No, Gabbar said, and suddenly Valve felt the white-hot tinge of his defiance lining the edges of her throat. This was not the same stallion she brought to the Dunes all those years ago. He was not who she had come to regard as a partner, a brother in arms and dutiful collaborator when it came to important matters. Instead, he challenged her.

She stiffened, the air around her growing volcanic in temperature, and she stared hard at the Arabian—her coal-black eyes dismantling him, piece by piece.

His words felt like betrayal and are especially cutting because he has announced, however subtly, that he does not trust her. He spoke as though he had forgotten that they won stewardship of this land together. He talked of a misplaced sense of superiority and petty internal strife, and Valve cannot help but notice the irony of such statements coming from his mouth at this precise time.

There are ten thousand spiteful and dangerous words she wanted to spit at Gabbar. She wanted to demand an explanation for his accusations. To remind him of how far he had come because of her. To correct his assumption that loyalty is based only bloodlines. To question whether or not he trusted her and why he spoke as if he were the sole leader of this place.

Instead, all she can say without malice is, “Fine.”

She would not make an effort to salvage their relationship, at least not now. The dark mare needed time alone again, to think and plan and approach this situation with more tact and repose. Gabbar had very much caught her off guard with his declarations and Valve did not appreciate feeling so disrupted.

With a deep breath, she soothed the stiffness in her stature and offered him another question, neatly feigning servitude.

“Is there anything else?”

VALVE
slenderman x black heart machine