Page 10 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

"Thank you for carrying me," Kyra said.

He dipped his head. "You are welcome."

It took her a moment to realize that the sound had come from a small, teardrop-shaped device hanging from a string near his throat.

"What's that?" She pointed a finger at the device.

"Ell-rom is still learning English," Jasmine explained. "He can understand what we are saying thanks to the specialized earpieces he's wearing, and the device you see around his neck translates what he speaks back to us."

"That's amazing," Kyra said. "Is that a new thing in America now? Translating equipment?"

Jasmine shook her head. "Actually, it's proprietary technology, not something you can buy in stores."

When Kyra lifted her gaze to Ell-rom, he smiled. "I'm happy to see you are getting better."

"Wow. This is truly extraordinary." She turned to Jasmine. "Does he also sound like that without the device?"

Jasmine pursed her lips. "It does a very good job of mimicking his tone and inflection, but since we're communicating mainly through earpieces, I'm mostly used to the sound as it is transmitted through them." She smiled at her mate. "Ell-rom says I sound much like what he hears through his earpieces. Isn't that right, darling?"

His expression changed, becoming softer, and he took Jasmine's hand. "Your voice is even more beautiful in reality than it is through the earpieces, but I love every sound you make." He shifted his gaze to Kyra. "Your daughter is a talented singer and actress. She has the most beautiful voice."

Kyra's heart expanded at the praise and ached at the same time for all the things she'd missed about Jasmine growing up, learning to sing, becoming an actress.

"I've missed so much," she murmured. "Motherhood was stolen from me, and you were deprived of a mother's love. Who was the monster who did that?"

"That part I'm not sure of," Jasmine said. "But we can speculate about it later. The good news is that we have eternity to compensate for time lost because we are both immortal, and I promised to explain how and why."

Kyra nodded. "You promised to tell me how I can have children despite not having periods."

Across from them, Fenella gasped. "Is that possible? I don't have periods either. I was sure it meant I was infertile."

"You can have children," Jasmine said. "But your fertility is extremely low. That's the price of immortality. Nature has to ensure that we don't overpopulate the planet, so it makes it difficult for us to conceive."

Kyra let out a breath. "That makes sense. What else should we know?"

Jasmine chuckled. "A lot, but before I launch into the grand story, let me set a few ground rules. There is no single 'aha' moment that explains everything in one sentence. It's a tapestry of events, going back millennia. Also, there are a lot of things I don't know yet because I'm a baby immortal and haven't had time to learn everything yet. I'll do my best to be clear, but if you can, try not to interrupt until I'm done, or we'll never get through the main arc."

Kyra nodded, though her heart thrummed with impatience.

Fenella took a shaky breath. "I'll do my best not to interrupt."

6

MAX

After Ell-rom settled into a seat across the aisle, Jasmine pulled five bottles of water out of the wall compartment and distributed them to her audience.

"I will try to do the story justice, but if I make mistakes, Max can correct me." She smiled at him. "Max has been an immortal for much longer than the three of us."

Fenella frowned at him. "How old are you?"

"Old." He cringed. "Five hundred and thirty-three in two months."

She gaped at him. "How old is Din?"

So, she remembered him. Good. He had thought she'd forgotten. "Older, but not by much."

Shaking her head, Fenella slumped in her seat. "What the hell were two ancient immortals doing in a pub in Invery?"

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