Page 1 of Dark Rebel's Fortune

1

KYRA

Kyra woke before dawn, her body instantly alert despite having slept only a few hours. The weight of Max's arm draped across her waist was both comforting and unfamiliar.

His steady breathing warmed the back of her neck, and for a moment, she allowed herself to savor the closeness.

No wonder she'd had such a good night's sleep.

She felt safe for the first time in forever.

So much had changed since her rescue from that hellhole in Tahav. She'd gone from being a prisoner with no known family other than her rebel crew, to being set free and discovering she had a grown daughter, four nieces who needed her protection, and possibly four sisters and their families waiting to be saved. Not to mention whatever was developing between her and Max—this connection that hadsparked instantly and burned with an intensity that thrilled her but also scared her a little.

She didn't know how to do this or be a part of a couple, and she was winging it, hoping that staying true to herself would be enough. Heck, she couldn't be anything else even if she tried. But it was okay. Max was like her, and he understood her—the same way she understood him.

For better or for worse, they were warriors, both dealing with the ugly side of humanity—him fighting traffickers and pedophiles in addition to Doomers and her fighting a fanatical regime that had stripped Iranian women of fundamental human rights and financed terror globally.

She and Max were comrades in arms, and even though it seemed like they were fighting different battles, it looked like their enemies were working together.

Carefully, she slipped from under his arm and exited the bed. Max stirred but didn't wake. He must feel safe with her to sleep so peacefully.

She allowed herself a moment to study him—the strong line of his jaw, the slight furrow between his brows, the way his blond hair fell across his forehead. It was hard to reconcile his youthful, almost boyish appearance with his age, and that was coming from her, an immortal who was nearly fifty years old. Still, he'd lived for half a millennium, and compared to that, she was a baby immortal.

Max had seen empires rise and fall.

His eyes suddenly fluttered open. "Time to go?" he murmured, his voice husky with sleep.

"Not yet." She cupped one cheek and leaned to kiss the other. "But soon."

Smiling, he reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, his fingertips brushing over her cheek. "I should head downstairs to my apartment to get ready."

"We can have breakfast when you return."

"Sounds like a plan." He slipped out of bed, pushed his feet into his boots, and, after a quick peck on her cheek, exited the master suite, closing the door silently behind him.

If he encountered anyone on the way out, they would assume that she and Max had shared a night of passion. No one would believe that they had just slept in each other's arms, finding comfort and strength in the closeness, in the connection.

Let them believe what they would.

Kyra didn't care.

After a quick shower, she dressed in her new tactical gear, appreciating how perfectly everything fit. The cargo pants with multiple pockets, the lightweight top that wouldn't restrict her movement, the boots that felt as if they'd been made specifically for her feet and weighed next to nothing.

She strapped her pendant around her neck, then slid the two rings Jasmine had given her onto her fingers. They felt foreign on her hand—relics from a life she couldn't remember. But perhaps her sisterswould recognize them, and that recognition might help her prove to them that she was indeed their sibling despite not having aged much since they had parted decades ago. Her sisters had been so young then that they might not remember what she had looked like.

She was zipping up her bag when she heard a soft knock on her door.

"Come in," she called, expecting Max, but instead Jasmine poked her head in.

"The girls are up," she said. "They want to see you before you go."

"I was hoping to let them sleep." Kyra shouldered her pack.

Jasmine shook her head. "Not a chance. I think they have barely slept, waiting for you to get up, and they would never forgive you if you tried to sneak out without giving them one last hug."

Jasmine's comment warmed Kyra's heart. Her nieces had barely gotten to know her, but they were already attached to her and she to them.

As she and Jasmine passed by the door to Arezoo and Laleh's room, it flew open, and Arezoo stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips.

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