Page 20 of Dark Princess Ascending

"It's quite simple. First, we need to test them for dormancy like we should have done a long time ago." She lifted her head to look at him. "Those who aren't Dormants should be released to live their lives as free citizens, and those who transition will be welcomed into our community."

"It's not as simple as you make it sound," he said. "They're all paired up into couples. We can't exactly suggest the women have sex with random immortals in hopes of inducing their transitions."

Amanda snorted. "Why not?"

"Amanda!" Syssi looked scandalized.

"What? Human couples aren't as exclusive as immortals. Some of them might be perfectly okay with it once we explain the situation."

Kian rubbed his temples. "We can start with the males, who are easier to induce, but when they start transitioning, we will need a way to get them to a clan doctor as quickly as possible. That means either bringing them here, taking them to the keep, or sending part of our medical staff to Safe Haven."

"It was always the plan to test people at Safe Haven eventually," Amanda pointed out. "Maybe Merlin and Ronja wouldn't mind relocating there for a few weeks."

"Or we could bring just the males to the keep for testing," Syssi suggested.

Amanda shook her head. "That's not fair to the women. They should at least have the option. Explain the situation to them and let them decide. Those who refuse to have sex with anyone other than their partner will have their memories thralled away, and those who agree will be compelled to keep quiet."

"That's actually not a bad plan." Kian pulled out his phone. "Although, I hate to put them in that position. Imagine if someone told you that you had to choose between being unfaithful to your husband and losing your chance at becoming immortal."

Amanda cast him a hard look. "I would be much angrier if that someone decided that he wasn't going to tell me in order to save me the heartache and deprive me of my chance. In fact, I would be so livid that I could resort to violence."

He shifted his gaze to Syssi, but to his surprise, she nodded. "Amanda is right."

"Well, if you both agree, who am I to argue." He typed a message to Eleanor, outlining the suggestion.

"Mama!" Allegra called. "Castle broke!"

"That's okay, sweetheart," Syssi called back. "You can build another one."

The response from Eleanor came back quickly:Will discuss options with participants after government contracts are dissolved and proceed from there.

"Eleanor is on board," Kian reported.

"Of course she is," Amanda said. "It's the most practical solution."

Kian watched as Allegra determinedly began piling up sand for a new castle, and Evie tried to help her by digging out sand and adding a few grains to the pile while losing most of it by just lifting her toy shovel.

"Some of them have interesting abilities," he said. "One of them had a weak telekinetic ability, so she could be useful for your research into Morelle's talent."

"Speaking of Morelle," Syssi said, "did you notice how exhausted she seemed?"

"It was an intense situation," Kian pointed out.

"It was more than that." Syssi pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "The expenditure of energy cost her." She turned to Amanda. "When you test her, be careful. I have a feeling that she might burnherself out by trying too hard. Don't push her, and don't let her push herself."

"I'll be careful," Amanda promised. "Having another telekinetic to compare her to will be very useful. I can measure the energy expenditure on the other female."

Kian watched his daughter abandon her castle-building efforts to help Evie dig a hole. "Sofia's ability is much weaker than Morelle's, but studying it might still provide insights."

"If Sofia transitions successfully," Amanda pointed out, "her ability might get stronger." She grinned. "It will be fun to have two strong telekinetic talents work together. They could throw a ball to each other without using their hands."

Kian laughed. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Sofia might choose to stay faithful to her boyfriend. Besides, we need to focus on getting through this weekend's events first."

"Speaking of events," Amanda said with a sly glance at Syssi, "we were just discussing Allegra's upcoming birthday party."

Kian recognized the gleam in his sister's eyes. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing too extravagant," Amanda assured him. "Just...special."