Page 38 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

He had no problem guessing what the summons was about. They were joining the immortals in their fight against their enemies and the cartel thugs.

"Bring it on," he murmured. "I'm more than happy to rid Earth of a few more monsters."

He wondered why Kian hadn't gone on the offensive and eliminated his enemies on their island. He knew where it was, and he had the means to blast it to pieces. Nuke it if needed. One explanation was that there were innocents on that island that Kian was reluctant to kill, or maybe it was more about avoiding attracting attention. If Kian nuked the island, the humans would investigate.

Regrettably, the immortals were not susceptible to pathogens, so the Eternal King's usual modus operandi’ when wanting to eliminate an entire population wouldn't work.

Glancing at Frankie, Dagor debated whether he should try to wake her up before leaving. Her breathing was calm and even, and there was a peaceful expression on her face. Blissful even. She'd been upset with him when he'd left the cabin while she'd been asleep, but waking her from such a deep and restoring slumber would be a shame. Still, he was determined not to make the same mistake twice.

He would tell her where he was going and why, and then she could go back to sleep.

"Frankie," he whispered.

When there was no response, he put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a little shake. "Frankie, I need to step out for a bit."

Not surprisingly, she was still soaring on the wings of venom-induced euphoria, too loopy to even flutter her eyelids open.

There was only one thing he could do, which was to leave her a note. She'd indicated that leaving a message on her phone was acceptable.

Pulling out his device, Dagor began to type a message.

Hey Frankie, I didn't want to wake you, but I need to step out for a bit. Aru just texted me, asking me to come to his cabin for a meeting, and I didn't want to leave without letting you know where I was.

Dagor was about to press send when he reconsidered and decided to add something romantic. The problem was that he knew next to nothing about romance, and he didn't have time tosearch the internet for romantic poems or ask one of the AI bots to write something for him.

With a sigh, he typed what he would have said if she were awake.

I'm not going to be gone long, but I know that I will miss you no matter how short the meeting is. I think I'm addicted to you in the best possible way. I love the way your body feels against mine, soft and yet solid. I love the sweet scent of your skin, and I love your smiling eyes. You are like a breath of fresh air in a stale world. I'll be back as soon as I can, and in the meantime, I will be thinking about you and counting the minutes until I can return.

He read over the message once and was satisfied with the result. It might not win any poetry contests, but it conveyed how he felt.

After sending the message, Dagor lingered a little longer, watching Frankie sleep, and then leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

Aru's cabin was on the top deck, next to the clan leadership, and as Dagor rang the doorbell, Negal opened up and motioned for him to come inside.

"It seems like we get to fight again." Negal grinned.

Dagor took a seat on the couch across from Aru. "I didn't get to fight in the previous altercation, and I'm very enthusiastic about having another opportunity to escort the vermin and their hired thugs to hell."

Anumatians didn't believe in the same hell that humans did. Their place of atonement was not a pit of fire where sinners burned for eternity. It was just a void of nothing, and being stuck there, endlessly reflecting on past lives and all the evil deedscommitted through millions of years of existence, was scary enough.

Aru smiled but then quickly schooled his features. "Kian asked us to join them, not because they need our help. It's a way to cement our alliance."

"Makes sense." Dagor leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

The idea of solidarity with these immortals resonated with him. If he was to remain on Earth, he needed a community of people to call his own, and he liked the clan and what it stood for. He wouldn't mind becoming a member, but more importantly, he wanted that for Frankie.

If she turned immortal, she would need a community of immortals, and both of them could be happy living among these people.

Provided that Frankie turned.

Gabi had started transitioning days after she and Aru had first been intimate together. He'd heard that some of the Dormants had taken much longer to start transitioning, but they hadn't been induced by a god.

Frankie should have already started showing signs of transitioning.

But what if Lisa was right and Frankie was already on her way to becoming immortal without symptoms? Perhaps it had happened while she was recovering from her injury with the help of his blood?

"So. What's our assignment?" Negal asked.