Book Read Free

Dark Queen’s Knight

Page 23

by I. T. Lucas


  Mey

  Pleasant dreams had kept Mey asleep for longer than she’d expected, and when she finally opened her eyes and looked out the window, the position of the sun told her that it was about noon.

  Yamanu wasn’t in bed with her, which was a little disappointing, but then she couldn’t expect him to stay with her all day. He had Guardian work to do.

  Yeah, and she was the reason he might be out of a job, or at least out of the position he’d held as the clan’s shield.

  Crap, that thought was enough to ruin a perfect morning that had followed a perfect night.

  Spectacular wasn’t a strong enough word to describe it. Yamanu had exceeded her expectation by a margin as wide as the distance from the moon to the sun. After six and a half centuries of abstinence, he had not only held on long enough to ensure that she was ready, but he had also made a tremendous effort to be gentle with her.

  Still, it had been one hell of a ride, and Yamanu had been on top of his game as if he had never taken a break.

  Surprisingly, nothing hurt. Mey lifted the comforter to see whether she had bruises left over from his powerful grip, but there were none. In fact, she felt amazing, invigorated, healthy, rested, and happy.

  Selfishly happy.

  She’d gotten what she’d wanted, but at what price?

  Would her new friends still like her once they’d learned what she’d cost them?

  Probably not.

  She’d made this entire community of immortals vulnerable. These wonderful people who had accepted her so warmly were going to regret welcoming her in.

  Could they kick her out even if she turned? Or would becoming an immortal grant her a permanent resident status in the village?

  It was strange that there had been no evaluation process. Even the most mundane housing communities screened their residents, and yet the clan seemed to accept anyone with the right genes.

  Even Israel, which officially accepted anyone born Jewish, screened undesirables. Criminals were not welcome, not even the super-rich.

  As Mey slung her legs over the side of the bed, she noticed a piece of paper next to her phone. Lifting it, she smiled, then feeling silly, she kissed it.

  Yamanu’s penmanship was like the rest of him. Beautiful and stylish and with a bit of flair. She decided to keep it as a souvenir of the night they’d shared and put it in her purse.

  It was so sweet of him to get her breakfast from the café, and even sweeter to add a lopsided heart to his note with the word forever written under it.

  Expecting Yamanu to be back at any moment, Mey hurried, finishing her shower in record time and returning to the bedroom with a thick towel wrapped around her. She had just enough time to duck back in bed when the door opened, and Yamanu walked in.

  “Good morning, my lady Mey.”

  She grinned, happiness radiating from her center as if it was a force field and not just a feeling. “Good afternoon, my lord Yamanu.”

  He sat on the bed and put the tray on the nightstand. “Coffee?”

  “Please.”

  He handed her a tall paper cup. “Pastry?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t want crumbs on the bed.”

  “There will be no crumbs if I feed you.”

  It was an offer she couldn’t refuse, especially since her stomach had reacted to the delicious smell with a pang of hunger.

  “Okay. Just be careful.”

  “I will.” He pulled a Danish out and tore off a little piece. “Open wide.” He popped it into her mouth, then followed with a soft kiss. “I love you.”

  She swallowed the small bite and smiled. “I love you too. And I loved the note you left me with the heart and the forever written under it. I’m going to put it in a special album dedicated to memories of our special moments.”

  His lips curved in a smile. “I will make sure to provide you with enough to fill an entire library of albums.”

  She spread her arms, careful not to spill coffee on the pristine white bedding. “It will have to be huge. Can you imagine how many cherished memories ten kids will produce?”

  “You still want that?’

  “Of course. But I know that’s a pipe dream because of the immortal low fertility rate.” She smirked. “Although after last night, I feel like I should get a pregnancy test.”

  Yamanu’s expression was a picture of male satisfaction. “About that. How are you feeling? Anything hurt?”

  “Nope. I feel fabulous.”

  “I met Merlin on the way back. He asked me if I wanted to freeze some sperm for the future.”

  Mey’s good mood evaporated. “What was your answer?”

  “I told him no. Because I’m never going back to celibacy again. I’m done with that.”

  “Did you test your powers?”

  He smiled. “It’s funny. He asked me the same thing. I didn’t. First of all, because I need to be among humans to test it, and second because I want to keep this joy in my heart for as long as I can.” He leaned and kissed the crease in her forehead. “Don’t worry. Everything is going to turn out fine. And I also told Merlin that once you transition and we get married, we are going to come to him for his fertility potion. As soon as we find your sister, I want us to start working on filling this house with kids. If you are up to it, that is. You are still young, and I know that you want to open a business with your sister…”

  She didn’t let him finish. Putting the coffee cup on the nightstand, Mey jumped on him and kissed him until she ran out of air. “Yes and yes and yes.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “Naturally, we need to find Jin first.”

  “Yeah. Preferably before the wedding. I want my sister to be there, and my parents and my grandparents.”

  “I will do my best to make it happen.”

  “I know you will. But how about your people? I robbed them of their shield. The moment they make the connection, I will become the least popular person in the village, and I doubt anyone would want to help me.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “I guarantee you that’s not going to happen.”

  “How can you be sure of that?”

  “Because Annani won’t have it. She practically commanded me to obey the Fates' wishes. No one will dare to challenge her decree.”

  That was a relief.

  Mey let out a breath. “I hope you are right. I really like the people I’ve met so far, and I would hate it if they turned their backs on me. As it is, I feel like I’m imposing on everyone’s goodwill by asking their help to find Jin.”

  “You are not imposing. Kian wants Jin because of her special abilities. So, he would have authorized a search even if she wasn’t your sister.”

  She tilted her head. “What’s more valuable about Jin, her spying ability or her being a possible Dormant?”

  “Her being a Dormant. That trumps everything. The future of our clan depends on finding as many as we can.”

  “Good. It made me uncomfortable to think that Kian wants Jin just because he wants a one of a kind spy.”

  As Yamanu’s phone buzzed with an incoming message, he pulled it out of his pocket and grinned. “Speak of the devil. Kian wants to see us whenever we are ready to leave the house.”

  That wasn’t good.

  “Why?”

  Yamanu kissed her forehead again. “He didn’t say. But you have nothing to worry about. I promise.”

  “I hope you are right.”

  63

  Yamanu

  “Come in,” Kian growled when Yamanu knocked on the door.

  It was the guy’s usual voice, but next to him, Mey tensed.

  Wrapping his arm around her, Yamanu gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze and whispered. “Ignore his gruffness. He’s a good guy.”

  “I know.” She took in a deep breath.

  As they walked in together, Kian greeted them with a smile, and Mey’s shoulders lost some of the tension.

  “Please sit down.” He waved at the two chairs in front of
his desk. “You are probably wondering why I called you in here. I have some possible good news and also some questions.”

  Mey crossed her legs. “Is it about Jin?”

  “Possibly. There are two new developments, seemingly unconnected, but knowing how the Fates work, I’m sure we will soon find out that they are not coincidental.”

  “I never thought that there would come a day when you would turn into a believer.” Yamanu shook his head. “You’re the most adamant skeptic I’ve ever known.”

  Kian shrugged. “After getting hit over the head with a brick enough times, I finally had to admit that there was a brick.”

  “That’s a colorful way to put it.”

  Kian ignored the remark and turned to Mey. “I want to ask you a few questions about your sister’s talent.”

  She nodded.

  “Does it work on everyone, or are some people immune to it?”

  “Jin tried not to do it too often, but the few times she did, it worked.”

  “Interesting, so it doesn’t happen with everyone she touches? She has to do something to create the connection?”

  “Yes, but even she doesn’t know how it happens. I was the first one she did it to. We were still pretty young, I think I was nine, and Jin was seven. She was upset because I left the neighborhood playground without telling her, and she got scared. I only went home to use the bathroom, and I was gone for no more than ten minutes, but I should have told her that I was leaving, and I didn’t.” Mey smiled shyly. “I had to go pretty bad, and she was on the jungle gym. Anyway, when I came back, Jin was crying. She put her hand on my arm and said that she never wanted to lose me again or something like that. I don’t remember the exact words. And that was how she discovered her ability. At first, we thought it was a sister thing, but then she did it with one of her friends, and it worked too.”

  “Did it work with random strangers as well, or just people she knew?”

  Mey frowned. “I don’t think that she ever tried it on strangers. That would have been too weird. Who wants to see what strangers are doing? What she does happens in real time, so she can catch someone sitting on the toilet, or scratching his behind, or worse. It can be really awkward and gross.”

  Kian leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “If she was hired because of her talent, I’m sure she’s expected to use it on strangers. What I wonder is whether it will work on immortals. If it does, she could be an incredible asset to the clan.”

  Yamanu shifted in his chair. “I hope you are not planning on using her on Doomers.”

  “No, not on Doomers. Just one. Kalugal.”

  “You found him?”

  “We might have. I’m not sure yet. Lokan had a meeting with one of his contacts, and during the conversation the guy told him about a cybersecurity installation he had done for a reclusive billionaire in Silicon Valley. When the contact described the subterranean complex the client had built on the property, Lokan started suspecting that it might have been Kalugal. I had William and Roni divert their attention from scanning airports to concentrate on cafés and bars in the area around that mansion. They found a surveillance recording from a bar with someone who looks a lot like him. But that’s not enough proof. We still need to verify his identity.”

  “Why do you need Jin for that?” Mey asked.

  “The mansion and the grounds it sits on are protected by state of the art security. It’s an impenetrable fortress. We don’t know how many immortal warriors he has with him or what he is doing in that subterranean complex. Before we initiate contact, I want to know who we are dealing with. The problem is that none of my people can get past the security if the guards are indeed immortal. Jin, however, can go into a coffee shop or a bar while he is there, touch him, make the connection, and we are in. She can tell us what’s going on. The intel would be invaluable to us.”

  Mey nodded. “I hope she can do it with a stranger. But even if she can, we need to find her first.”

  Kian smiled. “That’s where the other thing I’ve learned today comes in. Ella suspected that her aunt might be a Dormant and asked Roni to find out what she was up to. When he started to investigate, he discovered that she has disappeared. Then he ran her picture through the facial recognition program, and he found a match on a West Virginia driver license. The name was different, but it was the same face.”

  Mey gasped. “You think Ella’s aunt is in the same program as Jin?”

  “It’s a long shot, but as I said, it might not be a coincidence. The good news about this is that if Eleanor is indeed in the same program, she isn’t a prisoner. Since she has been issued a fake driver’s license, and a very good one at that, she is free to drive around. Jin might still be a trainee, and that’s why she is restricted to base. But if we find Eleanor, she might lead us to Jin.”

  Her eyes full of hope, Mey looked at Yamanu. “Maybe we can wait with the induction? This seems like the first real breakthrough, a solid lead, and I want to follow it as soon as I can.”

  Yamanu took her hand. “I’m afraid it’s too late for that. We’ve already started. You might enter transition right away.”

  Kian cleared his throat. “First of all, congratulations. I wish you both the best of luck. Secondly, with all due respect, we don’t need you to come along. In fact, I'd prefer that you don’t. Third, you can’t leave the village until you transition. Not with your memories intact.”

  Mey’s shoulders slumped. “How long does it take to transition?”

  Kian cleared his throat again. “Once you've started the process and kept at it, it shouldn’t take long. A few days, a week maybe. And since you are young and healthy, you shouldn’t be out for more than a day or two. But as I said before. There is no rush because we don’t need you to get Jin.”

  Mey shook her head. “And how are you going to make her trust you enough to go with you? I need to be there.”

  “Mey might be right,” Yamanu said. “If Jin were alone, we could probably thrall her into coming with us. But it’s possible that she has made new friends in that program with abilities that we can’t begin to guess at.” He rubbed his jaw. “My gut tells me that we need Mey with us.”

  Mey cast him a grateful look.

  Kian nodded. “Perhaps. Still, there is no rush because we don’t have a plan yet. I need to brainstorm it with Turner, and then we need to gather intel. We are not going to make a move until all the pieces of the puzzle are in place.” He grimaced. “One botched mission is enough for me. I don’t intend to ever repeat the mistake of going in unprepared.”

  COMING UP NEXT

  The Children of the Gods Book 34

  Dark Queen’s Army

  To read the first 3 chapters

  JOIN THE VIP CLUB AT ITLUCAS.COM

  and gain access to the VIP Portal

  If you’re already a subscriber and forgot the password to the VIP portal, you can find it at the bottom of each of my emails. Or click HERE to retrieve it. You can also email me at isabell@itlucas.com

  Dear reader,

  Thank you for reading the Children of the Gods.

  As an independent author, I rely on your support to spread the word. So if you enjoyed the story, please share your experience with others, and if it isn’t too much trouble, I would greatly appreciate a brief review on Amazon.

  Kind words will get good Karma sent your way -:)

  Click here to leave a review

  Love & happy reading,

  Isabell

  Find out more about Annani & Areana’s past

  The Children of the Goos Origins

  1: Annani & Khiann’s story

  Goddess’s Choice

  2: Areana & Navuh’s story

  Goddess’s Hope

  Don’t miss out on

  THE PERFECT MATCH SERIES

  Perfect Match 1: Vampire’s Consort

  Perfect Match 2: King’s Chosen

  Perfect Match 3: Captain’s Conquest

  The Children of the Gods Series
>
  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS ORIGINS

  1

  Goddess’s Choice

  When gods and immortals still ruled the ancient world, one young goddess risked everything for love.

  2

  Goddess’s Hope

  Hungry for power and infatuated with the beautiful Areana, Navuh plots his father's demise. After all, by getting rid of the insane god he would be doing the world a favor. Except, when gods and immortals conspire against each other, humanity pays the price.

  But things are not what they seem, and prophecies should not to be trusted...

  THE CHILDREN OF THE GODS

  1

  Dark Stranger The Dream

  Syssi's paranormal foresight lands her a job at Dr. Amanda Dokani's neuroscience lab, but it fails to predict the thrilling yet terrifying turn her life will take. Syssi has no clue that her boss is an immortal who'll drag her into a secret, millennia-old battle over humanity's future. Nor does she realize that the professor's imposing brother is the mysterious stranger who's been starring in her dreams.

  Since the dawn of human civilization, two warring factions of immortals—the descendants of the gods of old—have been secretly shaping its destiny. Leading the clandestine battle from his luxurious Los Angeles high-rise, Kian is surrounded by his clan, yet alone. Descending from a single goddess, clan members are forbidden to each other. And as the only other immortals are their hated enemies, Kian and his kin have been long resigned to a lonely existence of fleeting trysts with human partners. That is, until his sister makes a game-changing discovery—a mortal seeress who she believes is a dormant carrier of their genes. Ever the realist, Kian is skeptical and refuses Amanda's plea to attempt Syssi's activation. But when his enemies learn of the Dormant's existence, he's forced to rush her to the safety of his keep. Inexorably drawn to Syssi, Kian wrestles with his conscience as he is tempted to explore her budding interest in the darker shades of sensuality.

 

‹ Prev