Page 13 of Dark Gambit: The Play

"She's cried herself to sleep." Marcel sighed. "It's not her fault, you know. She was compelled to do this." He lifted his eyes to Julian's. "Am I a fool to feel sorry for her?"

"You're not." Julian clapped him on the back. "I would be too if she was my potential mate."

Marcel's back stiffened. "She's not my mate. She's human."

"A human with a paranormal ability. I'm sure the thought that she's a Dormant has crossed your mind."

It had, but he hadn't allowed himself to hope, and in retrospect, it had been a wise decision. An even wiser decision would have been to stay away from her when he'd encountered the block in her mind.

"It would be too much of a coincidence for the human spy sent by a Kra-ell leader to be a descendant of the gods."

Julian smiled. "On the contrary. First of all, that's the Fates' mode of operation. They like to orchestrate those seemingly random encounters. And secondly, there are Mey and Jin, who have Kra-ell genetics. We postulate that the Kra-ell and the gods came from the same stock, so we might feel toward the Kra-ell the same affinity we feel for Dormants and other immortals."

"Sofia is not a hybrid. She's fully human."

"Right." Julian frowned. "Still, she might be the daughter of a hybrid. Maybe Jade's captor doesn't prohibit his hybrid males from impregnating humans like she did. Although, from what we know about the Kra-ell, their second generation cannot be activated. Emmett bit Margaret while having sex with her, but he failed to induce her transition."

"Maybe the Kra-ell and the gods are not compatible that way. Perhaps if he'd bitten a Kra-ell Dormant, he would have induced her transition."

Julian pursed his lips. "There is also another option, the one that Emmett kidnapped Peter for. Maybe only immortal males' venom has what it takes to induce transition, and we can do that for our Dormants and for theirs."

Marcel snorted. "I hope that's not the case, and if it is, that Jade's captor never finds out about it."

"Are you sure? What if you could induce Sofia? Wouldn't you want that?"

Marcel swallowed. "I don't know how I feel about her right now."

"I think you do." Julian regarded him with a smirk lifting one side of his mouth. "I'll text you when the machine is ready."

9

SOFIA

"Time to wake up." Marcel's warm hand rested on Sofia's shoulder. "The doctor is waiting for you."

It felt as if she'd fallen asleep only minutes ago, drifting off into blissful oblivion, and she didn't enjoy the glum reality rushing into her mind.

"I'm awake." She pushed the blanket off. Except for shoes, she was still fully dressed, but she urgently needed to visit the bathroom. "Give me a couple of moments to freshen up."

"No problem." He took a step back. "I'll wait for you in the living room."

After taking care of her bladder, Sofia stood in front of the vanity mirror and winced at what was reflected in it. It wasn't just the messy hair, the red-rimmed eyes, and the dark circles under them. It was the other image that was superimposed over her face, an ugly evildoer with twisted features.

She knew that it was just her imagination and not some strange paranormal talent. That had been a lie, her ticket to get into the retreat. She wasn't a bad person. She'd just been used to do a bad thing, and it made her feel bad about herself.

The worst part was hurting Marcel's feelings.

He'd admitted to having trust issues, especially with women, and she'd proven him right.

Splashing cold water on her face helped with the eyes, and brushing a comb through her hair helped tame it into a presentable updo, but there was nothing she could do about the second image other than get rid of the guilt.

Not as easy as it sounded.

When she was ready, Sofia walked into the living room. "Do I need to bring anything with me? A change of clothes, maybe?"

Marcel shook his head. "If Julian finds a tracker and needs to operate, you might need a nightdress, but I can come back here and get it for you."

That was an odd answer. Unless the implant was in her brain, its removal wouldn't require an overnight stay in the hospital. What the heck were they planning to do to her?