Page 14 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Mind

The only way her husband could get rid of her without losing the support of the leading families was if he found out her role in the resistance and could prove it.

Her mistake had been giving El an heir, which she would not have done if she had known what was hiding beneath the façade her husband projected. Then again, if Ahn had never been born, his daughter would have never existed either, and Annani might be the only hope for the future of a free Anumati.

Ani sighed.

For a short period of time in Anumati's history, things were good, or as good as they could get with a vast population like theirs, and people practically worshiped her husband for bringing peace and prosperity to all while respecting personal freedoms and being mindful of the people's needs.

Not everything had been perfect, though, and the Kra-ell problem had been festering without most of the gods being aware of it, but things had started to deteriorate long before the Kra-ell rebellion, and they had continued getting worse long after it had been quelled.

Dagor

As Dagor watched Frankie walk across the deck, he couldn't help the smile that spread over his face.

Her excitement was evident in the quickness of her steps, the sparkle in her eyes, and the smile on her face. He wondered whether she was excited about seeing him or about the excursion to Tehuacalco that he was starting to have second thoughts about.

She wore khaki cargo pants and a black T-shirt, but that was where her safari look ended. Her feet were clad in a pair of flip-flops, and he suspected the reason for the inappropriate footwear was that she hadn't packed anything more suitable.

After all, visiting Tehuacalco hadn't been on the itinerary, and for a good reason.

Dagor hadn't been aware of how volatile the area was. Lawlessness ruled, and the criminals were armed to the teeth and cruel in the extreme. The vile barbarian acts served to cow the local population and prevent opposition in any form.

He was confident in his ability to protect Frankie, and the large group of Guardians accompanying them could handle any human threat, but she was so fragile, and her life could be snuffed out too easily.

Regrettably, Aru had not allowed him to bring the disruptor or any of their other weapons, and the only ones who were armed were the Guardians.

He'd watched them gather around their leader and listened to the instructions they had been given. They seemed to know what they were doing and were capable of protecting the civilians in the group.

"Hi." Frankie smiled up at him. "I didn't know what to bring. Were we supposed to pack lunch?"

It hadn't occurred to him because he could go without a meal until dinner tonight, but Frankie needed to eat at regular intervals.

"No one said anything about it." He pulled her in for a quick kiss on her lush lips just because he couldn't help himself. "I'll ask."

"That's okay." She patted his arm. "I know Max over there. I'll ask him." She left his side and sauntered over to the leader of the Guardians.

Wasn't Max the guy who had flirted with her by the Lido bar?

Jealousy surging in his chest, Dagor followed Frankie to the guy and stood behind her as she inquired about lunch arrangements.

"We didn't pack anything." Max turned to Kalugal, who was the organizer of the trip. "Do we need to bring food?"

Kalugal smiled. "No need. Luis is bringing water and snacks for us."

"Who is Luis?" Dagor asked.

"Our tour guide." Kalugal wrapped his arm around his mate's waist. "He's such a find. Originally, it was supposed to be just Jacki and me, my second-in-command with his mate, and a couple of Guardians, but when the group grew to twenty-two people, I called him, and he said that he would arrange three more vehicles. There is room for eight in each, including the driver. The front truck will have mostly Guardians, the next one will be ours, with three couples and one armed Guardian next to the driver. If you and Frankie want to ride with us, we can chat on the way."

"Can I get a weapon? I'm not comfortable having just one armed guard in our vehicle."

Grinning, Kalugal lifted his vest to reveal two handguns strapped to his chest. "I'm pretty good with these, and my second is even better." He turned around and waved over a formidable-looking dude with a machine gun strapped over his shoulder and his arm wrapped around Edna, the judge who had probed their team.

"This is Rufsur, and this is his mate, Edna."

"We have met." Dagor dipped his head to the judge.

"But we haven't." Rufsur extended his hand to Frankie first. "I know who you are. You are Mia's friend."

She nodded. "I'm Frankie. Nice to meet you both." She shook his hand and then offered hers to the judge.