Page 3 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Eleanor snorted. "Good luck with that. Turner is smart, but he's not a miracle worker."

"Some say that he is, but we'll see. Did Marcel tell Sofia about her genetic potential?"

"He did, but he made a mess of it. The guy is not a smooth operator, and after Sofia told him about Valstar being so high up in Igor's organization, he started treating her like a suspect again, and she blew up. Given all the information she'd volunteered, it was uncalled for. I had to step in and calm things down. I took her on a long walk on the beach, explained that the clan is all about doing good things for humanity, about our efforts to free trafficking victims and rehabilitate them, and ended with explaining in more detail about immortals and Dormants. When I was done, she was all smiles and ready to get induced. I hope that Marcel didn't ruin all my good work with some other brain fart."

"Being suspicious is not a brain fart, but I know what you mean. Marcel is an engineer. Enough said."

She chuckled. "They are a special breed, aren't they? But as someone who is mated to the ultimate drama king, I sometimes long for the calm logic of the engineer types."

"Do I sense discontent?"

"Not at all. I love Emmett, and I'm very happy to have a man with flair. It's funny how atypical he is for a Kra-ell. Between the two of us, I'm more Kra-ell than he is."

"Hey, maybe you are Kra-ell," Syssi said. "You certainly have the look. You're tall, skinny, and your hair and eyes are dark. You are also a compeller."

Kian's brows took a deep dive. It hadn't occurred to him, but Syssi was onto something.

"Frankly, I don't care either way," Eleanor said. "But if I am descended from the Kra-ell, then the Kra-ell and the immortals must be really closely related for me to transition so quickly. I wasn't bonded to my inducer. I didn’t even have any feelings for him. He was just a hookup." She chuckled. "Given my compulsion ability, I actually suspect that I came from Toven's line. Maybe my grandmother was a naughty girl."

"I hope that your theory is the correct one," Syssi said quietly. "The Kra-ell are only long-lived, not immortal."

Eleanor let out a breath. "Even if I'm their descendant, a thousand years is a very long time, and my mate will enjoy a similar lifespan. Besides, in a thousand years, we will most likely figure out how to turn everyone immortal."

3

DARLENE

When Darlene woke up and opened her eyes, the sight that greeted her was not pleasant. The bedroom was in shambles. Eric was passed out on the bed and smelled as if he had showered in booze, yet she felt amazing.

As she remembered him tearing the bed apart, she sat up and gave the room a second look around. The bed frame was gone, but no evidence of splintered wood remained, and the mattress was somehow still supported and not on the floor. The pictures on the walls were hanging crookedly to some degree, the two bedside lamps were gone, and the dresser had been pushed aside, probably to vacuum the debris from under it.

It seemed that Eric had gotten much stronger during the days following his transition. When he was human, he couldn't have gotten free of the chains by demolishing the bed frame.

Was Max still around?

She lifted her hand to the spot on her neck where he'd bitten her and patted the skin. It wasn't tender, and there was no crusted blood or bumps where Max's fangs had penetrated her skin.

He'd bitten her through the nightgown, but Eric must have loosened the tie that had secured the high collar because the strings were hanging loose on both sides of the opening. Other than that, her nightgown was none the worse for wear, which was a miracle given what the bedroom looked like.

How had she survived it intact?

Darlene remembered the bed frame groaning as Eric had pulled on the chains, but then she'd found herself under him while the posts had toppled down.

"Oh, my God, Eric!" She tried to move him to his side so she could examine his back.

Those posts were massive. How was he sleeping on his back with fractured ribs?

"What?" he murmured sleepily.

"Wake up. You need Bridget to examine you."

"Why?" Eric cracked one eye open and then shielded it with his hand to protect it from the light streaming through the window.

"To check your back. The bedposts fell on you."

"I'm fine." He reached for her, pulling her against his body.

"Ugh, let go. You stink of booze."