Page 78 of Dark Witch: Twin Destinies

"It is," he agreed. "That's why I don't like it here."

Casting a sidelong glance at the chamber, Jasmine wondered for the umpteenth time if the prince was aware of what was happening around him. She hoped he wasn't because that would mean seven thousand years of having been locked inside his brain, which was a horrible fate she wouldn't wish even on Alberto or the Modana brothers.

She pushed on Edgar's chest. "I should take a shower before I fall on my face."

Thankfully, he didn't offer to join her, which, given the accommodations, would have been stupid even if they weren't on the brink of a breakup. The water pressure was so weak that it was like showering in raindrops, and the tiny electrical heater could only heat the water to lukewarm. It was best to get it over with as quickly as possible.

Later, as Jasmine lay next to Edgar in bed, he reached for her, his hands skimming over the soft curves of her hips and breasts. There was a slight spark of desire, but her heart wasn't in it, not just because of the eerie presence of the stasis chamber and its occupant.

"I'm tired," she murmured. "I just want to sleep."

"Of course," Edgar said, pressing a chaste kiss to her forehead. "You need the rest."

She curled into his side and rested her head on his chest. As her breathing slowly evened out and she was drifting off, she thought about how good it felt to have Edgar in her bed even when she wasn't interested in sex. He could be a wonderful partner, someone she could lean on, someone who always respected her wishes.

Why the heck was she thinking about leaving him?

60

ARU

Aru's breath fogged in the crisp morning air as he and Dagor made their way toward the gaping maw of the cavern. The night had been cold, and they had spent it huddled around a small fire, taking turns keeping watch over their discovery.

Sleeping on the hard ground hadn't been fun, but he hadn't minded it as much as going back down into the cavern and starting another day of dismantling the pod. It was grueling labor, and they were working against the clock.

Come to think of it, though, there was no real need to rush. If they didn't manage to remove everything worth saving from the pod by the time Yamanu arrived, they could ask him to stay a day or two longer until they were ready to bury the craft. He might not like it, but his preferences were a lesser concern than salvaging all they could.

"I hate this bloody wind." Dagor adjusted his scarf so it covered his mouth.

"Then you should be glad we are going down for another lovely day of hard labor in the cavern. There is no wind down there."

"Worth it," Dagor murmured from behind his scarf.

After checking the ropes and verifying that they were securely tied to the boulders, they grabbed one and rappelled down.

Two hours later, they had a pile of components nestled in the spots that the royals' stasis chambers had formerly occupied, but so far, they hadn't found any hint of tampering or sabotage.

Dagor huffed out a breath. "We're not going to find anything. We don't have the right tools or the training. We are like kids trying to dismantle a toy to discover how it is made."

Aru chuckled. "Are there any toys like that left?"

"Yeah." Dagor sat on one of the stasis chambers. "The simple ones for babies."

Aru joined him on top of the next chamber. "We are lucky that our kids will be born on Earth. They will be able to take everything apart because almost nothing is built as a solid state."

"Give it time." Dagor sighed. "Someone soon will come up with the brilliant idea that this is the perfect method to prevent reverse engineering, and they will manufacture everything the way it is done on Anumati."

"Perhaps, but I don't think it will happen anytime soon." Aru pushed to his feet. "I know it's a long shot, but I'm hoping we will find something that will help us locate the other pods."

Dagor shook his head, his expression bleak. "What are the chances that there will be any survivors? The others are most likely dead, just like the ones we found here."

Even though the Kra-ell were not his people, Aru felt a pang of grief at the thought. These settlers had been young and hoped for a new beginning on Earth. Instead, they had forfeited their lives. He didn't know whether to blame the queen of Anumati, the queen of the Kra-ell, or the Eternal King, but did it even matter?

It was always the commoners who paid with their lives for the games the elite played. The rulers, whether monarchs or democratically elected politicians, viewed the common people as a means to an end. That was even true of the queen of Anumati, whom he served.

She didn't care about her grandchildren if they could not advance her agenda. The twins were as much Ahn's kids as Annani was, and the same was true of Areana, but the queen only cared about Annani because she was the only legitimate heir to the Anumati throne.

"You are probably right," he told Dagor. "I doubt we will find any survivors, but I'm not ready to concede defeat until we find every pod. Perhaps some have miraculously survived."

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