Page 7 of Dark Horizon New Dawn

Hopefully, focusing her attention on him wouldn't be a mistake like choosing to settle at Safe Haven had been. This time, she wasn't letting her emotions make the decisions for her.

She'd voted with the others to move there instead of to the immortals' village out of fear. Like the others, she hadn't wanted to exchange one type of tyranny for another, and just like them, she'd been convinced that humans could never be more than slaves to these powerful immortals.

The Kra-ell had been cruel masters, but she had learned what to expect from them, how to stay out of trouble, and how to minimize her exposure to the meanest amongst them. At the time of the vote, she hadn't known much about the immortals. All she had known about her rescuers was that they had defeated the formidable Kra-ell, which meant that they were even more powerful and scary than her former masters.

Over time, though, she had begun to change her mind about them. Every one of the Guardians posted at Safe Haven had been polite and kind. She'd thought they had been instructed to act that way, but she experienced the same on the ship. Everyone she'd interacted with had treated her like a person, with smiles and kind words. No one had looked down their noses at her, been impatient with her, or snapped at her.

The fortress of fear that had started eroding at Safe Haven had crumbled entirely during the cruise.

"I get it," Peter said. "I can't imagine how difficult it must have been." He took another sip of his drink before putting the empty glass down. "Were you born in the compound, or were you abducted?"

"I was born there." She lifted her hand to tuck a stray strand of hair behind her ear. "And before you ask, both of my parents are human. I'm not part Kra-ell, for which I'm thankful."

He winced. "Not all of them are bad. Igor was terrible, but even the males in his close circle weren't all horrible people. They were his victims, compelled to obey him just like everyone else."

Oops. She must have stepped on a toe. Or whatever the phrase was when someone said something they shouldn't have.

Evidently, Peter was a Kra-ell sympathizer.

"I know that. We watched the televised trial. Lusha did a great job defending them. She made us proud even though she has Kra-ell blood in her."

Lusha's quarter Kra-ell part was dormant, but it had been enough for her to get privileges that pure humans hadn't gotten in the compound. She'd been allowed to attend university and had become an attorney. Marina and others like her had been home-schooled, and their job prospects were limited.

"Lusha did an amazing job," Peter agreed. "Do you know that Jade is now mated to one of us?"

"I heard that. But so what? You are powerful immortals, and you defeated the Kra-ell who enslaved her and killed the males of her tribe. Mating one of you was a step up for her."

"She and Phinas fell in love."

Peter looked like he really believed that, but she doubted a female who had never spared her own daughter a kind look was capable of love.

Perhaps these immortals were a little naive when it came to the Kra-ell, thinking that they were like them.

"I heard that you entrusted the Kra-ell with safeguarding your village in your absence. Do you really trust them to do that?"

Peter nodded. "Jade saved Kian's life, and she's proved herself loyal many times over. Kagra, too."

His voice had hitched a little when he said Kagra's name. Were the two involved? Was being separated from her the reason he looked so lonely and sad?

If so, Marina had bet on the wrong guy.

Affecting a smile, she looked at him from under lowered lashes. "Is there something going on between you and Kagra?"

"Not anymore." He lifted his empty glass to signal to the robotic bartender. "Do you want another drink?"

So that was why he had looked so sad. He was getting over a breakup, which made him even more ripe for the taking. Now, she definitely wanted one more drink so she could keep talking to him.

"Yes, please." Marina emptied the rest of the mojito down her throat. "More of the same. The mint is very refreshing."

After Bob brought them their drinks, Marina leaned back with hers in hand. "So, what happened between you and Kagra?"

"Nothing worth mentioning." His eyes flashed as he sipped on his drink. "It was just a fling, and we both moved on."

Marina had a feeling that there was more to it, but if that was a touchy subject for him, she was perfectly fine with leaving it alone. "Very well. I won't ask about her. Tell me a little about yourself."

Peter regarded her with his intense dark eyes as if trying to read her mind. "What do you want to know?"

"You are a Guardian, right? I've seen you sharing a table with several males whom I recognized from the liberation of the compound and later the sea voyage."

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