She shrinks in towards herself; it does not matter that his touch is gentle and his manner unthreatening. He means her no harm. She hates this.

"No one is safe until I am dead," she says sharply. "I wasn't made to be safe, I was made to give life. They will use me for it, and turn me into a monster, and then I will kill them, because I will be a monster. That will teach them to create things like me. Afterwards, some one will break me, and free what is inside. That's all. There is no need for calm—I know what's going to happen to me."

She shudders violently, and her left eye, puffy and swollen, leaks molten gold. "My death is the promise of the universe. What are you going to do? You'll have to wait to kill me, but if you want my lifeblood, take it now, now."