Dark Dream’s Temptation (The Children Of The Gods Paranormal Romance Series Book 26)

by I. T. Lucas

  “Yeah, I don’t blame her. And by the way, she wasn’t rescued by the clan. One of the Doomers couldn’t stand her torment and helped her escape before the clan had a chance to organize a rescue. But she wasn’t the only prisoner held there, and they ended up saving a bunch of human girls. So, it wasn’t a waste.”

  Vivian put her coffee mug down. “I know that part of the story. But did she tell you where she was held?”

  “No.”

  “The sanctuary. I just love the poetic justice of it. When the clan freed the girls and eliminated the Doomers, they burned the old monastery that had served as the Doomers’ base to the ground. Later on, Kian bought the property, and the clan built the sanctuary for rescued girls in the same spot where others were imprisoned.”

  Ella wasn’t sure how she felt about that.

  The place must have absorbed tons of dark energy, and even though the building was new, that darkness might still linger there. If it did, the sanctuary wasn’t a good place for healing.

  “What are you frowning about?” Her mother pressed a finger between Ella’s eyebrows. “You'll have wrinkles.”

  “I don’t think either of us needs to worry about those. Immortality comes with many perks.”

  Avoiding Ella’s eyes, Vivian lifted her mug and took a long sip before answering. “I hope it will take care of the wrinkles I already have. And the freckles. I would love to get rid of those too.”

  It seemed her mother had given transitioning some thought. “Did you decide when you’re going to start working on your transition?”

  A smirk lifting the right side of her lips, Vivian cast Ella a challenging look. “We had an agreement. You and Julian have to start dating first, and then I’ll wait a couple of weeks to see how it’s going.”

  “This is blackmail, Mom. What if we start dating and it’s a disaster? Once Julian gets to know me, he’s going to realize that we have nothing in common and that he’s way out of my league.”

  Vivian lifted two fingers. “Two weeks, Ella, no less. And at least three dates every week. Total of six.”

  “Fine.” Ella took her mug to the sink and rinsed it out before putting it into the dishwasher. “But he has to ask me first.”

  “Oh, he will.”

  Pointing a finger at her mother, Ella glared. “Don’t you dare tell him to do that. And tell Magnus not to say anything either. It has to come from him without any prompting.”

  “He’s not going to ask if you don’t signal him that you’re interested.”

  “I will smile and bat my eyelashes.” Pursing her lips and crossing her eyes, Ella demonstrated how she was going to do that, making Vivian laugh.

  “I guess I’m going to stay human.” Vivian shook her head. “Magnus is going to be so disappointed.”

  “Blackmailer.” Ella wagged her finger. “I’m going out for a walk.”

  “Do you want company?”

  Ella wanted to do some more thinking, but she didn’t want to insult her mother. “Maybe some other time. I want to give running a try.”

  Any mention of running would dissuade her mother from joining. Vivian liked to stroll, not even fast walk.

  “Have fun.”

  Out on the pathway, Ella started with a couple of minutes of brisk walking, then jogged for a couple of minutes before slowing down to a fast walk again.

  Carol had said that the two main obstacles preventing her from executing the plan were communication and a means of escape.

  The communication part would be a non-issue if Ella could convince Kian to let her accompany Carol, and extraction shouldn’t be that hard if humans visited the resort part of the freaking island all the time.

  All the clan needed to do was to find those humans and either bribe them or thrall them to take Carol with them when they left. It wouldn’t be easy, but it didn’t seem impossible.

  As that line of thought brought up a forgotten memory, Ella stopped in her tracks. Gorchenco and Logan had talked about an island. Logan had asked the Russian whether he would be visiting it again, and Gorchenco had answered that he wasn’t going anywhere without Ella. Then Logan had said something about Ella’s beauty being appreciated over there, and that had gotten the Russian pissed.

  Could they have been talking about the Doomers’ island?

  Gorchenco was definitely rich enough to afford it, and he liked exclusive, high-end things, which no doubt included the paid company he sought.

  If the clan followed Gorchenco around, he might just lead them to the damn island.

  Her first instinct was to turn around and tell her mother, but that was something the old Ella would have done. The new Ella headed in the opposite direction.

  35

  Kian

  As someone knocked hesitantly on his door, Kian frowned. Usually, he could tell who it was by the signature mix of their emotional makeup, but not this time.

  Except, strangers didn’t just come knocking on his door.

  It took him a moment to realize that the slight anxious scent was human and not immortal, which meant that the knocker could be only one of two people, Vivian or Ella.

  “Come in,” he called out.

  The door opened slowly, and Ella poked her head inside. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything, but there is no receptionist up front, so I had no one I could ask. Do you have a moment?”

  “Sure.” He didn’t. But if the girl had braved seeking him out it must be important. “Please, take a seat.” He motioned for the chair in front of his desk.

  “Thank you.” She sat on the very edge. “There were no signs on the doors either, but I figured the corner office would be yours.” She smiled. “And I was right.”

  “It seems so. How can I help you, Ella?”

  “I spoke to Carol yesterday, and she told me about the Doomers’ island.” Ella lifted a pair of worried eyes to him. “She told me about the mission she’s training for. I hope she won’t get in trouble for telling me because it’s not her fault. Sometimes I have this weird influence on people. They feel compelled to tell me their secrets. I thought I was imagining it, or that I was just easy to talk to, but I’m starting to think that there is more to it.”

  The girl was rambling on, probably because she was nervous. But if what she was saying was true, it was good to know that he had an asset like her at his disposal.

  She kept going. “I don’t know. It still might be nonsense.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Anyway, after Carol told me about the mission and the problems with it, I figured that the communication one could be easily solved if I joined her on the island. The telepathic connection between my mother and me is not location bound. I can transmit any information Carol needs me to.”

  Kian was shaking his head vehemently, but Ella ignored him and kept on going.

  “So, then I thought about the extraction problem. It shouldn’t be too difficult to find some of the men who visit the island regularly, and either bribe them or thrall them to get Carol out if needed.”

  “Even if that was on the table, which it is not because you are never setting foot on that island, the clients don’t arrive on their own planes. They are flown there in windowless aircraft, and every piece of luggage is carefully checked. No one can smuggle Carol out.”

  “Are you sure that they check the luggage upon departure? Because it would make more sense if they checked it upon arrival to make sure that there were no trackers. They have no reason to check on the way out. The visitors are all filthy rich, so it’s not like they are going to pilfer anything. And Carol is small. She can fit in a suitcase.”

  The image of Carol folded into a suitcase brought a smile to his face. “You’re very imaginative, and I’ll take what you’ve said under consideration. But I’m afraid we are not anywhere near an acceptable risk margin.”

  Syssi should have heard this. She would’ve been proud of how politely he’d phrased his refusal. Normally, he would have just said that the idea was ridiculous and that no way in hell was he going to
allow Ella on the island. This was progress.

  Except, it didn’t work.

  Ella narrowed her eyes at him. “I’m so sick of everyone treating me like a breakable doll. I’m a survivor, and I have a special skill no one else has. Are you just going to waste it because you think of me as this fragile girl who needs to be protected?”

  The girl had guts. He had to give her that. Not many people dared glare at him or challenge him to a verbal duel.

  Should he take her down a peg?

  Nah. Let her keep her spunk. Right now, it was probably what was keeping her from falling apart.

  “I know that you are strong and brave, but you’re still a very young human, Ella. Compared to us, to Carol, you are extremely fragile.”

  Slumping in her chair, Ella nodded. “I get it. As long as I’m human, all of you are going to keep me in bubble wrap.” She looked up at him, the spark of defiance burning in her eyes. “I want to help those poor girls. But since you’re not going to let me do the most helpful thing I have to offer, I can at least help out with some information. I’m pretty sure Gorchenco visits that island. I heard him talking about it with someone. If you can track him or maybe even thrall him to assist you, he can lead you to its location.”

  That was indeed a good piece of information, but not as useful as Ella thought it was. Finding men who visited the island wasn’t all that difficult. The problem was that just like Dalhu and Robert, they were clueless about its location.

  Not wanting to disappoint Ella, he nodded. “Gorchenco isn’t easy to follow, but we will give it a try.” He raked his fingers through his hair. “To tell you the truth, I’ve given up on that plan. I just don’t have the heart to tell Carol. It's too risky, and the benefits are iffy at best. With all due respect to Carol, it was a crazy idea to think that she could start a revolt. And we are not strong enough to launch an attack, nor do we want to. For better or worse, the Doomers and we are all that’s left of our people. Even though they are my enemies, I’m not going to seek their annihilation.”

  Fuck, why had he told her that when he hadn’t told anyone else?

  Maybe there was something to Ella’s claim about people feeling compelled to tell her their secrets.

  “What about all those girls?”

  “My heart goes out to them, but there isn’t much I can do about it. Their suffering was what prompted me to even contemplate the insane idea of planting Carol on the fucking Doomers’ island.”

  Pinning him with those big soulful eyes of hers, Ella asked, “Isn’t there another way?”

  “The only way to end the Brotherhood’s reign of terror and free the girls they enslave is to start a change from inside the organization. That’s still the best approach. The big question is how to do that. I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with a more viable idea. Unfortunately, I don’t see how it can be done. My hope is that unrest will eventually start naturally.”

  Surprising him, Ella snorted. “Yeah, right. Their leader has managed to stay in power for the past five thousand years. He must know every trick in the book to subdue rebellion before it even starts. Either that or he has complete mind control over his people.”

  “I can’t argue with that.”

  “So, what do we do, nothing?”

  Reaching across the desk, he patted her hand. “You seem to be the kind of person who thinks outside the box. Maybe you can come up with a fresh idea?”

  Taking his teasing seriously, she nodded. “I will come up with something. I know that Gorchenco is the key to unlocking this puzzle. I just don’t know how yet.”

  “Why do you think he is the key?”

  She put her hand over her heart. “Even though he wronged me, I knew Gorchenco shouldn't die because there was some important task he still needed to do. I have a strong feeling that this is it.”

  “Feelings are subjective, Ella. You can’t trust them.”

  “Sometimes that is all you can trust. I’m not a normal person, that’s quite obvious given the telepathy, and when I have a strong feeling about something, I shouldn’t ignore it. I’ve learned that the hard way.”

  36

  Ella

  The polite goodbye Ella had forced as she’d left Kian’s office had taken a monumental effort.

  Glad that there was no one around to see her stomping along the pathway, she decided to take the long way home to cool off.

  Kian had basically blown smoke up her ass with all that crap about never really intending to send Carol to the island. He’d treated her like a child. Had he thought she’d fallen for his fake assignment?

  Right, as if he was ever going to listen to any of her ideas even if she managed to come up with something brilliant.

  Not that she had a freaking clue.

  For that, she needed much more information about the island and its safety protocol, as well as any other information that could be useful. Which meant picking the two resident Doomers’ brains. Dalhu and Robert.

  Hopefully, Carol maintained a good relationship with her ex and could introduce them. Dalhu might be easier, though. Ella could visit Amanda, using the makeover she’d been promised as an excuse, and try to get Dalhu to talk.

  Eh, who was she kidding?

  Why waste time on it?

  An ancient and powerful immortal like Kian was not going to take the advice of an insignificant young human. The only thing she had going for her was the telepathic connection to her mother.

  A two-way radio of apparently limited usefulness.

  Because if Kian wouldn't allow her anywhere near danger, he sure as hell wouldn’t allow her mother either, which meant that gossiping and talking through closed doors was all their telepathy was good for.

  Well, that and communicating while held captive by a Russian mobster, but that wasn’t going to happen ever again.

  Except, would Kian still refuse their help if both Ella and Vivian were immortal?

  After all, he’d been willing to use Carol, so why not them?

  One thing was clear. As long as they were weak and breakable, there was no chance of anyone being willing to even consider using their unique ability. Bottom line, they both needed to transition.

  Not a problem for Vivian, but a big problem for Ella.

  She didn’t want to think about anything sexual, let alone do it. But maybe that was because sex equaled the Russian in her head. Perhaps the way to get rid of those nasty memories was to replace them with good ones?

  How had Tessa done it?

  She’d been even younger than Ella when she’d been violated, and she had been treated much worse. How had she managed to let Jackson touch her?

  The guy was gorgeous and charming, a real prince, but so was Julian, and still Ella couldn’t think about getting intimate with him without a major freak out. Time was supposed to take care of that, but Ella didn’t have the patience to wait.

  Pulling out her phone, she texted Tessa. Are you busy?

  I’m at work, but I can take a break. What’s up?

  I need to talk to you. Can you meet me at the playground?

  I can be there in fifteen minutes.

  Awesome. See you here.

  Asking Tessa to drag up a past which she obviously preferred to remain buried wasn’t fair, but Ella desperately needed advice.

  She would start with a few gentle questions and see if Tessa was willing to talk. If not, she’d drop the subject and pretend that she wanted to talk about the practice video they were going to shoot later that evening.

  With no one using the playground, Ella sat on one of the swings and pushed back with her legs. It had been ages since she’d been on one. Starting a slow rhythm, she closed her eyes.

  “Having fun?” Tessa sat on the other swing.

  “In fact, I am. I had forgotten how much fun swings were.”

  “Yeah, me too.”

  “I’m sorry for dragging you out of work.”

  Tessa waved a dismissive hand. “There isn’t much to do. I’m transcr
ibing old files into the computer. There is no rush on that. What did you want to talk about?”

  Ella decided to start with what she thought was an easier topic. “Did you know right away that Jackson was the one for you?”

  “Not at all. First of all, he is several years younger than me. Secondly, he’s a god, and I’m a plain Jane. I couldn’t see us together. Never mind that I was emotionally and physically closed off. I have no idea what he saw in me. I was dressed in kids’ clothes, on purpose, and I did my damnedest to impersonate a mouse.”

  “Did Jackson know right away that you were the one for him?”

  Tessa nodded. “He was so sweet and so patient with me. At first, I couldn't stand being touched at all.” She chuckled. “Jackson must’ve had the worst case of blue balls in the history of men. But he suffered through it for me.”

  “How did you manage to get over it?”

  “Slowly and with a lot of patience on his part, and sheer determination on mine. I wasn’t willing to let the scumbags who’d hurt me win. I was sick of feeling weak and scared all the time. So, I joined a Krav Maga class and really got into it. It gave me confidence, and some of it spilled over into my relationship with Jackson.”

  Tessa sighed and let her head drop back. “I remember being afraid that he’d lose patience and leave me. Then I was worried that maybe I would never be ready and thought that I should leave him because it wasn’t fair to him. Jackson is such a sensual guy. It’s not just about sex with him. He likes to touch me all of the time.” She smiled. “Now I love it. I could not imagine life without him.”

  By the time Tessa was done, Ella had tears in her eyes. The love that girl shared with her fiancé was epic.