Page 63 of Ensnared

“I wouldn’t have the slightest idea.”

“Think. Hydrogen’s the most basic element in the entire universe. Your hydrogen bomb is elemental science for us.”

Part of me hopes he’s right, because I really don’t want us to die. But part of me’s desperate for him to be wrong, because if our most powerful weapon does nothing to them. . .

Humanity is doomed.

When I wake up in the morning, Axel’s still here.

“I had your people make a few extra things for breakfast.” He points. “You look like you’ve lost some weight.”

I blink.

“And I’ve arranged for some other people to come in and fix the door and wall that were destroyed when you killed that strike blessed.”

“Gideon’s the one who’ll be freezing with that wall being exposed,” I say. “So why do you care?”

“You said he’s one of your five,” he says. “I have to keep him safe.” I can’t tell whether I’m imagining it or not, but he sounds almost like he’s being sarcastic.

Is it possible that he’s doing it specifically to torment Gideon? Gideon will hate having people in his room banging and whamming and cutting and sawing, enslaved humans who won’t even talk to him or acknowledge his presence. He’d vastly prefer to keep the makeshift wall I made with sheets of plastic and duct tape, even if it means he’s a little chilly.

“That’s a lot of food,” Gideon says as he walks into the family room. “It smells good.”

“It is good,” Axel says.

“You don’t eat,” I say.

“I do eat,” Axel argues. “I just don’t usually eat around you.”

“Don’t let us distract you,” Gideon says. “You can go eat wherever you usually do. Liz and I have a lot to catch up on.” His smile’s dismissive and self-assured.

Axel’s smile’s almost as bad, so smug that I wonder how he can bear it. “Don’t let me stop you from ‘catching up.’” He sits at the head of the table, his plate loaded up with bacon, eggs, and fruit. “Please.” He tosses his head. “Eat as much of our food as you want.”

Our. It’s literally the first time Axel has ever referred to anything as ours. He’s clearly doing it for show, but it works.

Gideon grits his teeth.

The two of them are like a pile of gasoline-soaked firewood, just waiting for a spark.

“Alright,” I say. “Well, I’d better get across the street and start working with the humans.”

“Humans?” Gideon perks up. “I can help.”

“Sure.” Axel’s smile widens. “You should join them.” He looks positively devilish. “Actually, now that I think about it, he’d make an excellent soldier—he said it himself. You should put him on the front lines to defend us.”

Gideon’s about to do something even dumber than the humans leading the attack on Houston and pick a fight with a dragon in his lair. If I leave, maybe Gideon can follow me. We need to escape this pressure cooker before it blows.

I hop up and head for the door.

“You haven’t eaten anything, Liz. Sit.” Axel’s words are light, but he’s not asking. If I ignore him, I might find out how good he is at ordering me to do things.

I make a U-turn and head for the kitchen, tossing things onto my plate without thinking. I lope over to the table and drag out the chair right next to Axel. Maybe that will mollify him. Hopefully Gideon will follow my lead and sit far on the other side of the table.

Fluff Dog, utterly unaware of what’s going on, is sitting where she always does, right at my feet, her eyes following my every movement like her tiny life depends on it.

Gideon’s right on my heels with an equally laden plate, but instead of sitting on the opposite end of the table, he sits right next to me. Then he makes it all worse by dropping an arm around the back of my chair.

Axel opens his mouth, probably to argue more, but he’s interrupted.