Lion Head Mesa shaduf [m]

A means to an end. Was that really all he was to Ramesses? Charles could feel the berries burn in his throat. He didn't want to be just that. Ramesses only wanted to expand his kingdom. He wanted Charles to go away. You want me to leave again? he asked, a bit of hurt sounding in his voice. He wanted to ask something else — what if I don't want that — but couldn't bear to say it.

I reward those who bring me things I cannot give myself, Charles. The way he spoke Charles' name sent a shiver through his spine. What kind of things? he asked, breathlessly, enthralled. He ignored what was said about the girl, for now; he did not care about the girl. She was only a means to an end; a means to the end of keeping his luxurious life. Ramesses? He was something else altogether, though what precisely the coywolf's hazed mind could not comprehend. Danger, perhaps.