Page 5 of Dark Awakening: Hidden Currents

"I apologize for calling on a Saturday, but something came up during breakfast that I thought I should share with you without delay. It's about William's detector possibly missing biologically based trackers in Ell-rom and Morelle."

Kian tensed. "Is that possible? Do you know of trackers that are biologically based?"

"No, but I'm not privy to the technology of the devices inside of me and my teammates. Ell-rom made a valid point when he asked why our bodies didn't reject the trackers. And when I said that they might be designed to match our DNA, it occurred to Dagor that Ell-rom and his sister might have been implanted with trackers featuring a similar technology. Their bodies would have rejected the type of devices the Kra-ell had."

If Aru was right, it could mean that the Eternal King knew of Ell-rom's survival, which was a monumental disaster. But how likely was it that the twins had been implanted with specially designed biologically based trackers seven thousand years ago?

Not very likely.

Kian felt the tension leave his shoulders. "I don't think we have anything to worry about. When the twins were smuggled onto the settler ship, they pretended to be Kra-ell. If they had any trackers in or on them, they would have to be the old style, the same as the Kra-ell. Their bodies would have rejected them immediately, and they would have been stuck somewhere on their clothing. William's wand would have detected them."

There was a pause on the other end of the line, and then Aru released a breath. "Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. We didn't think it through."

"No worries. But to be safe, I'll ask Bridget to put Ell-rom through a scanner."

"Thank you. There was another thing I wanted to talk to you about, but it's not urgent, so we can discuss it on Monday. Enjoy your Saturday."

Kian was curious, but with Allegra waiting for him to play with her, he could contain his curiosity for now.

Ending the call, he slipped the phone back into his pocket and went back inside, where Syssi and Allegra were already on the floor in the family room with an array of toys spread out before them.

"Is everything alright?" Syssi asked.

Kian joined her and Allegra on the floor. "Aru and the penthouse gang came up with a hypothesis that Ell-rom and Morelle might have biologically designed trackers inside of them that William's device had missed. I explained why that's highly unlikely and promised to ask Bridget to scan Ell-rom to make sure."

Syssi studied his face for a moment. "Dismissing a concern out-of-hand is unlike you. You always think of the worst possible scenario."

He snorted. "In this case, the worst possible scenario is so bad that I'd rather not entertain it."

4

ELL-ROM

"You should have seen the monasteries in Tibet," Margo said after Aru left to talk to Kian on the terrace. "The architecture was beautiful, but the sense of tranquility made the experience unique."

Ell-rom tried to recall details of the temple he and Morelle had lived in. He'd seen a few glimpses of it in his dreams, but he hadn't sensed tranquility. If anything, there had been a constant state of stress, of alert in the face of danger. But then those might have been the moments that had been etched onto his memory.

Perhaps the rest of the time, the temple had been peaceful.

Jasmine leaned forward to look at Margo. "It's funny how it feels like the trip was a lifetime ago. And the life I lived before going with freaking Alberto to Cabo seems like it belonged to someone else."

At the mention of the lowlife who had planned to harm Jasmine, Ell-rom's venom glands swelled, and his fangs started to elongate, which just served to irritate him.

These natural weapons he had been gifted with were useless because he couldn't stand the taste of blood, and the thought of biting anyone made him nauseous.

The depressing thought had his fangs receding and his glands deflating in no time, and he had a feeling that if he were erect, that would have deflated as well.

What kind of a male was he if he couldn't provide his mate with the pleasure of a venom bite or even use his Mother-given natural weapons to protect her?

Perhaps he should reconsider the priesthood. It seemed like he was much better suited for that than anything else.

Then another thought surfaced, more disturbing than the previous one. If he was indeed capable of killing with just a thought, it was possible that the unique ability had arisen in him to compensate for his inability to bite.

Whatever had made it manifest, though, he needed to control his emotions better or he might harm someone unintentionally.

"That's because a lot has happened during and after." Gabi patted Jasmine's shoulder. "You discovered immortals, learned that you might be one yourself, saved Ell-rom and his sister, and fell in love. No wonder you feel like years have passed. I felt the same way when I met Aru. Within days, the life I had lived before seemed like ancient history."

Margo snorted. "Same here, but for me, it was the trip to Tibet that made everything else seem like it was ages ago."