MY CRUEL PROTECTOR
"The Sovereign is focusing all my processing power on the pregnancy. I’m... I’m going offline."
He didn't hesitate. He scooped me up into his arms, his hold so tight I could barely breathe. It was that obsessive, suffocating protection I had grown to love and fear in equal measure.
"I don't care if you go offline," he hissed, his eyes scanning the darkening sky for drones. "I am the Shield. I am the only firewall you need. I will burn every city on this map before I let them touch either of you."