WE ARE RUINATION

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

"You're insane."

"Lovely," Revy sighed. She just finished explaining everything to Micah over rice and fish in her dining room, with the sun already setting and the candles flickering. They've been talking for hours, trading ideas and bewildered comments.

But underneath all that banter, she had successfully managed to create and explain her plan to Micah.

He was gaping at her. "You want me... to... what?"

"Seduce a royal of Lieru," she said again, calmly. "Or win their favour, enough for them to consider a peace treaty and some sort of trading negotiation."

"You are insane." Micah shook his head, bewildered. He was still eating his fish, still very careful about the little bones. He had a mouthful of rice in his hand a glass of water in the other. "Has anyone ever said that to you? You are insane."

"Thank you," Revy sighed. She leaned back in her chair, wiping grease off her fingers. "Compliment well appreciated."

"And aside from that... you want to marry this Mahalia girl? Really?"

"Yes," she said. Revy rolled her eyes at him. "We were just discussing that. Certainly, you weren't zoning out for most of it."

Micah shrugged. He ate the mouthful of rice and drank water. "I wish I was zoning out, actually. You are a snivelling bitch."

She sighed.

"Hey, don't get me wrong, father is the biggest bitch among us."

"Thank you, Micah."

He smiled at her dumbly and rolled his eyes. "Really, Revy," he took a bigger portion of her fish when he ran out, "you want the throne... that badly?"

"Yes," she said.

"Is it because of that deal you had with mother?"

"Of course it's because of that deal I had," Revy murmured. "But it's become so much more than just that."

"Oh?" Micah was picking around the fish for little bones. "Really?"

"Where do you think I sneak off to?"

"A woman's bed?"

Exasperated, Revy sent some of her fire to burn his hair. He yelped. "Not often."

"Revy, really, remember that one time you were in my rooms—"

She sighed. "We aren't talking about that."

"—with a girl and," Micah looked up at her pointedly, "you were—"

"That's enough."

"Really just about to—"

"Micah!"

He laughed heartedly, rolling his eyes and drinking gulps of water. "I'm teasing you. But I haven't really forgiven you for that."

"It was dark," she murmured. "And I was tipsy."

"In my rooms? With a girl?"

"Can you shut up, Micah?" Revy looked him in the eye. It was a look she gave to people who challenged her, who got on her nerves, to tell them she was this close to breaking his neck.

But to Micah, it made him howl with laughter. He choked on his rice and laughed loudly while coughing, his face flushing and his hand coming down to slap the table. Repeatedky.

"Oh, you're making a mess!" she chided, trying to hold back a smile. "Look! Your rice is getting everywhere!"

"Your... your face when I caught you!" he laughed, shaking his head and doubling over. "Fuck, you were like—" He redid his own version of it. "Yes, yes harder, fuck—MICAH?" Big, loud, and chaotic belly laughs. Micah always seemed to glow when he got like this, the embodiment of a loud and overly-enthusiastic sun.