[Back home, he might have made a game of this; might have dragged it out, enjoyed the cat and mouse. But this was not home, something that was reinforced whenever he heard 'queen'. It was ridiculous. He'd been born when America was already independent of the English monarchy, and after becoming what he was, he was less inclined to bend a knee to anyone. Not even the progenitors of his species who were just as sadistic as he was.

So he was trying to play nice. He'd heard things. Interesting things, but he wanted to know just how real the consequences were before he started accruing them.

Which meant that for now, she was safe.

For now.

Not that he was going to tell her that, of course. That took away the fun.]

Ah, the valiant self-sacrificing type. My brother would love you. You'd probably fall for the brooding five-head too. I'm here because I'm here. I'm not looking to be anyone's hero. That ain't me. That's never been me. I'm okay with that. What gets tiring is the insistence that I could be if I wanted to. I don't.