Page 85 of Dark Gambit: The Play

That was all fascinating, and Sofia wanted to learn much more about his people's history, but that wasn't what was at the forefront of her mind right now.

"What happens if I don't transition?"

"You will live out your human life in our village, hopefully as my mate." He cupped her cheek. "But I have a strong feeling that you will transition. The Fates wouldn't have brought us together and dangled the perfect mate in front of me only to deny us a long life together. The Fates are fickle, and they have a wicked sense of humor, but they are not cruel."

This was the closest Marcel had ever gotten to telling her that he loved her, but it wasn't good enough. Calling her his perfect mate wasn't the same as calling her the love of his life.

Sofia sighed. "I'm touched that you think I'm perfect for you, but I'm not a great believer in fate. I believe in the Mother of All Life, and she's not a kind goddess. She's demanding and vengeful, and she doesn't grant happy endings. The best I can hope from her is that when I die, I ascend to a place of honor on the field of heroes, but since I'm human, I'm not likely to get there. So, in fact, the best I can hope for is not to be sent to the valley of the shamed."

Marcel arched a brow. "Is that like the human hell?"

"There is no fire or brimstone, so no, but it's the place all cowards go to."

"You're not a coward."

"Oh yes, I am. I've spent most of my life being afraid."

"That doesn't make you a coward. We are all afraid of one thing or another. It's what we do despite our fears that defines us as either cowards or heroes."

67

MARCEL

As Marcel reflected on his own life, he realized that he'd spent most of it being afraid of making mistakes, of trusting people who would later disappoint him, of choosing the wrong path, and he'd been a coward because he had let those fears keep him in a sort of suspended animation.

He'd chosen to be a coward.

He'd dedicated himself to his work, learning as much as he could about machines and their language because machines were predictable. They weren't manipulative, they weren't temperamental, and they gave back in direct proportion to what was put into them.

With William at the helm, Marcel had been shielded from having to make decisions or deal with their consequences, and the only responsibilities he'd had were to perform his job well, which he had done.

It had been a safe and comfortable life, devoid of turmoil, and then Sofia had shown up and had blown it to smithereens.

On the one hand, he loved the exhilaration, the novelty, the challenge, and the way she made his heart beat erratically, but on the other hand, he yearned to go back to his calm and orderly life where every day was more or less the same as the one preceding it.

"How do you know that I'm your perfect mate?" Sofia asked. "Maybe it's just a passing infatuation." She smiled sadly. "I'm a novelty that you will eventually grow tired of."

He briefly closed his eyes. "I'm not a great romantic, or at least I'm not anymore, and even when I was young and naive and fell in love left and right, I didn't know how to express myself. I still don't. But there is a simple test that I dare you to try. Close your eyes and imagine a life without me. If the thought doesn't squeeze your heart, then perhaps I'm not the one for you."

She shook her head. "That's such a simplistic approach. If I do it now, I'm sure that's precisely how I would feel. But if you hurt me badly enough, those feelings would die the same way as your feelings for your ex-girlfriend died after she'd hurt you. People say that true love is unconditional, but that's untrue. Everything is about give and take." She chuckled. "Look at who is decisively unromantic now. I bet you've never heard a woman say those things."

He smiled. "The Kra-ell don't believe in love. I guess growing up among them rubbed off on you."

"I believe in love. I just don't believe in unconditional love. If you treat me right and love me, I'll treat you right and love you in return. But I will never love a man who abuses me or treats me with disrespect." She averted her eyes. "My biggest fear living in the compound was being forced into becoming a breeder. The way I dealt with the fear was by minimizing it. The purebloods didn't seek out human women to have a relationship with. They only wanted to produce hybrid offspring to grow their numbers. I figured I could tolerate having sex with them as long as I didn't need to feel anything for them. Thankfully, my being related to Valstar afforded me some protection. None of the purebloods have approached me."

"I assume that he's someone important in Igor's organization."

Sofia nodded. "He's Igor's second-in-command."

Marcel's good mood took a nosedive.

Sofia had failed to disclose her relationship to the most important member of Igor's inner circle, painting herself as an innocent victim, compelled into doing the evil dictator's bidding.

Was it his lot in life to fall for women who disappointed him?

Marcel let out a breath. "Turner asked me to have Eleanor or Emmett verify the information you provided by compelling you to tell the truth. I told him that you were cooperating out of your own free will and that it wasn't necessary. But he was right."

She frowned. "What are you talking about?"

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