The Edifice

25. Prosthetics and Politics

He's not human. Not by a longshot. Only his thick curls and intoxicating scent remain the same, but something there's almost something more in the muted gold of his eyes. Something ethereal in the forest of his skin.

"You're beautiful."

I feel my cheeks begin to burn even as the words slip out, but it's even more awkward to pull away from him now. There's something in this unlikely display of vulnerability from Lee that fills me with the urge to reassure him, especially as truer words have never left my lips before.

To his credit, Lee doesn't brush the words off like I was expecting. If anything, he seems as shocked as I am to hear my words.

He grips my elbow tightly as we both soberly acknowledge how little distance there is between us. Lee's lips move wordlessly as he tries to find a response, the gap between us closing just that little bit more, imperceptibly.

We're going to kiss.

Alcohol and fading adrenaline rush to my swimming head as we sway closer, Lee's eyes searching mine with a wild desperation. If it's possibly to subconsciously communicate my attraction to him more than I've already let slip, I do it.

Lee finds whatever answer he was looking for in my gaze.

He brushes me aside, reaching for one of the shot glasses on the table. He slams the liquor back and chases it down with fierce gulp of wine, gasping for air.

I fall back against the leather of the booth, realizing with a jolt that I'd been holding my breath too. My fingers shake as I reach for my own glass of wine, forcing down a few hurried sips of my own.

"Lee..."

"There's something else you should know, too," Lee interjects. He's refilling his glass before I even notice he'd finished it. "About why that Zagan kid attacked us."

Not about why you won't kiss me?

"Yes?" I ask, trying to keep the disappointment out of my voice.

"I told you the Edifice had its own world wars, in sync with those of Earth. I didn't tell you why."

Great. Just to rub salt in the wound of rejection. A history lesson.

"The Edifice is more like a caricature of Earth, not an identical copy. In fact, the total landmass is probably just under the total of Europe. The Fair Folk tend to have a harder time procreating, but they also live longer by centuries, so the population is close to three billion." Lee finishes his second glass just as quickly. "Resources aren't a problem, and the Fair Folk are pretty much past the point of having defined species at the moment... But, every so often some group tries to federalize. Poorly, usually."

"I mean, last time I checked, Europe had countries, right?"

"Last time I checked, Europe was a lot older than the Edifice, with established lineages and a lot less cultures dependent on harvesting souls and eating human prey." Lee sighs. "Look, Olivia. Nobody here ever got a choice when the Edifice was created. One moment every single magical creature was ripped off the face of Earth and stuffed away here. All for the sake of humanity. Very few here have been forgiving of that."

"But you said there was no way a human could have done something like that."

"Of course not. But whatever God or angel or whatever did, did for people without magic." Lee winces at his next words. "Politically, we have somewhat of an... elected dictatorship. There's no military, just a single Potentate powerful enough to melt any movements that threaten the peace."

"Jesus, Lee," I mutter nervously, glancing over my shoulder. I don't know what I expect. Secret police to invade this packed-out bar? Someone to arrest us for talking sedition? But Lee looks remarkable relaxed. "You tell me this now? Like Mussolini, or what?"

"What?! No! God. No, Olivia. I keep saying, this isn't Earth. The Potentate is sworn in. Like an actual, soul-binding oath. Not the ridiculous pinky promises you people make on Earth. I'm trying to say it's mostly peaceful here. With the exception of people like Zagan."

So Zagan's deranged rant about humanity is the equivalent of some extremist twitter troll.

I keep the comparison to myself. Both because I don't want another chastising for connecting Earth to the Edifice, but also because I don't think Lee would even know what I'd be talking about.

"So Zagan wants an Edifice without humans?"

"Well, he more likely wants to reverse the Edifice so his kind is on Earth instead, but that's never going to happen. So yes, he's attacking us for having travelled to and from Earth."

"But he said he did too." I ask, "Do you believe him? That he killed Bob- that he killed your father? Could he have done it?"

But it seems I've once again reached my limit with Lee's tolerance for personal conversation. He reaches into his jacket and pulls out his battered packet of cigarettes, toying with one as he finishes his drink right from the bottle. I watch him as he slowly drowns his feelings in silence, looking anywhere but back at me.