Page 82 of Dark Gambit: The Play

Then what were they?

Marcel's glowing eyes and exceptional night vision could be some strange manifestation of a paranormal talent, or, as she'd suspected all along, he and the others were like the Kra-ell. They looked human, but so did some of the hybrids. Except, none of the Kra-ell hybrids were blond like Marcel. The dark coloring of the pureblooded Kra-ell was dominant.

"Are you a different kind of Kra-ell?"

"In essence, yes."

Sofia's breath caught in her throat.

Marcel uncorked the wine and poured it into two glasses. "We are the descendants of the mythological gods, who we suspect came from the same place as the Kra-ell. Another hypothesis is that the gods and the Kra-ell have a common ancestor. We are genetically similar, and both species are compatible with humans."

Her heart beating at double speed, Sofia emptied the wine down her throat. "In what way are you similar? And who are the mythological gods you are referring to?"

"I know that you didn't attend regular school, but to be accepted to the university, you must have been taught the regular school curriculum." He opened the two boxes and pushed one toward her.

"I can't eat." She pushed it away. "Are you talking about the Greek pantheon?"

"The Greek, the Roman, the Norse, and many others have their roots in the Sumerian, as does the Bible. They are all talking about the same gods. Those stories are mainly fantasies, but they are based on real people." He smiled. "My ancestors."

"Why are you telling me this now? What has changed?"

"I'll get to that in a moment." He pushed his box away as well and leaned to take her hand. "You noticed that my eyes glow, right?"

Sofia nodded.

"I also have fangs. But my fangs are not for drinking blood like the Kra-ell's. They are to inject venom. Did you notice that you black out after we make love?"

Her other hand flew to her neck. "Yes."

"That's because of my bite. My venom contains a powerful euphoric and an aphrodisiac, and it's responsible for the strings of orgasms you've been enjoying, as well as for the floaty, dreamy feeling that followed them."

It was just like Marcel to deliver his little lecture on the benefits of his venom as if he was explaining the operating manual of some gadget he'd developed.

She shook her head. "Why can't I remember you biting me?" She rubbed a spot on her neck. "Was it here?"

Nodding, he reached with his finger and tapped the other side of her neck. "I bit you here too. You can't remember it because I thralled you to forget it. Remember what I told you about my special ability to make you forget things that happened and remember things that didn't?"

"Like the necklace that you bought your ex-girlfriend, only it wasn't a necklace, but something else that you refused to tell me."

"Correct. But it's also not an ability that’s reserved just for me. Nearly all immortals can do that, just as nearly all Kra-ell can compel."

Sofia's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach. When she'd suspected that Marcel wasn't entirely human, it hadn't crossed her mind that he might be long-lived.

He wouldn't want to tie himself to a woman who was going to get old in a couple of decades, while he still looked as young as he was now.

Was he young, though?

"Immortals? Is that what you call yourselves?" She couldn't keep the bitter tone from her voice.

"We are immortal. We can be killed, but it's difficult to do, and if no disaster befalls us, we can live forever. Our bodies don't age, they don't get sick, and we have phenomenal self-repairing capabilities."

65

MARCEL

Marcel had a feeling that he was botching it. He'd prepared his speech while waiting for his takeout to be packaged, and he'd thought he had it covered, but Sofia's response wasn't what he'd expected.

She wasn't excited.