Page 62 of Dark Gambit Reliance

Veskar chuckled. "Tom is the pompalo, and you are the dorga. He's a good guy. You can trust him."

"One last thing. Why does he carry a woman on his back?"

Perhaps it wasn't the most important question to ask, but it was so unusual and so un-god-like that she had to know the reason.

"She's his mate, but that's not why he brought her along. He is a powerful compeller, and she enhances his power. Together, they can free your mind from Igor's compulsion and with no adverse side effects. Without her, it will take longer and be more painful."

Compulsion was a rare talent among the gods. They had other mind manipulation powers that were even more impressive than compulsion, but the gods’ ruling family had it in addition to the other talents, which was what had probably made them the rulers from time immemorial.

Tom must be related to them, one of the thousands of descendants of the Eternal King.

Things might have changed over the many centuries that had passed since she'd left, and perhaps the Eternal King was no more, or maybe he'd been long gone even before that and they had a new king who had assumed the same title. It was impossible to know the truth about the gods. They were masters of misinformation, shaping it in any which way that benefited them and their self-image.

Tom might be full of bluster.

If he was more powerful than Igor, he wouldn't have to convince her to cooperate with him. He could just compel her to kill Igor and skip over the pretense of being her people's savior.

"Thank you, Veskar, and may the Mother bless you. I knew that you'd find a clever way to tell me whether I could trust Tom even if you were their captive or under compulsion. You've earned your place in the fields of the brave."

"May the Mother help you fight for your freedom. Be well, Jade."

Jade ended the call and handed the device back to the god. "Veskar assured me that you are a good guy. Let's talk." She sat on the ground and assumed the lotus position.

When he did the same, Mia tapped his shoulder. "Can you put me down? I'd rather sit next to you."

"Sorry, love, but I can't. We need to be ready to flee."

Jade nodded. "No one is patrolling right now, and other hunters usually don't venture this far, but you never know."

"Fine." Mia let out a breath. "What did Emmett tell you that convinced you?"

"It was an old Kra-ell proverb. It conveyed that I can trust Tom. Veskar is a smart male."

The thing was, she still didn't trust the god. Veskar was a hybrid who was born on Earth. He didn't know their history and didn't realize how duplicitous the gods were.

"Let's assume that I can kill Igor once I'm free. What's next?"

"You can take over as the head of the compound, and we will enter negotiations for peaceful coexistence between our people and hopefully cooperation as well."

"Sounds good to me, provided that you can actually release me."

"Let's do it." Tom looked into her eyes. "You no longer have to obey Igor's commands in any way. You are free to act and talk as you will."

Jade felt the easing in her mind, the lightness in her chest, but she didn't trust the feeling. She'd resisted Igor's compulsion over the years. She'd talked freely and done things that he didn't allow, but what she couldn't do was run away or kill him.

Tom smiled. "Give it a try."

"He didn't have complete control over me, and I talked freely before. But I couldn't leave, and I couldn't kill him."

"Can you kill him now?" Tom asked.

She shook her head. "He can freeze me with one word."

"I have a solution for that." Tom pulled a small box from his pocket and opened it. "Those are translating earpieces, but they have been modified so they completely block outside voices. The machine voice you'll hear will repeat whatever Igor says, but it will filter the compulsion. If you wear your hair down, it will be invisible."

When she reached for the box, Tom shook his head. "Not yet. I'll give it to you when we part."

She really wanted those devices, but wearing them in Igor's presence was a death sentence, even if she managed to sneak them past the guards, which wasn't likely. They conducted very thorough searches.