Page 20 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

His heart clenched for her, but he knew instinctively that any show of pity would offend her, so he changed the subject. "What about books? Do rebels have time to read?"

She laughed. "Time is not as much of a problem as is space. I lived in tents most of the time, or in half-ruined buildings. I got to watch stuff on my phone."

"How did you pay for things? If you don't mind me asking."

Kyra tilted her head. "How do you think?"

He was about to hazard a guess when the bathroom door opened and Fenella stepped out, wearing a dark green T-shirt that covered her like a short dress.

Jasmine handed her the blanket, which she tied around her hips, and then the two walked over to their seats.

"That took a long time," Kyra said.

Fenella lifted her hands. "I didn't finish the water, if that's what you are implying. I just used the time for some self-care."

"I wasn't implying anything." Kyra glanced at Ell-rom, who was still watching his movie, and then leaned toward Jasmine. "You didn't tell me that your guy was related to the Clan Mother."

"I didn't tell you many other things as well. There just wasn't enough time."

"True," Kyra conceded. "But that should have been part of the introductions. I should have been more deferential to Ell-rom."

Jasmine snorted. "He would have hated that, so don't even think about it. Just treat him like any other guy who's about to marry your daughter."

Kyra's eyes brightened. "Did you set a date? Is there a wedding on the horizon?"

"Relax." Jasmine put a hand on her mother's arm. "There are no plans and we don't need any. Ell-rom and I are truelove mates which means more than any human marriage tradition. Immortals who are lucky enough to find their one and only sometimes choose to celebrate their good fortune with the clan and sometimes they don't. Matrimony is optional."

Kyra pursed her lips. "I'm a modern woman and a fighter for women's rights, but I still believe in the importance of family. Marriage is a contract two people enter into not only to share their lives with each other but also to raise their children together."

Poor thing had no idea what her own family had done to her, but she would eventually find out.

Jasmine shook her head. "Unbelievable. I just found my lost mother, who I believed was dead, and she right away lectures me about marriage."

Kyra's face turned ashen. "You thought I was dead? Why?"

"Because that's what my father told me, and I had no reason to think he was lying since I never got a sign of life from you."

"I'm sorry." Kyra rubbed her temples. "I don't remember anything before the asylum. I don't know how I got there or what was done to me."

Jasmine's expression softened. "You came to the US to study, and you fell in love with my father. You knew that your family would never approve of you marrying a Christian, and you told him so. You changed the spelling of your name to Kira, assumedhis last name, and you thought you were safe. But they found you, somehow got you back to Iran, and instead of killing you for dishonoring the family, they put you in an insane asylum, where I assume the so-called doctor was tasked with erasing your memories of the life you were forced to leave behind."

For a long moment, Kyra gaped like a fish out of water, and Max wanted to grab her and fold his arms around her to protect her from Jasmine.

What had she been thinking?

She could have waited with that information for when Kyra was better or delivered it more gently.

"He drugged me and thralled me and did unspeakable things to me," Kyra said. "He was an immortal. Did my family know the kind of monster they hired?"

Jasmine's expression turned remorseful. "I don't know, and I'm sorry for dumping this on you like a bucket of ice water. I should have done that with more finesse. This is all speculation based on what we finally got my father to reveal. He believes that your family came for you, and the proof was the divorce papers he received from Iran. We also have what the seer saw in her visions. But that's all. The rest is guesswork."

"I see." Kyra deflated. "It was a shock to hear you say that, but I'd rather have it over and done with than get it delivered piecemeal."

"Perhaps you should rest a little," Jasmine suggested. "We don't have to cover everything at once."

Kyra sighed. "I'm getting a little tired. But there is one thing you promised to tell me that you haven't yet. You said that I can havechildren despite not having my monthly visitor, and I want to know how that is possible."

Max stifled a chuckle at the antiquated reference to a woman's monthly cycle.

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