`` then i may see maximus and lily again , now , '' temeraire said jubilantly , and would not wait , but insisted that they go at once : they had scarcely set down outside the barren clearing where maximus slept , before berkley came striding out to them and seizing laurence by the arms nearly shook him , saying ferociously , `` for god 's sake , say it is true , and not some damned fairy-tale , '' and he turned aside and covered his face when laurence gave his assent .