his head in his hand. "Those poor creatures," he whispered.

"What do we do?" Petra looked to the men. "I mean, Karl, what do you think the plan should be?"

"Plan?" He looked at her in surprise.

"To rescue them," she whispered.

Erwin's face crumpled. "We can't do that."

Petra couldn't have heard right.

"What?"

"There can be nothing suspicious while we are here, Petra. If Fischer's two test subjects happen to go missing the day he shows them to you, it will be very obvious who freed them. That'll bring attention we desperately don't need."

Levi made a noise. But he still didn't move.

"You're going to abandon them?" She couldn't believe it.

"We have no choice. The mission comes first."

"They're Eldians." They're us.

"And we will avenge them, I swear it." Erwin barely breathed the words, but his eyes were blue flame. "One day, there will be a reckoning that will bring the Fischers of this world to their knees." Petra knew they were not mere words. Erwin Smith had always delivered on his promises. "If those girls are still alive on that day, we will free them. I swear it. But we can't do it now."

"If we leave them behind, we're just like any other Marleyan."

"Right now, any other Marleyan is precisely who we need to be. It's two girls against our homeland. Against Kuchel. Against the millions of oppressed who struggle throughout this world. We can't risk all that for two people, no matter how innocent."

Levi made another noise. Petra looked to him.

"You don't agree, do you?" Of course he didn't. To Levi, there were no acceptable losses. He grieved every single fallen comrade. Levi saw every human being as an individual. It was what she loved about him.

He came and sat beside her. The three of them made a little conspiratorial triangle. Levi looked exhausted now, the bags under his eyes more swollen than ever. He seemed to have aged in the last five minutes. He shook his head slowly.

"Karl is right." He sounded miserable saying the words. This killed him. "You can't save everyone in this world."

"One of them was just a child." She started crying again, angry tears. "What if it were Kuchel? What if it were her, and someone could rescue her and they didn't because it'd be too dangerous?"

He jerked like she'd shocked him with electricity, but he held firm.

"This world's cruel. It's not fair. But I give you my word, the day we don't have to hide anymore I will find this guy and I will kill him slow." Levi hated death, but he did not have a problem making this oath. "I'll make him feel every inch of what he did."

"I can't…" She fell onto her elbows. They hadn't seen it. They hadn't smelled the sweat and stale urine, they hadn't heard the screams. "I can't do this. I can't go out there. I can't be with these people. I can't. I can't." She buried her face in the bedspread. Levi's rough hand cupped the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry, Petra." Erwin sounded mournful. "But I need your eyes and ears. I can't do without them."

She wanted to scream and punch him until he acquiesced. Instead, she felt Levi's hand on her while she cried herself out. He smelled like talcum powder, cool and fresh. He petted her hair until she calmed down.

Erwin wore the most heartbreaking expression. He seemed to hate himself so much that she couldn't feel any anger towards him.

"I will make this right," he breathed. His fist clenched. "Just not today."

"Yes," she said listlessly. Erwin got up.

"I have to meet with Magath, if you can believe it. Exhibit the prototype." Erwin grumbled as he got out the case Kiyomi had arranged for "special viewings." The gun wasn't so advanced yet that Magath would be ordering them in bulk anytime soon. But it would provide Erwin with an excuse to deepen the relationship. "Kenny, why don't we give Petra some privacy?" To her, "Maybe a shower would do you good."

She nodded listlessly. He was right, about everything. It just made her want to die.

Erwin and Levi left her, quiet as they filed out of the room. Petra sniffed. Of course Levi would take Erwin's plan over hers. He was Erwin's man through and through. He was…right.

She hated that he was right.

Petra went to the bathroom, removed her clothes and turned on the water. The shower stall began to fill with steam. She stepped inside and closed her eyes, letting the pounding spray soothe her. But she cried, wrapping her arms around herself as she remembered that girl lying on the cage floor, listless. Petra could save her. There was no reason not to.

Except that there was every reason. Petra leaned her hands against the tiled wall and sobbed. Her cries echoed back to her, overwhelmed her.

A figure appeared outside of the shower door, almost causing her to slip.

"Who's there?" She couldn't see who it was through the steam. The door opened, and…it was Levi.

Entirely naked.

She couldn't have chosen a more welcome sight. But…

"Are…are you—?"

"Karl's gone to see Magath. He told me to stay and look after you."

Thank god for Erwin. He had given them a small moment of reprieve. Levi's normally stoic face showed the faintest tinge of relief, and sorrow. He hated to see her cry, and hated the reason she was crying. But at last they were alone. Together.

He stepped into the shower with her, closed the door behind him. The water plastered his hair to his face, ran in steaming rivulets down his body. Along his pectorals, his sculpted abdominal muscles, all the way to his…

For a second, Petra forgot what she'd seen in Fischer's house. But only for a second.

"I…"

He simply held her. Petra leaned her cheek against his shoulder, lost in the clean scent of her husband. He kissed her head, and she wrapped her arms around his waist. They were pressed together; she could feel his erection pulse. The sensation almost made her faint.

It had been only a week, but life without him in her arms was torment. She turned her lips to his, and kissed him. When she was united with him, naked and alone, she felt invincible. Pain did not exist when they made love. Their kiss deepened. His hands cupped her ass. His cock twitched.

"Happy anniversary," he whispered. "This is the best damn gift I could've gotten."

"Then enjoy all of it." Petra tilted her head back and felt his mouth on her neck, her collarbone, her breast. She gasped as he sucked and licked her.

"Tell me what you want," he whispered. "How can I make you feel good?"

Be with me always.

"I want you to fuck me until it doesn't hurt anymore," she said. That he could do. That he could do right now.

"Mmm." He gripped her left leg and hitched it to fit around his hip. His eyes locked on hers, Levi grabbed himself and stroked his cock's tip up and down the seam of her cunt. Petra whimpered as he pressed against her clit, then stopped just before she came. He repeated the delicious torture until she was whimpering.

"Please. Please."

"You want to come?" He kissed her again, his tongue searching against hers. She rocked back and forth, letting his cock almost enter her…almost… "You're mine," he whispered.

Yes. She wanted to see possessiveness in his flinty gaze. She wanted to be owned right now. She wanted to let go of responsibility.

"I'm yours. Oh." The orgasm spiraled through her when he pressed his cock against that tender spot one last time. It was the sensation of running downhill at full speed, hands flung free in the air. Petra collapsed against him, moaning as she came. Her lips found his neck and she licked, kissed, sucked him. Her hips moved against the tip of his cock.

"Stop."

She did as he said, eyes shut as she felt him begin to slide inside of her. Petra bit her lip, but didn't move. She felt every glorious inch of him as it made its way within. He took his time. He let her want more. Desperately.

"This is mine," he said, as he sheathed himself fully. His voice was steel and fury in her ear. "It belongs to me. No one else touches it."

At that moment, she wanted to be reduced to a single part, the bit of her he craved. She welcomed it with pleasure.

Petra clenched around him, loving how he cried out as she did so.

"It's yours," she whispered. He began to thrust. She was lost in a world of steam and water, feeling him move inside of her. Petra groaned as he fucked her. His gasps of pleasure remained close to her ear.

"You don't own your cunt. It exists for my pleasure," he rasped, thrusting so deep that she gave a sharp cry. Even amid the patter of the shower, the violent noise of his fucking rang loud and clear.

"Yes," she breathed. Levi. She didn't even dare say his name. "Every inch of me belongs to you. Oh."

She bit at his shoulder. He stopped to lift her onto the shelf, knocking aside bottles of shampoo. It was the perfect height. Petra clung tight as he pounded inside of her, her breasts bouncing with every thrust. The water poured down Levi's frame. Petra placed her hands on his chest, felt the wild beat of his heart. She stroked her thumbs along his nipples, which made him growl.

"I like owning you," he growled. Petra's eyes rolled back in her head.

"I love that you own me." She gasped as her excitement grew, as he fucked her well. Levi looked down at his body where it joined hers. His eyes grew wider as he watched his cock move in and out of her.

"He doesn't get to touch this. He only gets to dream about it," he rasped. He. They both knew whom Levi meant. Petra had felt Erwin's frustrated desire in the air between them in their bed at night. He never touched her, but she could feel the ghost of his longing. Levi sneered, taking his pleasure in her body. "He wants to touch this, but he never will."

"No. He never will," she echoed. "You're the only man alive who can have this." She loved the animal growl of approval he gave. He began moving in fluid, rocking motions. Petra felt his cock hit something deep inside of her, something swollen and needful that he'd never discovered before. She shook with the coming violence of her pleasure.

"Yes. Yes. Please."

"Your body is mine. Your cunt is mine. You don't touch it unless I tell you to." His thrusts were growing erratic as he neared his end. "It exists for me."

The last thrust rubbed against that throbbing, secret spot inside of her. Petra saw only black, then explosive white. She screamed, actually screamed as the orgasm possessed her. She came so hard that she forgot her name, forgot how to speak, forgot everything that wasn't his cock. The scream lasted so long she went limp against him.

Levi softened inside of her as she laid her ear against his chest, cooed breathlessly. He slid out and ran his hands over her, kneaded her breasts as she luxuriated in the aftermath. His eyes were no longer hard, but hazy with lust. He licked water as it ran along her breasts, sucked her nipples.

"Did you come?" she asked.

"Yeah. Fuck, I think I came three times just listening to you come." He kissed her, pulled her back to her feet. "Goddess," he whispered.

Petra's body throbbed in satisfaction. The high of the orgasm carried her away for a few blissful moments…but misery was too painful to forget, even after amazing sex. When she cried once more, he held her until she was finished, then turned off the water.

They toweled dry, then Petra wrapped the fluffy white towel around both their waists, uniting them. She twined herself in her husband's arms. His normally stony features were softer now. Tender. "Did that feel good?" he whispered.

"You're the only thing that can make me feel good." They kissed, his hand lazily playing with her breast until she was swollen and desperate again. She rubbed herself against him, begging for a second release. Levi gave a soft moan as she grew more insistent.

"Fuck, you're so horny," he muttered. He became stiff. "How do you do this to me? Make me feel like a goddamn teenage boy."

"You don't like it?" she whispered.

"I don't want it to ever change," he rasped, dropping the towel. He slipped a finger inside of her, and Petra clenched around him. She passed her hands down his back until she gripped his ass. It was rock hard, spectacular.

"Fuck me again."

"Yes." He sounded desperate. He belonged to her as much as she belonged to him. Levi pushed her out of the bathroom, pushed back the netting and flung her onto the bed. His face was determined as he gripped her legs and slid them over his shoulders. Petra groaned as he entered at a very different, wonderful angle and rode her. She cooed as he took her.

"Oh. Oh I love you." She dug her fingers into the bedspread as he moved fast. She felt like he'd been born to fit perfectly inside of her body. Levi's eyes gleamed as he beheld her excitement. She felt herself flushing, and touched her breasts to let him see she enjoyed it. She moaned with pleasure as he fucked and she fondled.

She was more than married to him. They were united in every way. Even when he wasn't physically inside of her, he was hers, and she was his.

"Beautiful," he whispered, then squeezed his eyes shut. She felt him come inside her again. Petra lifted her hips, let his cock strike once more against her clit. The orgasm this time was softer, subtler. Deeper. She hummed with the pleasure, her body writhing beneath his to wring every last drop of ecstasy. She finally came to rest underneath him. Levi after an orgasm was like some tender newborn thing, his face slack, eyes shut. He didn't usually come this hard twice in a row, and gave soft, astonished moans that delighted her. She nibbled at his jaw. She kissed his neck and sucked. She loved the flutter of his pulse, the way his jawline felt against the bridge of her nose.

"There'll never be anyone else for me," he whispered.

"None for me, either."

"I love you. Damn brat, I'd kill for you," he growled. "Die for you. Tch. Give up my damn soul for you." They kissed once more.

Slowly, he rolled off of her. Petra brought her legs down, and basked in the afterglow. But it didn't take long after the high of the orgasm for her to plunge back into the abyss. After the trauma of the day, and the pent up lust of this last agonizing week, she needed another release. She put her hand between her legs to touch herself, but Levi rolled on his side and helped her along.

"I want you to come five more times like this." It took only a few strokes of his fingers for her to erupt again. Petra gathered enough breath before he made her come once more. She gave little shrieks, arched her back as he sucked at her nipple. Yes. When he touched her, everything was easier. When he made her come, the world made sense. She turned lazy eyes to the shuttered doorway—

A shadow was there. Someone stood outside in the afternoon sun. Listening to them.

Petra gasped. The shadow fled.

"Oh. Oh my god." She bolted upright, and so did Levi. With a curse, he got off the bed, grabbed his pants and shoved them on. But they both knew he couldn't chase that mystery figure.

Petra tried to recall if she'd used his real name in the throes of passion. But even if she hadn't, someone now knew.

"Who do you think—"

"Don't know." Levi's eyes were dead. "Could've been anyone."

Oh. Fuck.

Petra noticed that everyone seemed…tense…at dinner. The grandparents weren't there—Willy said they needed to sleep early because the "ritual" tomorrow was just before dawn. When Petra asked again what this ritual was, she received a smile and was told that these things were not explained ahead of time. Any witnesses must observe it with entirely open and unblemished minds.

That sounded really terrifying.

We shouldn't have come. This gamble didn't pay off.

Erwin sat beside her and, unusually, was not much of a conversationalist. He seemed a little flat and subdued. Maybe it was the heat—every one of them shone a bit in the candlelight, perpetually damp. Clara looked especially withdrawn tonight. She didn't even smile at Petra. She just stared at her plate and barely ate anything.

Across the table from Petra, Dr. Fischer smiled and guided what little conversation there was. She gripped her fork and imagined plunging it into his eye.

Levi sat beside Fischer, and the occasional looks he shot the man were pure acid. But he kept his eyes down for the most part.

Giulia wasn't chatty, either. The woman seemed to deliberately avoid looking at Levi's side of the table.

Because she heard us having sex?

Petra tried to calm herself. Say she was right. After all, what's the worst Giulia could do? Tell Petra's husband? He'd be irritated with Petra and Levi for letting people see, but no more. After all, to the outside observer it had to look like a common affair. Maybe it made Petra look cheap, but it wouldn't give them away. She took up a paper fan and cooled herself. The night air was boiling, and there was no wind. They all stewed around the table.

Magath wasn't there. Maybe that's why Erwin looked subdued? Shit. What had happened while Levi and Petra had had their moment of lovemaking?

So many questions.

But she couldn't think of Giulia, or Erwin's problems, or Clara or Willy or Zeke. All she could feel was Dr. Fischer's smiling gaze. All she heard was the gentle, almost singsong way he spoke, like to a child. He and Zeke were the only party members who seemed to want to talk.

"I've never met a Warrior before." Fischer nodded to Zeke, who was sitting to Erwin's left. "I think it's so admirable to fight for a country that isn't even yours."

Zeke had been born and raised in Marley, yet people like Fischer would forever consider him alien. It almost made her feel for him. Almost.

"I can't pretend selflessness was the sole reason I joined up. Being allowed outside the internment zone appeals to many of us." Zeke grinned. So did Fischer. Both lied with their smiles.

"How long is left in your term?"

"Hmm. Three years, I believe."

"Does it bother you, knowing you'll die young?"

Petra and Levi quickly glanced at one another, sharing the same bewilderment. What a bunch of cheerful freaks.

"Well, many in this world also die young, only they don't have the benefit of knowing death is imminent. I like that it won't come as a shock. It's comforting, really, to know the date and method of your end." Zeke sounded positively cheerful as he took a mouthful of food. "Mmm. I have to say, river trout is normally so bland, but this is flavorful."

"It's some herb our cook uses. I can get the recipe." Giulia said it like she was half dreaming. Willy sat at the other end of the table. He looked at her with an expression somewhere between hostility and resignation.

Petra found in that moment that she felt sorry for both of them. They hadn't married for love. Giulia had been forced to marry someone she saw as a monster. Odd that they had four young children, since that implied a lot of…closeness. But then again, it was important to have an heir and extra spares for the War Hammer. Just in case.

How did it feel to give birth and know that your child might meet a violent and untimely death?

As if in answer, Giulia swallowed an entire martini in one go, then gestured for another. Willy didn't try to stop her.

"Are you married, Jaeger?" Fischer asked.

"No." Zeke's cocksure smile evaporated a little. "I don't see the point."

"It's probably for the best." Fischer nodded sagely. "Normally a man want to leave behind the legacy of children, but in your situation it would be almost cruel."

Erwin shut his eyes.

"I don't see the point of a legacy," Zeke said. Something in his voice was different; it was honest. "The world doesn't need another Eldian, and I wouldn't want to bring a child into this pain."

Fischer sighed. "If only others of your race were as clear sighted. You have my respect."

He said it like Zeke was a primate who had completed a very difficult trick. Petra gripped her wine glass, trying to steady her nerves.

"I quite agree with Mr. Jaeger," Giulia said, swallowing another martini. Already, her voice began to slur. Willy rolled his eyes discreetly. "I love all my boys, but I would be so so much happier if they'd never been—"

"Giulia." Willy's voice was acid. Petra could feel energy rising in the room, lightning about to strike. Giulia made a hateful face at her husband. "Do not."

"I will do. I do. I wish my babies had never been born—"

Willy threw down his napkin and signaled for a servant. The man hastily pulled back Giulia's chair, and she almost spilled out of it. Fischer seemed aghast; Zeke watched with interest; Levi and Clara both did their best to look anywhere but at the fight.

"Fuck you, Willy darlin'." She sneered in his face as the servant "helped" her to her feet. The man "escorted" her down the room, heading for the door. As they passed Willy's seat, Giulia spat in his face.

Petra had been holding her wine glass tighter and tighter. She squeezed too tight, and felt the thing break in her hand. Pain lanced her palm instantly.

But even bleeding, she couldn't stop watching the train wreck of the Tyburs' marriage. Giulia was taken from the room. Willy wiped his face, got up, made a quick excuse, and then followed. The door shut behind him. Everyone remaining at the table looked at one another like they'd survived some natural disaster.

"You're hurt." Clara sounded so small, and only then did Petra realize her hand was gushing blood. Oh shit.

"Fuck." Levi got up, but Erwin already had her. He picked shards of glass from her palm—only three small ones, not too bad, but she was bleeding quite a bit.

"Are you all right?" He sounded worried.

"Fine. Sorry."

Fischer was by her side. He took out a handkerchief and wound it around and around her hand to staunch the bleeding. Petra shivered at his hateful touch, but at least he knew what he was doing. Erwin rubbed her back while Fischer went to get iodine and bandages.

"Well." Zeke took a deep gulp of wine. "This has been a fascinating evening."

"Shut up," Levi snarled. Fuck; he'd let their natural animosity bleed through. Quickly, he added, "You fucking devil."

Not terribly polite, considering Clara was here, but at least it was a smooth cover. Petra winced at how much blood was soaking the handkerchief. Fischer returned, and Erwin made space for him to treat her. The doctor removed the handkerchief, cleaned the wound, used iodine, and then wrapped a clean cloth bandage around her hand a few times before tying it off.

"You don't need stitches, and there shouldn't be an infection. Maybe from now on you should switch to beer." He winked at her, and the men laughed at the harmless joke. Petra imagined taking off his glasses and digging her thumbs into his eyes.

"Thank you, doctor." Petra stood, a bit wobbly. "Ah."

"Sweetheart? Are you all right?" Erwin put his arm around her. Levi studiously avoided looking at them.

"I…I think I'd like to go to my room, if that's all right?" She winced at Clara. "I think it's too hot."

"It's a lot to get used to." Clara smiled at her.

"Rest up. I'll be in soon." Erwin let her go, and she felt Levi watching as she staggered out.

"Need me to escort you, Mrs. Smith?" he asked.

"No, thank you, Kenny. I'll be fine."

"Drink some water and take a salt tablet," Fischer said. She nodded, and wobbled out the door.

Once she was halfway across the house, she stopped feigning weakness. Petra stared at the moonlight lying across the floor, and thought. She understood Erwin's point. Two lives couldn't be weighed against an entire race.

But if one of those lives had been Kuchel's, Petra would risk the world's wrath to save her. Someone somewhere must feel about those girls the way she felt about her daughter. Somewhere a mother might be praying on her knees for someone to rescue her baby girl.

If Petra did this, she would be a stupid person. If she didn't, she would be a bad person.

Please forgive me, Levi. Erwin.

Fischer was here having dinner. His house would be empty. She would not have another chance.

Petra hurried to her room. She needed a few things before she returned to the doctor's house.

"What's going on?" Levi asked quietly as they headed back. Erwin was so weary he almost couldn't answer. The commander wanted to lie down and simply drift away. He couldn't remember being this tired before. For one thing, the damn heat was oppressively sticky. It was like living in a sauna. Flies and mosquitoes buzzed past your ear wherever you went. The cool coastal city of Valle was a paradise in comparison to this.

There was no way the Tyburs kept this as their main residence, particularly not in the summer months. Whatever they wanted to do with this ritual required privacy. Excessive privacy.

So why invite a bunch of near strangers along? It could not just be Clara's friendship with Petra.

Erwin was growing ever more certain that he had been played in some way. He'd been sure of it this afternoon when demonstrating his prototype to Magath. The man was simply awed by the weapon's firing capability; they'd gone deeper into the jungle and Erwin demonstrated on a few fallen trees. The bullets shattered them. It was remarkable; Hange was a true genius. And this wasn't even the final version.

"Remarkable," Magath breathed, cradling the weapon. He fired a few shots of his own, commented on the smooth recoil. Erwin did not expect to receive an official order. Magath couldn't sign off on buying them right here, and Erwin wouldn't have accepted, anyway. But he anticipated that Magath would want to take this to the Marleyan higher ups.

"What do you think?" Erwin had asked.

Magath handed back the gun.

"No," he'd said simply. "I don't think I'll be recommending that the general meet with you, Mr. Smith."

Erwin did his best not to look surprised. Magath's good humor disappeared abruptly.

"Any particular reason?"

"You seem like the answer to our every prayer," Magath said. "That's what worries me."

He'd walked away at once. Erwin had stood in the empty clearing with the hum of insects all around, and thought that perhaps he had made on gamble too many.

"Karl?" Levi whispered. "Do we need to leave?"

If he ran now, he would confirm any suspicions Magath possessed and Willy Tybur would be closed to him. He wasn't even certain he could find their way back to the docks, or that a boat would be there. Too many chances to fail if they ran.

"I think perhaps Petra's condition is more serious than we originally thought," he said. Levi nodded. If the woman became "desperately ill," ill enough that a simple country doctor couldn't treat her, the Smiths would have to return to the boat. Immediately.

"You were right," Erwin whispered. "I put you both in danger."

"Let's see how Mrs. Smith is doing," Levi muttered.

Erwin stewed in his defeat. Magath had led him on, made him believe that the military would be interested in contracting with him. Then he'd grown icy. That suggested he had been playing Erwin from the start. For all Erwin knew, Reiner had actually seen him at the opera that night. And if Magath mistrusted him, then perhaps Willy did as well. No. It was almost a guarantee.

They may not let us leave under any circumstances.

"If we have to make an abrupt departure…" Erwin trailed off.

"I know who to 'talk to' first," Levi said.

Clara. The War Hammer. Levi had no ODM, and would have to kill her while she remained in human form. He would have one chance if it came to that. Erwin wasn't certain how Zeke would get involved, but he had to accept it as a wild card.

I fucked up. I thought I was so damn clever, but now I don't know if I can get us out of this. Since that meeting with Magath, Erwin had felt the noose tightening around his neck. He had been played for the fool.

Granted, if he shifted he could obliterate every last one of them in instants. But Petra and Levi would likely be unable to get away in time, and he hated the thought of murdering innocent children. Erwin had sacrificed lives, but never like that. He wouldn't start now.

Unless the choice was between four children and millions of Eldians around the world.

"Kenny. I'm so sorry."

Levi grunted.

All of a sudden, they heard explosive shouting in one of the rooms. Erwin stopped as the door slammed open and Giulia Tyber rocketed out of it. She yanked her pearls from her neck and chucked the broken string of them back at her husband. A few pearls scattered upon the floor.

Willy appeared in the doorway, sleek and cool in contrast to Giulia's heated fury.

"If you think I'll let you go through with it, I'll fucking kill you! Devil scum! You filthy-blooded shit! You animal!"

Levi rarely looked surprised, but he gaped at the Tyburs.

Go through with it? Go through with what?

"If I am an animal, so are your children," Willy said, his voice ice.

"I won't let you do it! I won't! I won't!" Giulia launched herself onto Willy, clawing at his eyes. He held her by the wrists, a look of contained loathing on his face. His wife struck him in the shin with her heeled shoe, and he winced. Levi calmly picked the woman off her husband and held Giulia securely while the woman flailed. She was sobbing, mascara streaking her face. She was unhinged.

"Stop it," Levi whispered. "Stop." He was not cruel. He lowered her to the floor, and Giulia wheeled around and slapped him hard across the face, twice. He allowed it.

"You ugly little dwarf," she hissed in his face. He let her do that, too. Giulia, upon realizing that the men would intervene against any further assault, staggered away. Her cries echoed back to them as she turned the corner and vanished. Levi looked shaken. He nodded at Erwin, the message clear; they needed to get out. Now.

"Is everything all right?" Erwin asked. Pause. "It's clearly not, but—"

"My wife isn't much for family tradition." Willy straightened his jacket—man wore it even in the height of tropical summer. He smiled at Erwin, charming as ever. No discernible problems. Willy Tybur was a master of self-containment. "Sorry you had to see that."

"Not at all. I just wanted to go check on my wife. See if she's feeling better." He'd see to it she'd grown ever so much worse.

"Mind coming in here for a moment? I could use someone to talk to."

"Ah. Let me see to Petra, and I'll be back."

"Please."

There it was, the hint of steel under the charm. If Erwin refused, Willy would try to force him. Levi would attack. It would all be over.

Whatever was about to happen could not be avoided. Might as well meet it head on.

"Kenny, would you see to Mrs. Smith? I'll be right in." If nothing else, Levi could try to escape with her. They deserved a chance to return to their daughter, even if it was astronomically slim.

"Think I should stay." Levi was a slave to his duty, as always. He would not abandon Erwin, even to see his wife, and Erwin loved him for it.

"There's no need. It's just a friendly chat. Please. Go deal with her, see if she needs anything."

Erwin told Levi with his glance that getting out of here was the right idea. That he did not intend to be taken alive by Willy, and that he was prepared to transform and detonate everyone in this building. That he wanted to give Petra and Levi a fighting chance to escape the blast zone.

"Sure, boss. See you soon."

I hope so, my friend.

Levi walked away. Willy Tybur beckoned.

"Come in. Have a drink."

Erwin entered the room, a sitting area with wicker chairs and cushioned seats, a pitcher of something cold on the table.

Magath was seated in one of the chairs, and regarded Erwin coolly. Erwin looked at the open veranda doors, and the jungle night beyond. He strolled over, stood and looked out across the moonlit lawn. He heard the clink of ice, and then Willy handed him a frosty glass of what turned out to be spiked lemonade. Tasted good, if a bit sweet.

Erwin took the opportunity to enjoy his drink. Every second that passed was a gift now.

"So." Willy smiled at Erwin. Magath watched him calmly. Zeke was nowhere to be found. "Magath tells me you have a weapon of staggering design."

"I flatter myself it's a quality product," Erwin said. Willy never stopped smiling.

"He finds you fascinating. I confess I do, too. So much so that I've conducted my own little investigation these last few days." The Tybur man's dark eyes grew flat and empty as a shark's.

"And I have learned, Mr. Smith, that you are a liar."

The doctor didn't even lock his front door. Petra crept along the hall, ears straining for a telltale noise. None came. She patted a satchel that swung from her arm. She didn't want to flip on a light, but had to when she got to the locked study door. She didn't know where the key was, but that didn't much matter. Levi was a former thief, and he had taught her many secrets. She slid out a hairpin and, after working on the lock for a solid four minutes, felt it give. Petra yanked open the door and slipped inside, flipping on another light. She dropped the satchel on the floor.

Inga sat up at once. When she saw Petra, the furious expression shifted to confusion. Elsa, meanwhile, was awake but non responsive.

"What are you—?" Inga began.

"Do you know where the keys are to your cages?" Petra whispered. Off Inga's baffled look, she hissed, "I'm getting you out of here."

The young woman made a choked noise. Tears spilled down her cheeks at once, and her shoulders trembled. Poor thing.

Petra would not regret this.

"The keys?" Petra pulled at the lock on Inga's cage, but it wouldn't budge.

"I don't know. I…I think he keeps it on him," Inga whimpered.

Oh fuck. Petra stifled a curse, then took out her bent hairpin again. She started to work on the lock, teeth bared with concentration.

"Do you think he'll come back in here before he goes to bed?"

"No." Inga sounded certain. "He keeps office hours with us. That's what he calls it." She sounded bitter. "He won't be back until tomorrow morning."

Good. They had a chance. "He's at the Tyburs' right now having dinner. After you two are free, you need to hide somewhere off the path until he locks up and goes to bed. When he and the Tyburs are asleep, take the path back down to the river. I think there's a village upstream."

"Saluzzo. I know it, he gets supplies from there. I don't think we'll blend in, though. Looking like we do." She was right; both girls were dirty and wearing medical smocks. Petra nodded at the satchel by the door.

"I brought you some clothes. They're the plainest things I own, though they might still be a little too fancy. And they might not fit perfectly." Elsa would be fine, but Inga would find things tight. "Also, I don't think the shoes will fit."

"Lots of people around here go barefoot. It won't be a problem." Inga's breathing was ragged now; she could feel freedom only a moment away. "Please, please, please."

"Almost there." Petra grunted; the lock was a bitch.

"Won't he suspect you?"

"I'm going to leave the hairpin right outside your cage door. I can claim I dropped one near you today when I got upset, and you used it to escape." Inga could reach the lock from her position. "You did it yourself."

"Yes." It really sounded like it could work. "Th-thank you. Why would you do this for us?"

The girl sounded so heartbreakingly confused. To her, non-Eldians had probably only ever been cruel, or maybe indifferent. Never helpful.

"Because no one should have to live like this." It was the most honest answer she could give. Petra cursed as the hairpin slipped from her hand. Damn. Almost. She snatched it up and tried again. "Where do you come from? Do you have a home to go back to?" She needed to keep from losing her nerve right now. Talking helped.

"I come from an internment zone near Noto. My parents died when I was a baby. I think Elsa's mother is still there, though."

Probably wishing her daughter would come home. The thought spurred Petra on.

"It's not always going to be like this for you," she whispered. Her wrist was growing sore from all the twisting, but she could feel it; the lock was close.

"How could it be any different?" Inga sounded baffled.

Because Erwin Smith is going to save you. Someday.

"Because—"

"What do you think you're doing?" Dr. Fischer asked.

Petra dropped the hairpin. Inga started screaming wildly, sobbing as she beat against the bars of her cage. So close. So close, and now…

Petra turned around. The little man stood in the doorway, and he was not smiling now. His gaze was deadly.

"I'm…I'm setting these poor creatures free." She cleared her throat. "You may be legally allowed to do this, but it's evil."

She'd been caught, but at most he'd have her arrested for attempted theft of property. She'd ruin Erwin's social ties with the Tyburs, but at least they wouldn't be exposed.

"To you, perhaps, it's evil." He shut the door.

"To anyone."

"No. Not anyone." Fischer smiled then, a smile devoid of all life. "Only an Eldian bitch would care about these devils. And an Eldian bitch is just what you are."