Page 3 of Dark Island: Rescue
"I will call Annani and beg for her help."
Hope flickered in Tula's chest. "Can you call her today?"
Areana shook her head. "Our calls are scheduled forWednesdays. Always Wednesday, same time. This is how we've done it since the clan installed the communication device on the cliff and Carol taught me how to use the earpiece and its counterpart. So far, I have avoided discovery, and I won't risk tempting the Fates by deviating from the schedule. It's bad luck."
"But—" Tula started.
Areana lifted a hand to stop her. "Patience, Tula. I know it's difficult, but this is not the kind of thing that should or could be rushed. We've kept this communication channel open for so long because we've been careful. Disciplined."
Tula pressed both hands against her belly, feeling the firm swell there. "I can't be patient. The child is growing so fast now. Every day that passes, I'm more visibly pregnant. Soon, I won't be able to hide it at all, and what then?"
If Navuh discovered her condition, he'd be pleased. Another son for his army, another warrior to mold and control. But he'd also have her watched closely to ensure she carried to term.
Copying Carol's fake suicidal leap off the cliff would not be possible.
Areana's gaze dropped to Tula's stomach, and a soft smile curved her lips. "Given the shape of your belly, it must indeed be a boy. I still vividly remember my pregnancies with both of mine, even though they were nearly a millennium apart. The way time seemed to accelerate, the way I could feel them growing by the day."
Tula knew the story or parts of it. She knew that both sons had eventually escaped their father's control.Lokan had only recently fled for good, while Kalugal had been free for nearly a century. She also knew that Areana mourned their absence from her life but celebrated their hard-won freedom.
"I'll call Annani on Wednesday as scheduled," Areana said. "We're going to get you out." The certainty in her voice made Tula want to believe that it would happen.
"It's Friday," she murmured. "Wednesday is a long time from now, and even if they agree to help, they will need weeks to plan."
Areana nodded. "It's all for the best. You and the others must return to your routines and act as normally as you can—no whispered conversations, no furtive glances, no suspicious behavior of any kind. Navuh doesn't monitor the surveillance camera feed in the harem, but his men do, and they report any suspicious behavior to him. Any hint that something is amiss, and he'll investigate."
A chill slithered down Tula's spine. "We've been acting very suspiciously lately, all four of us, and I know the others have noticed."
All those meetings in the bathrooms, which were the only private spaces safe from surveillance. They'd even used her bathroom as a fingerprint workshop. If Navuh's men had the intelligence of a fence post, they would have noticed something.
"You have the excuse of your maladies as of late, but they could also point to your condition. This is why you must make an extra effort to appear as normal as possible." Areana patted Tula's knee. "Engage in your normal routines. Let yourself be seen being bored, being content,being whatever you usually are, but don't show anyone that you are nauseous, and don't touch your belly. Your friends will cooperate, thinking that you want to hide your pregnancy, which is true. Don't give anyone a reason to wonder."
That was easier said than done, but Areana was right, and Tula resolved to be the best actress possible until the rescue arrived.
There was only one problem. "Don't I need to appear depressed and suicidal so it would be believable when I throw myself off the cliff?"
"Not yet," Areana said. "We don't know what plan the clan will devise this time around, and until we do, behave normally. Smile and tease your friends like you have always done."
"I can do that."
"That's the spirit." Areana smiled. "I knew that spunk was still somewhere in there." She rose to her feet. "I'll make us some calming tea. We need that after all the excitement."
"I wouldn't call it excitement." Tula toed off her slippers and pulled her legs under her. "More like being pounded on the head with a hammer. By the way, are you sure it's safe for me to be here for so long? What if Navuh comes back?"
"He won't," Areana said with absolute confidence. "He has meetings scheduled all day—something about the new scientist arriving and preparations for resuming the enhancement program. He won't return before dinner."
The mention of the enhancement program sentanother chill through Tula. The soldiers had had their minds broken and twisted by Zhao's drugs and had turned into monsters. They were imprisoned in isolation while Navuh searched for someone to continue the experiments.
The island had gone from bad to worse. In addition to the army of immortal warriors and an internationally infamous brothel, it was now also home to a laboratory for horrors.
And she was about to bring a child into this world, into this place.
No. She couldn't think that way. Areana would call Annani, and her clan would come to the rescue. She had to cling to that hope.
"Lie back down," Areana instructed as she returned with a steaming cup of tea. "Put your feet up."
Tula obeyed, arranging herself comfortably in a semi-reclining position. Areana handed her the cup, and Tula inhaled the fragrant steam—chamomile and something else. Something soothing that made her eyelids feel heavy.
"Drink." Areana settled into an armchair across from the chaise. "Slowly."
