Page 29 of Dark Princess Emerging

"Gentlemen," Aru said. "Please look at me for a moment. You've had a routine medical examination in preparation for your upcoming assignment, and everything went well. You'll remember coming to a private clinic, but not the exact location."

The men's eyes glazed slightly as the thrall took effect. Even Marcus fell silent.

"Hildegard will accompany you back to your hotel to monitor your recovery," Aru finished.

Given that the procedure had been simple on their end, it wasn't really necessary for the nurse to accompany them, but Merlin thought it was prudent in case they experienced discomfort or their bodies rejected the implants for some reason. No one wanted them to seek treatment in a human hospital or clinic.

"I'll make sure they rest properly," Hildegard assured him with a wink.

Dagor appeared in the doorway. "The car's ready whenever you are."

As Hildegard helped the men to their feet and guided them toward the exit, Marcus seemed to shake off some of the thrall's effect. "So, what did you say about dinner?"

"Let's see how you're feeling in a few hours," she said.

After they'd gone, Dagor turned to Aru with an expectant grin. "Let's celebrate with a bottle of whiskey or two upstairs and then start packing."

"Not yet," Aru said. "I don't want to jinx it, as the humans say. I want to wait until they're actually on the plane on their way to Tibet before I start celebrating."

"Can we at least do the drinking part?" Dagor asked. “The packing can wait."

"We can do that." Aru clapped him on the back. "And once they are in the air, we can drink some more."

18

ROB

Rob peeked over the rim of his laptop screen, watching as another group of well-wishers left the clinic, their animated chatter carrying across the village square. The celebration for Jasmine's transition had drawn a small crowd, but things were settling back to normal, and it was time for his daily lunch date with Gertrude.

Well, it was more like a lunch delivery than a date, but it was just as sweet.

As usual, he'd ordered two cappuccinos and two turkey club sandwiches with pickles and mayo but no mustard, which was exactly how she liked them.

It was such a simple thing, bringing lunch to someone you cared about, but it meant so much to Gertrude. The way her face lit up when she saw him walk in every day at noon made his heart swell anew with emotion each time.

The thought triggered an unwelcome comparison to Lynda, and he tried to push it away, but memories had a way of intruding when least wanted, and suddenly he was back in their house,watching Lynda sprawled on the couch, phone pressed to her ear, jabbering with one of her countless vacuous friends and ignoring him.

And that was when she had been at home.

Most of the time, he'd returned to an empty house, and if he cared to be honest with himself, he had been relieved because he hadn't needed to deal with her and had a few moments of peace and quiet for himself.

Even though she didn't work, dinner had never been ready for him, not even takeout or delivery. Lynda only ordered food when she was in the mood for something, and since she was constantly dieting, that hadn't happened often either.

He'd rationalized it then, made excuses for her. She was busy with an active social life, and he had no right to make demands. Now, with distance and perspective, he could see how stupid he had been. How he'd settled for scraps of affection because Lynda was hot, and she'd convinced him that he was so damn lucky to score a woman like her.

The fault was his for having believed her, for thinking he wouldn't find anyone better, for buying into the notion she was the best he could ever hope for.

Stupid.

How could a smart guy like him be so stupid?

Gertrude was nothing like Lynda. She looked at him like he mattered, listened when he talked about his work and shared with him her own stories and dreams. She made him feel valued just for being himself.

He was falling in love with her.

The realization wasn't new, but it still scared him. The words sat heavily on his tongue sometimes when they were together, wanting to spill out, but fear held them back. Fear of being wrong again and misreading signals.

After all, he'd thought that Lynda loved him in her own way.