Page 33 of Dark Gambit: The Play

"I know that he keeps everyone under his control with heavy compulsion, and that's not right. But you could be even worse. I could be trading one ruthless dictator for another."

Toven turned to look at Julian's tablet. "Should I tell her what we know about Igor and his compound?"

Marcel was surprised that Toven was asking Kian's permission. The god didn't strike him as someone who bowed to anyone's authority.

Julian nodded. "Except for what we know about you know who."

Toven nodded and turned back to Sofia. "Perhaps once you realize how much we already know, it will make it easier for you. We are well familiar with the Kra-ell, and generally speaking, we don't mean them harm."

Sofia gasped. "How do you know about them?

"We have three hybrids living in our community."

She looked shocked. "How did you find them? And how did they end up in your community?"

"They were discovered through their paranormal abilities," Julian said, probably repeating what Kian or Turner told him in the earpiece. "The retreat is not the only way we find new people with paranormal talents."

Toven nodded. "The three people who joined us told us a very disturbing story about what happened to their tribe."

Sofia swallowed. "What happened to it?"

"You might not believe me if I just tell you, so I'll start with a few leading questions. You are probably aware that many more boys are born to the Kra-ell than girls."

She nodded.

"On average, for every four boys, only one girl is born, and yet I'm guessing that the ratio between adult pure-blooded Kra-ell males and females in your compound is not four or five to one. Am I right?"

"It's not. Their numbers are almost equal."

"Doesn't that strike you as odd?"

"It does." She swallowed again. "Do they get rid of the boys? There are more hybrid males than females, though. So maybe they only do that with the purebloods."

"They don't," Toven said. "They raid other Kra-ell tribes, slaughter the males, and capture the females. That's how Igor evens out the numbers."

22

SOFIA

Were they telling her the truth?

Sofia couldn't deny that he'd been spot on. Then again, Tom had said that he was much more than a compeller, so maybe he was a mind reader as well?

But if he could read minds, why did he need to interrogate her? He could have bypassed Igor's compulsion by just reaching into her mind and plucking the thoughts out of there. She wasn't prohibited from thinking about all the things she was forbidden to reveal, but evidently Tom couldn't do that.

Jade's loathing of Igor made much more sense now. If he'd slaughtered the males of her tribe and kidnapped her and the other females, she was probably plotting his murder day in and day out.

Hell, if she were in Jade's position, Sofia would do that too, and she was not nearly as vicious as that pureblooded female. The only thing keeping Igor alive was his compulsion power.

Tom hadn't mentioned Jade by name, but Sofia was sure he'd been talking about her and her tribe.

Jade was a natural leader, and Sofia had noticed that she hung out with several of the pureblooded and hybrid females, especially with Kagra, whom she referred to as her second.

Now it finally made sense.

Kagra didn't have any special position in Igor's organization, but she must have been Jade's second-in-command before they'd been captured.

"Did Jade figure out that your paranormal retreat was somehow connected to the other Kra-ell? Was that why she was spending so much time on the Safe Haven website?"