Dark Prince's Dilemma

by I. T. Lucas

  “Take it slow, sweetheart.” Like a mother goose, Julian stayed close, his hands at the ready to assist if needed.

  Ella huffed out a breath. “I’m not going to jog. It’s just a few feet.”

  She made it without falling, but seeing her mother sitting up in bed with Parker holding her hand made her lightheaded with happiness and brought tears to her eyes. “Oh, Mom, I’m so glad you’re all better.” She closed the rest of the distance and sat on the other side of her mother’s bed. “Bridget kept saying that everything was fine and that we shouldn’t worry, but I still did.”

  Vivian reached out with a feeble hand and cupped Ella’s cheek. “I’m sorry that I gave you a scare.”

  Putting her hand over her mother’s, Ella leaned into the touch. “It’s not your fault. I’m just happy that it’s over.”

  “What about you, any changes?”

  “Nope. I’m still five foot and four inches, and my cup size is still C. I was hoping to gain at least one more inch either in height or protrusion.” She pushed out her chest.

  “Maybe you will.” Bridget entered the room. “The transition process continues for about six months. You might still grow a little.”

  Leaning against the wall, Julian crossed his arms over his chest. “I’m glad that nothing has changed. I love you just the way you are.”

  “You’re so sweet.” Ella blew him a kiss.

  “Ready to get tested?” Bridget asked.

  Ella’s gut twisted in a knot. What if her dizziness and fever were caused by a virus, and she hadn’t transitioned? Her hearing hadn’t improved, nor her eyesight, and neither had her sense of smell.

  Unless she was a defective immortal, she was still human.

  “I am ready,” Vivian said.

  “I’m not, but I will anyway.” Ella looked at her mother. “No changes include my senses. Nothing has improved.”

  Vivian frowned. “Now that you mention it, mine didn’t improve either.”

  Parker looked worried. “Mine started improving right away, but I think they are still getting better. Maybe it will just take longer for you?”

  “It’s a possibility,” Bridget said. “Every person is different, and every transition I’ve witnessed so far has been different too. Let’s do the test and get that out of the way.”

  “Can we do it at the same time?” Ella asked. “Julian can do mine.” As much as she trusted Bridget, Ella felt safer with Julian.

  “Of course.”

  “I’ll prepare the trays.” Julian pushed away from the wall and walked out.

  “While you were out, I was thinking,” Ella said. “What if Dad was a Dormant too? Do you know if Aunt Eleanor ever did any weird stuff?”

  Vivian frowned. “Your father didn’t talk much about her, but he called her an odd bird. So maybe. What makes you think your father was a Dormant, though?”

  “Because of Parker’s and my superpowers. You didn’t develop your telepathic ability until you became pregnant with me.”

  “That’s true, but what are the odds of two Dormants finding each other?”

  “The affinity brings them together. If it exists between immortals and Dormants, why shouldn't it exist between Dormants?”

  “I did feel an immediate attraction to your father, but that was normal. He was a very handsome boy.” Vivian cupped Parker’s cheek. “Like you.”

  Parker rolled his eyes. “Was he a walking twig too? I look like the teenage Groot from the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

  “Don’t worry about it. You’ll fill out.”

  The conversation must have made Magnus uncomfortable because he kept smoothing his hand over his goatee, and Ella had noticed that he only did that when something troubled him or when he was preoccupied.

  “Anyway.” Ella decided to redirect the conversation back to her aunt. “I think it’s worth checking Eleanor out. We can’t do it ourselves because she thinks we are dead, but maybe one of the Guardians can track her down. She shouldn’t be too hard to find.”

  “Everyone ready?” Julian came back with the two trays and handed one to Bridget.

  “Let’s do it.” Ella offered him her hand.

  He squirted a little liquid on it and then wiped it away with gauze.

  “I’ll wait over there.” Parker jumped off the bed and traded places with Magnus, who walked over to stand next to Vivian.

  “On a count of three,” Bridget said after cleaning Vivian’s palm. “One, two, three.”

  Julian made a tiny cut, but it stung like hell and Ella couldn’t help the hiss that escaped her lips.

  “I’m so sorry, sweetheart.” He blew air on the cut, which helped a little.

  They all waited with bated breath, watching the blood well over the incision and then stop.

  Another moment passed before Julian cleaned the blood away with another piece of gauze, and Bridget did the same with Vivian.

  “It’s closing,” Julian murmured. “Look.”

  His eyesight was much better than hers because it took another second before she saw what he was talking about.

  “Wow, it’s like watching the cut in reverse. It’s closing up on itself.”

  “Congratulations, Vivian and Ella.” Bridget grinned. “Welcome to immortality.”

  57

  Kian

  Kian pulled Syssi into his arms. “Turner is coming over. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Why would I?”

  “It’s Sunday, and I’m not supposed to be working, but this can't wait. We need to act fast.”

  Stretching on her toes, she kissed his lips. “You should know better than to worry about me begrudging an important meeting like this. Can I listen in, though?”

  “Of course. You can also participate. Turner didn’t dismiss your submarine idea when I mentioned it. Perhaps you can come up with other interesting suggestions.”

  She blushed. “Frankly, I just threw it out there. I never expected you or him to take it seriously.”

  “That’s why you should never be shy about voicing your opinions. You never know, right?”

  As he kissed the top of her nose, his phone buzzed in his pocket. Expecting it to be Turner, he was surprised to see Bridget’s face on the screen.

  “Good morning, Bridget.”

  “Good morning indeed. I thought you would like to know that Vivian and Ella have both successfully transitioned. We just completed the tests.”

  “That calls for a celebration.”

  “I think so too. Should I call Amanda?”

  He chuckled. “By all means. She’ll have a party ready by this evening.”

  Syssi nudged his arm. “Ask Bridget if they are going home or staying in the clinic. I want to come over and congratulate them in person.”

  Kian switched to speakerphone even though it wasn’t necessary.

  “They are going home,” Bridget said. “Give them some time to process the good news with their family.”

  Syssi nodded. “I forgot how I felt waking up. I wasn’t ready to see anyone. I’ll text them.”

  “Good idea,” Bridget said.

  Kian wrapped his arm around Syssi’s middle, pulling her against his side as he issued an invitation to Bridget. “Turner is coming over and we are going to talk about the new missions. Do you want to join us?”

  “No, thank you. I’m going home to take advantage of what’s left of my weekend.”

  “Enjoy.”

  “Thanks.”

  Pulling away, Syssi headed for the kitchen. “I’m going to prepare snacks. Are you going to talk with Turner outside on the patio?”

  Remembering that he couldn’t smoke next to his pregnant wife, Kian grimaced. “It’s your choice.”

  Syssi looked at him from behind the counter and smiled. “Go ahead and light up because I’m not going to be joining you. I expect Amanda to call me in a minute asking for my help to organize the party for Vivian and Ella.”

  “A premonition?”

  “Past experience.”
>
  Syssi pointed at the house phone that started ringing. “Can I time it, or what?” She picked up the receiver. “Hello, Amanda.”

  Shaking his head, Kian walked out into the backyard, sat on a lounger, and pulled out a cigarillo from the box that he’d left on the side table.

  Less than five minutes later, Syssi answered the door for Turner and sent him with the tray outside.

  “Compliments of your lovely wife.” Turner put the tray down and reached for a strawberry from the fruit bowl.

  “Did you call Sandoval?”

  Turner shook his head. “No need. We are going to have Lokan’s phone around three o'clock in the afternoon. As per your request, the guy is flying it in and my secretary is meeting him at the airport to collect it. We need a secure location away from the keep to test Lokan’s ability to compel his pilots via video chat. You also need to bring William along to monitor the connection.”

  “I already talked to him. He’s waiting for me to tell him when.”

  “Good.” Turner popped another strawberry into his mouth.

  Syssi waved from behind the screen. “I’m going to Amanda’s. Call me if you need me.”

  “Have fun.”

  “I will. Amanda is turning her house into a war room. She invited I don’t know how many people to assign tasks to.”

  “Tell her not to plan it for this evening if she wants me and Andrew to attend. We have a meeting with Lokan scheduled for later today.”

  “How long is it going to take?”

  “Too long to make it back to a party. Besides, Vivian and Ella need time to recuperate.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.” She blew him an air kiss. “Goodbye, Turner.” She waved again.

  “Goodbye, Syssi.”

  Kian took another drag from his cigarillo. “Did your guy encounter any trouble from the detectives watching Lokan’s apartment?”

  “Nope. He showed up with a bunch of maids, put two of them to wash the windows and block the view from across the street, and did his thing. He left them behind to keep on cleaning while he snuck out of the building. They are probably still there.”

  “I’m curious. Did he find anything other than the phone inside the safe?”

  “Lots of cash, but he didn’t touch anything other than the phone.”

  “I’m still worried about it being a trap. This could be a perfect setup for tracking Lokan. He might not be even aware of it. Navuh is all about control, and I find it hard to believe that he is not monitoring his sons’ whereabouts.”

  Turner shrugged. “William took apart the phone and the laptop Lokan had with him and found nothing other than the signal. But that’s enough to locate Lokan by, and that’s why he did it off-site. Which we are doing with this phone as well. Did you choose a location?”

  Kian nodded. “I’ll have Lokan knocked out and brought to the cabin. William is going to join us there with his equipment van.”

  Turner glanced at his watch. “How long is the drive there?”

  “About an hour and forty-five minutes.”

  “Don’t you have a closer location?”

  “Nothing as secluded.”

  “Then I guess it will have to do.”

  “Any progress with the extraction plan?”

  “I’m still working on it.”

  “Care to share?”

  “Not yet. There are several conditions that I need to check first, and I need to incorporate a backup plan for getting Carol out in case something goes wrong. We can’t place all the cards in Gorchenco and Lokan’s hands. When I have all the information, I’ll let you know.”

  58

  Lokan

  Getting out of the cell had been glorious, especially the swim in the Olympic pool. Arwel had verified that Lokan’s cuffs were waterproof up to a depth of twenty-five feet, which was more than enough.

  The only downside had been the Guardians watching him and Carol, which precluded sexy fun in the water.

  They’d made up for it later in the privacy of their shower.

  Wrapping a towel around her beautiful body, Carol eyed the full clothes hamper. “I should do laundry. Do you even have anything clean to wear?”

  He was glad she offered and he didn’t have to ask. “I’m down to my last clean pair of underwear.”

  “That’s not good. You should have told me.” She pulled the hamper out of the cabinet and took it out to the bedroom. “Any of it need dry cleaning?”

  “Most of it. All my slacks and dress shirts.”

  “I’ll separate them. And I’ll also order you some training clothes and swimming trunks. Now that you have access to the gym, you’ll need them.”

  Having a woman buy things for him felt uncomfortable. If anyone should be buying anything for the other it was him for her, and not the other way around, but he was a fucking prisoner and utterly dependent on Carol.

  “Arwel has access to my wallet. I’ll ask him to reimburse you.”

  She narrowed her eyes at him. “I can afford to buy you clothes. You don’t need to pay me back.”

  “I don’t want you spending your money on me.”

  “Why? Because you think you don’t deserve it, or because the chauvinist in you can’t tolerate being dependent on a woman?”

  Rubbing his hand over the back of his head, he took a moment to think about it. Was he being chauvinistic?

  “Frankly, I think it has more to do with being accustomed to wealth, and not being accustomed to having things bought for me.”

  Her expression softening, Carol sauntered up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Then get used to it. You are my mate, and I want to take care of you. I know it’s a novel concept for you, and after a millennium of being on your own, getting accustomed to having a partner looking after you is not easy. But you are no longer alone, and you are never going to be again. I’ve got your back.”

  Carol’s words struck Lokan with the force of a tsunami, causing an emotional overflow he didn’t know how to deal with. So, he did the only thing he could think of and kissed her, pouring all of that maelstrom of energy into it.

  When they came up for air, Carol touched a trembling finger to her lips. “Wow, Lokan, if I didn’t know better, I would have thought that you loved me.” She smiled. “I always thought that the way to a man’s heart was through his stomach, but apparently it’s offering to do his laundry and buy him training clothes.”

  He was glad that she’d made light of it because he wasn’t ready to admit that he loved her. At the moment, his feelings were too raw, too volatile to coalesce into coherency. He needed time to process them.

  When the phone rang, he was grateful for the distraction.

  “Yes, Arwel.”

  “Get ready. I’m coming in half an hour to knock you out and take you to a remote location to test your phone.”

  “What do you mean by knocking me out?”

  The Guardian chuckled. “Don’t worry. I’m not going to do it with my fists, only with a syringe.”

  “Ask him if I can come along,” Carol said.

  “I heard. Let me check with Kian.” Arwel ended the call.

  “That was fast.”

  Was it possible that he was still in Washington? Was that how they’d gotten his phone so quickly? Until now, he’d been sure that they had flown him to the West Coast.

  He decided to do some fishing. “I didn’t expect them to have the phone at least until Monday. They must have had someone fly over with it.”

  “Turner has his ways.” Carol walked into the closet and dropped the towel on the floor, distracting him again.

  She’d neither confirmed nor denied his statement, but it seemed that his original assessment was correct. His brother believed that the clan’s headquarters were in Los Angeles, and this sprawling underground facility was probably part of the complex.

  But knowing his general location wasn’t all that important. At least not at the moment.

  What Lokan needed to figure out was how to
prevent Kian from forcing him to unlock the phone and hand it over. There was a lot of information on the device, including his Washington contacts, as well as those of his brothers and other key personnel. Kian could do a lot of damage with what he could find there.

  Lokan would have to bargain with him and appeal to his sense of honor. The question was whether any of it would work.

  All dressed, Carol stepped out of the closet and grabbed the hamper. “I’m going to rush upstairs and load the washer.” She headed for the door, which was now left open. “The dry cleaning will have to wait for some other time. Do you want me to launder one pair of slacks and a dress shirt, though? Just to tide you over until I can get the rest to the dry cleaners.”

  “That’s a good idea.” He reached for the hamper. “Let me carry this for you at least part of the way.”

  He wasn’t allowed to get anywhere near the elevators without a Guardian escorting him, but he could walk with her up to the end of the corridor.

  Arwel met them outside and lifted his hand. “Kian said no.”

  “Why?” Carol put her hands on her hips, readying for a fight.

  “Safety concerns.”

  “Oh, really. Can you get me my phone? I’m going to give him a piece of my mind.”

  Shaking his head, Arwel pulled out Carol’s phone from his back pocket and handed it to her. “Stay over there.” He motioned for Lokan to stand next to the wall.

  Carol selected the contact and put the phone to her ear, then tapped her foot while waiting for him to reply.

  Arwel leaned against the wall next to Lokan. “This should be good.”

  It still amazed him how brazen clan members were with their regent. And yet, he knew they respected Kian. It was an interesting model of leadership he would have liked to learn more about. If he ever got free, and if he ever got to implement his plans, it could be beneficial.

  Yeah, like that was ever going to happen.

  “I want to go with Lokan,” Carol said as soon as Kian answered.

  Kian’s exasperated sigh was loud enough for Lokan to hear even though he was several feet away. “It’s a safety concern. Lokan’s father is most likely tracking his whereabouts using his phone. That’s why we are taking him to a remote location with a bunch of Guardians to secure the perimeter. If we are attacked, I don’t want to worry about you getting hurt.”