Page 64 of Dark Gambit: The Play

For a change, he didn't react to the lack of honorific. "Yes." He motioned for her to join him on the couch.

"I'm not in my fertile cycle." She sat as far away from him as possible.

"I know. Can't I enjoy your company regardless of your fertility or lack thereof?"

She arched a brow. "I didn't know that you were a masochist."

He barked out a laugh, which was more frightening than if he had scowled at her. "If anything, I am a sadist. But I find your sharp mind and sharp tongue entertaining despite your sour attitude."

That was a first. He had never admitted his sadistic inclinations, but the truth was that she didn't think he was a sadist. Igor didn't take pleasure in anything other than power, and inflicting pain on the helpless was not a power play. He punished cruelly to set an example and scare others from daring to rebel in any way. He didn't derive pleasure from their pain, but he wasn't affected by it either. He just didn't care one way or another.

"What can I do for you?" Jade asked. "Or let's rephrase it. What do you want me to do for you?"

"I have a story that I think you will find interesting." He uncorked a bottle of some liqueur she didn't recognize, poured it into two glasses, and handed her one. "After you showed so much interest in Safe Haven, I got suspicious, and I sent a spy to investigate."

Jade forced her features to remain schooled and raised an eyebrow. "That must have been a colossal waste of money and resources. It's a silly spiritual retreat sham that swindles stupid humans out of their money. I was only interested in it because it has a treasure trove of material that I can use to teach the little ones about morals and striving to do their best. It's useless for sensible adults."

"Surprisingly, it turns out that there is more to it. The paranormal retreats that they started running were not just another product to enhance their portfolio. My spy discovered that a very well-funded organization purchased the resort, and they are running those paranormal retreats to find more humans with paranormal talents. She also discovered that they have several compellers in their community. Did you know that?"

She'd been shoring up her defenses in case she needed to lie to him, but she could honestly say that she hadn't known. "I had no idea. What do they need the paranormal talents for?"

"Sofia suspects that they are trying to breed an enhanced next generation of humans with paranormal abilities."

"Sofia? The girl who studies languages? That's who you sent to spy on them?"

He shrugged. "I needed someone with a solid human background in case they checked, and I needed someone with perfect English. She's also Valstar's granddaughter, so I figured she wasn't an entirely worthless human."

Not daring to even think about Emmett and how he was connected to the paranormal conspiracy Sofia had discovered, Jade decided to continue in that vein. "Are you worried about the enhanced humans?"

He regarded her with his penetrating gaze. "Should I be?"

"You tell me. What can those paranormals do?"

"They can compel, but Sofia reports that they are all weak, so they are not a threat to me." He kept looking into her eyes, but there was nothing to see.

Other than Emmett, who was no match for Igor, she hadn't known about compellers in Safe Haven. "Of course not." She grimaced. "You must be the most powerful compeller ever born. Are you related to the royals?"

She'd asked that before, but he'd never given her an answer.

Today wasn't any different.

"I told Sofia to stay as long as she can pull it off and find out what they are plotting over there. If they are only planning on producing a new crop of enhanced humans, I have nothing to worry about. But I want her to keep digging in case there is something more interesting going on."

"Maybe you should do the same." Jade threw the liquor down her throat. "Breed the most powerful Kra-ell with each other."

He chuckled. "Why do you think I tolerate you? You are a strong compeller in your own right. Our child would be unstoppable."

"Drova is not a compeller."

"Drova is a girl." He gripped the back of Jade's neck. "I'm still waiting for you to give me a son."

49

MARCEL

Kaia's call came a few minutes after Marcel had texted her. "Good morning, Marcel."

"Thanks for calling back."