Page 21 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

"Immortal females don't get cycles," Jasmine said. "After you transitioned, you stopped menstruating in order to preserve your eggs. It's an on-demand kind of system so we don't run out of them. The flip side is that it's very rare. Every birth is celebrated in the clan because there are so few."

"Well, that's good to know," Fenella said. "But what happens with us next?"

Jasmine looked at Max. "Maybe you should cover that part."

"When we land, we will be met by a doctor, a real one who is very nice, and he will check all of you for hidden trackers. You might not be aware of them being embedded under your skin."

Fenella looked at Jasmine. "Is that possible?"

Jasmine nodded. "It's not very likely with you because immortal bodies reject foreign objects, but the human girls might have them. Still, it's better to go ahead and check you as well than to lead the enemy to our home. Right?"

"Of course." Fenella released a breath. "So, the doctor checks us for trackers and then what?"

"Then you will be hosted in beautiful penthouses overlooking downtown Los Angeles. Mostly, because we don't know what the deal is with the other four ladies and what the Doomers wanted with them. If not for them, you would have been taken straight to our village, but we need your help with them. Also, our doctor needs to figure out what kind of sedative was used on you. It'svery difficult to keep an immortal sedated for as long as you have been. But that doesn't necessitate you staying in the penthouse. It's just a super fancy halfway house."

For a moment, a hush fell over their small group. The plane continued its soft rumble, and somewhere in the back, Max heard faint murmurs—probably the Kra-ell talking quietly among themselves.

"What did he want with us?" Fenella asked. "Were we just a plaything for a sadist?"

Max shuddered at the casual way she said that.

"We will find out when we interrogate him," he said. "We suspect that he was trying to find a way to identify Dormants. We haven't found a way to do that, and we've been researching the issue for a very long time, but perhaps he got lucky. If the other women are Dormants, that will prove it."

14

KYRA

Bile rose in Kyra's throat. She'd seen what the monster had done to Fenella, but she'd hoped the woman had been too drugged to realize what had been happening to her.

Apparently, Fenella had been aware, and seemed to be managing the horror much better than Kyra would have ever managed herself.

How had she gotten so resilient?

Was it just for show? Or was she an extraordinary woman?

She wanted to find out but was afraid to ask questions that might shatter Fenella's façade, in case she was just putting on a brave face, while actually bleeding inside.

"I have a question." She put her hand on Jasmine's arm. "Does the induction to immortality always happen the way you explained or is there another method that does not require such an intimate contact with an immortal?"

Jasmine cast a quick glance at Max, then cleared her throat. "I'm not an expert on the subject, but as far as I know, both venomand semen are needed. Venom cannot be harvested, so unless the Doomers found a way to do that, which is doubtful, the old-fashioned way is the only way."

The accusing glance Fenella cast Max sent a wave of pity crashing over Kyra.

Poor Fenella. She felt a sudden urge to reach out and comfort her, but she was pretty sure that the woman wouldn't welcome the gesture.

Jasmine leaned in. "We should pause the conversation here. You both have enough to digest. We'll have more time to talk after we land."

Kyra was tired, but she had so many questions she knew would keep her awake. "Do you happen to have a picture of your father?"

Jasmine shook her head. "I don't, but maybe he has one on his website. Would you like me to search for it?"

Kyra nodded. "Maybe seeing him would jog my memory."

"Don't forget that over two decades have passed since you last saw him." Jasmine pulled out her phone. "The picture on the website is old, but not that old."

Kyra wondered why Jasmine didn't have photos of her father. Everyone had pictures of their families on their phones. "Do you have any brothers or sisters?"

A grimace twisted Jasmine's beautiful face. "I have two stepbrothers, but we are not close. They are nasty pieces of shit." She scrolled on her phone. "Here it is." She handed the device to Kyra. "Boris Orlov."

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