Page 58 of Dark Voyage Matters of the Soul

Dagor

As Dagor made his way to Frankie's cabin, his mood was much less upbeat than it had been when he'd left. The news he had to share was sure to upset her, and he wasn't looking forward to telling her about Luis and his family having been abducted and held hostage by the monsters.

He found her sitting on the couch in the living room, her expression brightening at his arrival but then quickly shifting to concern. "What happened?"

Joining her on the couch, he clasped her hand. "The Doomers have taken Luis and his family hostage. They're demanding we return the women we rescued in exchange. Kalugal compelled their leader to keep the family safe, so hopefully, they will be okay until we get there, which is tomorrow, not today. You should call Margo and tell her about the additional delay."

Frankie's brow furrowed. "We are not returning the women, right?"

"Of course not. Kalugal used compulsion to buy us extra time so we can prepare."

She shook her head. "I don't understand. Why didn't Kalugal just compel the guy to release them?"

"It's not that simple." Dagor sighed. "The person Kalugal spoke to is probably the leader, but we can't be sure of that. Whoever he is, though, he isn't alone. Kalugal can compel only those who hear him. The others wouldn't have been affected by it, and if the person he spoke to tried to release Luis and his family, the others would have realized that something was amiss and stopped him. Kalugal did the best he could under the circumstances, which is to hopefully ensure their safety until our arrival."

"Yeah, that makes sense." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "So, what now?"

"Kian and his war room team are working on a plan to take the Doomers and their cohorts by surprise, rescue Luis and his family, and get rid of the scum."

"That's not going to be easy." She lifted her head and looked into his eyes. "Are you going to join the mission?"

"Aru, Negal, and I can do things that the immortals can't, but it's up to Kian. We are not part of the clan, and we’ve never trained with the Guardians."

"I hope he doesn't call on you."

Dagor hoped he would, but he didn't want Frankie to worry. He gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "We want to help, and we can handle this easily."

"Just promise me to be careful, okay?" she said softly. "Even gods can be killed."

"I'm always careful, and I'm well trained." He gave her a reassuring smile and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, trying to ease her tension.

Letting out a breath, Frankie shifted to face him. "Bridget paid me a surprise visit earlier. I had no choice but to bluff my way through it."

"What did you tell her?"

"That you've pumped me full of venom, and that must have sped up my recovery." She chuckled. "The best lies are those closest to the truth. Anyway, I got carried away and suggested that I might be transitioning without symptoms, so Bridget offered to conduct a test and make a cut on the palm of my hand. "

He arched a brow. "Did you agree?"

Frankie shook her head. "I told her that you'd just given me a dose of venom, so even if I healed faster, it wouldn't be because my body was changing but because I still had a lot of venom in me. It seemed to convince her, and she let it go. But I was curious, so I pricked my finger to see how fast it healed." She lifted the finger to show him. "The results were inconclusive. I think it healed faster than normal, but what I'm sure of is that without the venom, it would still hurt."

"So, what's the conclusion from your experiment? Do you think you're transitioning or not?"

"I don't know." She chewed on her bottom lip. "I don't have a fever, and that's supposed to be the first sign."

Dagor reached with his hand to check her forehead, but her skin's temperature felt just right to the touch. "You are not warmer than usual. It might be the venom."

Frankie tried to hide her disappointment. "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"Hey." He cupped her face in his hands. "It will happen. We've only just started, and we will keep working on it."

She managed a small smile. "I know. I just hoped that maybe it was already happening."

Wonder

Wonder's bachelorette party had been going full swing since before lunch, and she was getting a little tired.

As the afternoon sun streamed through the cabin's glass doors, warming her face, she closed her eyes and tuned out the laughter and chatter.