Page 4 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

It wasn't fair of him to ask her to give up everything that was important to her to be with him, especially since it was not goingto be fun for her. Frankie wasn't the outdoorsy type, and she would quickly grow tired of sleeping in a tent on frozen ground.

On second thought, though, it could be fun keeping her warm.

She tapped a finger on his temple. "What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Breakfast," he lied.

"I don't want to go to the dining hall." She made a pouty face that was so cute he wanted to kiss her again. "I want to be in the sun and breathe fresh air. Can we go to the Lido deck instead?"

"Sure. We can have Bloody Marys and pretzels for breakfast."

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you being sarcastic, or do you really mean that? It's hard to tell with you."

"I mean it, even though I should probably insist that you eat something nutritious. Do you remember what happened the last time you had drinks and snacks on an empty stomach?"

"I fainted." She smiled sweetly. "But that's not going to happen now that I have your blood and your venom in me." She pulled on his neck to bring his lips to hers. "You are injecting me with vitality." She chuckled. "In more ways than one."

His semi-hard erection swelled in an instant. "Perhaps we can skip breakfast, and I will inject you with some more of my vitality. I have plenty to give."

"Oh, I know." She kissed him on the lips. "But now that you've planted the idea of a Bloody Mary in my head, I crave it something fierce. Besides, I need to call Margo. If I don't, she's going to interrupt us in the middle of your vitality transfusion."

Reluctantly, he let go of her and took her hand. "What are you going to tell her?"

"A highly modified version of the story." She followed him back inside the cabin. "I can tell her about the treasure hunt for the amulet, but I can't tell her what it did because then I will have to explain Mey and her echoes and Jacki and her visions. Instead, I'll tell her that it was just a trinket Kalugal had planted ahead of time for us to find. The cartel thugs will be a group of robbers, and I won't tell her anything about the rescued women or about the monsters' well-deserved fate." Frankie frowned. "Although once we collect Margo in Cabo and she comes on board, she will learn the truth, so I need to be careful and not lie too much. I'll have to come up with a creative way of omitting the incriminating details while still staying close to the truth."

He nodded. "Good plan. What are you going to tell Margo about your injury? There is no trace of it left, so you can just skip it."

Frankie laughed. "The more important question is what we are going to tell Dr. Bridget. Can you claim that your godly venom is much stronger than that of the immortals and that it healed me?" She stopped walking and turned to him. "What if we tell her that you bit me over the wound? That would have delivered the venom's healing properties right where I needed them and sped up my recovery, right?"

Frankie hadn't even lowered her voice, so it was good that most of the ship's occupants were still asleep, and the corridor was deserted.

"That's not a bad idea. The only problem I can see is when someone else tries it, and it doesn't work. Bridget is a smart lady, and she will figure out that we lied."

Frankie shook her head. "She won't. Bridget knows only five gods, and that's not a big enough sample on which to base a scientific claim. Each Dormant is different, and each god has different powers, and that could include the potency of their venom. She will have to take our word for it."

"You are one smart lady, Frankie. It scares me a little that you know how to manipulate truth and lies so well."

"I will never lie or manipulate you." She gave his hand a squeeze. "If I do, you will know because you can peek into my mind."

"But I won't do that because it's an invasion of privacy. I will just have to trust you."

"That's the spirit." She smiled brightly. "Trust is the foundation upon which a good relationship is built."

Kian

Kian was surprised to see Lokan and Carol at the large dining table his mother's Odus had set up.

It was supposed to be a family breakfast, and although Lokan was his cousin, he wasn't part of the inner circle like his brother was.

While Kalugal wasn't a member of the immediate family either, somehow, he had managed to insert himself into the family and clan leadership without putting much effort into it. He had done it with his intellect, charm, and natural leadership skills.

Kalugal's men worshiped him and liked him as a person, so perhaps it made him an even better leader than Kian.

Kian didn't doubt that he had the respect and loyalty of his clan, but he wasn't as well liked as his cousin, which was fine with him. Managing the clan affairs and keeping his people safe was much more difficult than what Kalugal had to deal with, and being liked was not a priority.

Besides, charm wasn't one of Kian's attributes, and neither was faking it.

Toven and Mia were also seated at the breakfast table even though they weren't part of the inner family circle. Annani had probably invited Toven because of his familiarity with the ancient Mesoamerican cultures. He might offer some insight into the amulet and its origins.