She was on board. Trap set. He grinned. He spread his fingers out, reaching to brush them over her throat again as a promise. "I have to get them excited, Big Blue." He flexed his fingers, withdrawing his hand again completely. "But I can't do it alone. I need you."
This was the appeal. Get her to believe he needed her. That she would be indulging him. Let it feel like a power play for her and not the opposite for him. Sparrow could rule on his own but to make Emilie think he needed a queen--yes. Much better. Kept her out of his hair and she was the only Ghoul thus far he'd felt needed watching.
Well. Her and the noisy one.
"I don't do 'powerless' well. I was born to be a king." He reached into his pocket, this time producing a ring styled like a crown. "But there's no king without a queen, nena. I can only do so much. These people are much more yours than they are mine." That wouldn't be true for much longer. The junkies could be gotten rid of. And then what was left over would be all his.
"Come play with me, Big Blue. Be the queen so I can be the king. Let's show the surface dwellers what we can do." He dangled the ring out in front of her. "There's a government supply run. I know when it's coming through again. I have tire spikes. And I have a plan. We'll kill the driver and the guards, take their precious supplies."
He grinned wider and this was a much uglier, much more brutal thing. "Leave them bodies and a promise that it will happen again. Play with me, Big Blue. Be my equal. My better. This is our world now. Let's take it and make them see."