Page 95 of Dark Witch: Twin Destinies

"So am I," Kalugal said. "All that piloting was much more exhausting than I anticipated."

Edgar wanted to roll his eyes.

Piloting was all that Kalugal had done. He, Yamanu, and the gods had done all the loading, unloading, and refueling. Most of the extra fuel they had brought on the truck was gone, and the containers were stacked behind the two trucks they were using.

As they walked down the street, Edgar thought about the last item on their agenda: the pod. It had to be buried beneath a mountain of rubble and debris to ensure no trace of its existence remained. They couldn't risk leaving even the slightest hint of alien technology to be found by humans.

As they entered the big tent, Edgar gazed over the place, searching for Jasmine and finding her with the other ladies, sitting next to a large table and a pile of packaged food.

She was so beautiful, so sexy, and so indifferent to him that it hurt.

"Hello, ladies." Yamanu strode to the table. "Is there anything we can shove into our mouths before going? I'm starving."

Gabi lifted a big platter with several dishes on it, which had been hidden behind the boxes, and put it at one corner of the table. "This is for you."

"Thank you." Yamanu pulled out a chair. "You are an angel."

Edgar walked over to Jasmine, and as he stood beside her, she had no choice but to look at him.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi." He smiled. "I missed you."

She averted her gaze. "You should sit down and eat before Yamanu gobbles everything down."

"Yeah." He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I should." He pulled out a chair next to Yamanu and tore open a packet of hand sanitizer that Gabi left for him next to his plate.

Dagor piled his plate and walked over to the other side of the long table to sit with Frankie, and Kalugal joined Yamanu and Edgar.

"What's that?" He pointed at the shaptak.

"It's a traditional Tibetan dish," Margo said. "It's stir-fried meat made with ginger, cabbage, and other stuff that mostly uses spices, so if you don't like a lot of spices, you should choose something else."

"I love spice." Kalugal piled his plate with the dish.

Edgar's stomach rumbled, not caring that his heart was aching. It wanted food. Once Kalugal was done piling his plate, he took the serving dish from him and put some of it on his own plate.

"Listen," Yamanu said, wiping his mouth with the wet towelette Gabi had given him. "We're about to head back to the mountain, and there will be a big boom. The townsfolk and Jasmine won't hear or see a thing, but the rest of you probably will. Don't get scared and don't respond."

Jasmine's brow furrowed. "Is it dangerous?" she asked. "The explosives, I mean. Are you going to set them off from a distance?"

"Of course," Kalugal said. "You have nothing to worry about. We will all be in the air when we detonate the mountain."

Jasmine nodded. "I thought so. I just wanted to make sure that you are safe." She glanced at Edgar and smiled, her concern for his safety making his heart soar with renewed hope.

Edgar, Kalugal, and Yamanu pushed to their feet when they were done eating. Dagor remained seated; his job was done, and he did not need to return.

Edgar walked over to Jasmine and pulled her into a hug, breathing in the sweet, familiar scent of her hair. She stiffened momentarily, her body tense and unyielding in his arms. But then, with a sigh that sounded almost like surrender, she relaxed, melting into his embrace with a softness that made his heart ache.

It wasn't the enthusiastic response he had hoped for, but it was something.

72

ARU

Aru shifted on the hard boulder he'd been sitting on and turned to Negal. "I've thought a lot about it, and we will have to fake the twins' death. When the Kra-ell prepare the funeral pyres, we will wait for them to perform the rites and then one of us will have to light the torch while it is being filmed. The trick will be to do the same with the twins, given their state."

Negal pursed his lips. "What if we could create dummies that look like they did before they turned skeletal? The clan should be able to help us with that."

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