Page 66 of Dark Gambit: The Play

"The attack on Jade's tribe happened several years after they were born, but we don't know when they were placed in the orphanage, so perhaps that's possible. If they are of pure Kra-ell descent, though, they are not immortal, which is bad news for them and Yamanu and Arwel. On the other hand, Mey and Jin have very distinct paranormal talents, and from what I heard, Sofia's talent is questionable, which favors the hypothesis of their mother being one of our Dormants."

"I haven't spoken to Sofia about her talent. She can supposedly determine a person's true nature from their reflection in the mirror. There is some mention of that in human literature, so perhaps there is something to it." He sighed. "If Mey and Jin are indeed of pure Kra-ell heritage, and they are still Yamanu and Arwel's truelove mates, then maybe the Fates have some grand plan in mind for the Kra-ell and us."

What he meant by that was that he hoped Sofia was his truelove mate, and that his venom might somehow make her immortal.

Bridget let out a breath. "Who knows? I used to scoff at those who invoked the Fates, but I'm no longer dismissive of their part in what's going on."

"Same here. I love being an engineer and finding scientific solutions to problems. But now that I’ve found a woman who I feel can be my one and only, I'm finding myself hoping for divine intervention."

"As the saying goes, there are no atheists in the foxhole. Good luck, Marcel."

"Thank you."

50

SOFIA

Marcel wasn't in bed when Sofia woke up. The door to the bedroom was closed, but she knew he was in the bunker. He wouldn't have left her alone without telling her that he was leaving.

Last night was spectacular, and with the residual pleasure still pulsing through her body, she wanted to find him and drag him back to bed for another round.

What better way to start the day than making love, right?

Except, she didn't know what mood she would find Marcel in today. Would he be as loving and as sweet as he had been last night? Or would he go back to being broody and remote like he had been since that fateful call in Emmett's office?

Sofia had done everything they had asked her to do, she'd explained why she'd had no choice, and he should have forgiven her. He'd even said so last night. But she'd been hurt by him before, and she didn't trust his feelings not to change again.

Maybe if she went back to sleep, she would wake up with him holding her in his arms and murmuring sweet nothings in her ear, and they would live happily ever after. The end.

She smiled at her own girlish fantasies. Life didn't work like that. It wasn't fair, good things didn't come as a reward to good people, and evildoers like Igor got their way.

Kind of made her question her faith in the Mother.

The goddess wasn't the benevolent god humans believed in. She was vengeful and demanding. The Mother was supposed to reward the worthy and punish the unworthy, but that wasn't how it worked in the real world. Now that Sofia knew that Igor was definitely unworthy, that he spit in the face of Kra-ell traditions, turning them on their head, she doubted that the Mother was a real force in the universe.

The thing was, Igor's murderous ways were not an affront to the Mother. The Kra-ell were warlike people, and to die in battle or in a duel was considered an honorable death. Deadly duels weren't allowed in Igor's compound, but he hadn't disallowed stories of them to circulate like he suppressed the truth about females being the Mother's chosen leaders.

As the bedroom door opened and Marcel walked in, shirtless and barefoot, her mouth watered. "Come back to bed." She lifted the blanket, inviting him in.

"I wish I could." He sat down and leaned to kiss her lips. "I didn't go to the lab yesterday as I was supposed to, and I need to do it now. It shouldn't take long, though."

Once again, he seemed awkward and remote with her, but she had a feeling it was about something other than mistrust. Something was troubling him, but it might be about the things he needed to do in the lab.

As her aunt used to say, not everything was about her, and the people around her could have other things troubling them that had nothing to do with her.

Sofia sighed. "What am I supposed to do while you do whatever you need to do in the lab?"

"I made coffee, and Eleanor will bring you breakfast later. I can send a book with her. What do you like to read?"

"Do you have any romance novels?"

He winced. "I have some thrillers and detective stories, and I think that in one of them there is a love interest, but I wouldn't call it romance."

"That's okay. I have a book that I brought with me and didn't finish yet." She put her hand on his knee. "Can I ask Eleanor to compel me to keep quiet about everything that went down so I can rejoin the retreat? I cooperated, and you said that you trusted me. Besides, where am I going to run? There is nowhere to go."

Marcel sighed. "I need to ask the big boss's permission. I sent him a message, but he hasn't answered me yet, and I don't want to bug him. He's not the friendliest of guys, and especially not to those who disturb his Saturday morning with his family."

"Is he the one who was listening through Julian's tablet?"

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