Page 59 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope
The chief had probably come from the dungeon, but the paranormals weren't supposed to know about that level of the keep and what was going on in there.
"It might be just a bug," Lokan said.
"Or not," Spencer muttered under his breath.
Onegus cast him a consoling glance. "If anyone wants to go for another round, I'm volunteering my services."
"I've gone through the induction three times." Spencer shook his head. "I don't think there is any point in trying again."
"Roni had five different inducers," Onegus said. "And that included me, Anandur, and Brundar. The one who finally succeeded was Kian, but it was more thanks to Roni's improved health than the quality of Kian's venom. I know that all of you have gone through health screening, but you never know what else could be preventing the transition from starting. If it doesn't happen for you in the next couple of days, I suggest that you wait a week or two and try again."
Carol shifted in the chair. "Maybe it's not just about the health of the inductee or the potency of the inductor. Maybe it's also about compatibility."
Lokan tried not to glare at his mate. It was sweet of her to try to protect his ego, but her attempt at shifting blame away from him was so transparent that it was embarrassing.
"Is that a thing?" Dylan asked. "Compatibility between venom and recipient? Julian never mentioned it."
"We don't know," Carol said. "But what we do know is that some Dormants who don't respond to one immortal's venom transition successfully with another's."
Spencer glanced between Onegus and Lokan, looking skeptical.
"It's worth trying," Lokan said, pushing down his pride. "What matters is the result, not whose venom achieves it."
Carol cast him an encouraging smile that further annoyed him. He didn't want her pity or her protection. He wasn't a fragile teen who needed his ego stroked by his girlfriend. He was a millennia-old immortal who'd fought in more battles than the chief of Guardians had read about.
Spencer walked over to Jeremy's bedside. "I'm counting on you. Show us it can be done."
Jeremy clasped Spencer's offered hand. "You're next. I can feel it."
It was the kind of baseless optimism that should have annoyed Lokan, but somehow it didn't. This was different than Carol's attempts at protecting his ego. This was about providing hope, even if it wasn't grounded in realistic probability.
24
TAMIRA
The dining room hummed with conversation as Tamira and her sisters gathered for dinner.
Areana was absent as usual, her chair at the head of the table sitting empty like a throne without its queen. Her breakfasts and dinners were taken with her mate, and she only joined them for lunch.
Tula, who always sat on Areana's right, was picking at her food and looking either angry or depressed. Sitting next to her, Tony looked like a clueless male who had no idea how to make his partner feel better and was probably wondering what he had done wrong. Tula had a bit of a temper, or a lot, if Tamira cared to be truthful. She might have gotten angry at something trivial that Tony had done or said, and it wouldn't be the first time.
However, there were also other signs that indicated a much more serious issue. It was the wine glass that sat untouched in front of her, the frequency of her hand landing on her stomach, and resting there for a split second before being quickly removed with an accompanying grimace.
The female was expecting, and by now, all the ladies suspected it, but Tony still seemed oblivious.
Across the table, Sarah and Beulah exchanged a meaningful glance, and Raviki nodded as if to cast her vote alongside them. They all saw it, but none dared speak it aloud.
"The beef smells wonderful," Liliat said, filling the awkward silence as servants placed dishes on the table.
It was at that moment that the lights above flickered, and the hum of the air conditioning stopped. The emergency lights came on right on cue, but then everything came back online, and the meager emergency lights turned off.
"When are they going to fix this finally?" Raviki asked. "It has been going on since we returned to the harem."
Sarah waved a dismissive hand. "It was happening in the mansion as well, but the emergency generator always clicked in before we even noticed it. I don't know why the harem can't have the same generator. The one they installed here is crappy."
"They are replacing it," Tony said. "I spoke with Hassan today, and he said that Lord Navuh managed to secure a big electrical contractor from India. They are going to replace the main transformer and most of the emergency generators on the island. Hassan is excited to see it being done."
Tamira wondered how Navuh was managing the memories of all the contractors and their crews. Half the island needed rebuilding, and more human crews were arriving daily to do the repairs. She hoped Navuh wasn't planning just to kill them all like he had done with the people who had built this island sanctuary a century ago.
