Page 10 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

"You think too highly of me." Frankie took another sip of her Bloody Mary. "I'm not that selfless. What about our children, though? Will they be born Dormant or immortal?"

Dagor swallowed. "If we are blessed with children, they will be born immortal."

The thought of fathering hybrid children had been foreign to him only days earlier, but witnessing the wedding ceremonies and observing the two little baby girls at the family table had changed things for him, and what once had felt like 'hell no' had turned into 'hell yes' or at least 'hell maybe.'

"Oh, boy." She took another sip from her drink and then licked her lips. "Then you will need to hang around long enough for them to become adults so you can guide them on how to remain undetected."

"I plan on doing that regardless of whether we have children. I don't think I can live without you."

"Oh, Dagor." She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. "I love you too much to let you suffer when I die. I'll have to make you fall out of love with me."

"Not possible." He cupped her cheek. "You don't have it in you to be mean to me."

She arched a brow. "You wanna bet?"

"Sure." He clasped her hand. "What are you going to give me when I win?"

"What do you want?"

He leaned over and whispered the prize in her ear.

She laughed. "You are so naughty."

"Is it a 'yes'?"

"You got yourself a deal." She shook his hand. "What do I get if I win?"

"You won't win. Not this time."

Syssi

Syssi sincerely considered asking one of the gods to remove the memory of what Jacki had told them, and if that made her a coward and a weakling, so be it.

She doubted she could continue functioning with that horror movie playing on repeat inside her head. She did not want to raise her daughter in a world where things like that could happen. But what were her options?

Move to a colony on Mars?

Suddenly, the gods' planet didn't seem that bad. Peace and security were worth sacrificing some freedoms for, right?

Not that it was an option. The gods thought of immortals and all other hybrids as abominations, and they were not welcomed on Anumati.

"Can I get you a glass of wine?" Kian asked quietly.

"I need something stronger than that, but I doubt it will help. What I need is a brain scrub to erase what I just heard."

"I can help with that," Annani offered.

Syssi shook her head. "I can't. I have to be strong."

Maybe she would take Annani up on her offer after touching the damn amulet and getting a dose of visuals to supplement what her mind had already supplied.

"I can be strong for the both of us," Kian murmured. "You don't need this crap to keep you awake at night."

"Yes, I do. I owe it to the victims."

"Dammit, Syssi. I need you to listen to reason. Please let my mother erase this ugliness from your mind and ease your burden."

She shook her head. "If all of you can handle this, I can as well. I have to."