Page 60 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Her whole body swelling with aggression, she bared her fangs and hissed. "Who are you?"

"I'm here to help. Veskar sent me."

"Where is he?"

Lifting his hands to show her that he wasn't armed, Toven smiled again. "Veskar, i.e., Emmett, is a spiritual guy, not a fighter."

Jade narrowed her eyes at him. "That face of yours is too pretty to be human. What are you? And why do you carry a child on your back?"

"I'm not a child," Mia said. "I'm his mate."

Jade's eyes didn't shift from Toven's. "You're a god," she stated.

How did she know that just from looking at him?

"What makes you think that?"

She snorted. "I know one when I see one. I wondered what had happened to the gods. I thought that you either had left and gone home or that the humans had killed you all. Regrettably, I see that they didn't. Where have you been hiding?"

Toven had been prepared for Jade to be fearful and suspicious but not hateful.

"I came to help you, and you're spouting venom at me. I didn't do anything to hurt you or your people, so I don't know where that's coming from."

She tilted her head. "Were you born on Earth?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Because you are obviously ignorant about your history. Your parents either didn't tell you anything or they lied about their past. The gods like to rewrite history to make themselves look good."

Excitement rose in his chest. Could Jade finally shed light on his ancestors' history and where they'd come from?

But now was not the time for a history lesson.

"You're very fortunate that some of us survived. I'm here to free you from Igor's compulsion, and I'm the only one who can do that."

"Why would you do that for me?"

"He's a threat to us, and we want him eliminated, but if we attack, there would be many casualties, and we want to avoid that. We hope that once you're free from his compulsion, you can eliminate him for us."

Jade didn't look excited. She looked suspicious. "How do I know that I can trust you? Maybe you need me to get rid of him so you can take over? I prefer a rotten Kra-ell to a god in charge of my people and me."

"Is she for real?" Mia murmured. "She's nasty."

There was no way Jade hadn't heard Mia, but she didn't acknowledge her.

"You don't need to trust me," Toven said. "You contacted Veskar and asked for his help, but he doesn't have what it takes to help you. Fortunately, he has the support of my people. He asked us to do what we could for you and the other females Igor had abducted and subjugated. I'm here to free your mind. What you do with that is up to you. If you don't want to take out the one who ordered the slaughter of every male in your tribe, that's your choice. We will find another way to mitigate the risk he represents."

Jade dropped her aggressive stance. "How do you know all that about me?" she asked in a much more amicable tone. "Veskar wasn't there when that happened, and I didn't include any of it in the fable."

"Three of your former tribe members joined our community. That's how we knew what happened to you."

"Who?"

"Veskar, who is mated to one of our females, and Vrog and Aliya, who found love in each other's arms."

He could have sworn that Jade's huge eyes misted with tears, but a blink later, it was gone.

"Thank the Mother that they survived." She frowned. "How do I know that you are telling me the truth? Maybe they are your prisoners?"