Page 39 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

"I didn't have to," Fenella said. "People don't realize how much they give away with their scents. Fear, excitement, disappointment—it all smells different. Between that and watching for the tiniest changes in their body language, I always knew what kind of hand my opponents had."

"You can smell those emotions because you are immortal," Kian said. "Humans can't smell that."

"Oh." She scrunched her nose. "I thought that I was just good at sniffing those out. I didn't know it came with immortality."

"How did you end up in that prison?" Max asked.

The question had been bothering him since they'd found her.

Fenella's expression shuttered, her eyes darkening. "That's why I said that Jasmine's father is a smart man. It was the poker that got me in trouble. I was unfortunate enough to meet the so-called doctor in a poker game. And even more unfortunate to lose to him, which I now know was because he could thrall me."

"He couldn't," Max corrected her misconception. "Immortals can thrall humans but not other immortals. But he could smell you."

"I see." Her voice grew flat, emotionless. "He beat me at my own game. He seemed to know exactly what cards I held each time." She paused, swallowing visibly. "When I couldn't pay, he demanded compensation of a certain kind." She let the statement hang in the air, allowing them to draw their own conclusions. "As I said, it's not safe for women out there. Not even immortals."

A heavy silence settled over the group. Max felt a cold fury building in his chest, his fangs elongating in response to the implied brutality Fenella had endured.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly. It seemed wholly inadequate, but what else could he offer?

Fenella gave a small smile. "I survived. I'm here. That's all that matters."

"When will Bridget arrive?" Syssi asked, addressing the question to Kian but glancing at Kyra.

"Tomorrow. I spoke to her and told her that everyone looked exhausted and that we should postpone the health check."

"What about the sedative?" Jasmine asked. "It will be completely gone from their bodies."

"It's already gone," Kyra said. "I'm back to myself. Will the doctor check the girls to determine if they are Dormants?"

"We don't have tests for that," Kian said. "We will have to get the answers out of that Doomer. He must have been working on something. It wasn't a coincidence that the six of you were under his so-called care."

An uncomfortable silence fell over the group.

"What if he just got lucky?" Fenella muttered. "He found me by chance."

Max considered this. "I think he knew what he was looking for."

"He was looking for me," Kyra said quietly. "He told me that he'd been searching for a long time. He knew what I turned into and how."

Kian let out a breath. "If the Brotherhood has found a way to identify Dormants, they will hunt for them to add to their breeders so they can grow their army of immortals even faster."

The implications sent a chill down Max's spine.

The Doomers always had an advantage over the clan because they didn't allow their breeders to transition. They only activated the boys so they could join Navuh's army but left the girls dormant so they could produce the maximum number of children. They didn't want them turning immortal and their fertility plummeting as a result.

He glanced at Kyra, expecting to see concern on her face. Instead, he found determined calculation—the look of a strategic mind assessing a threat and formulating countermeasures.

It was the expression of a commander, not a victim.

Fates, she was magnificent.

"When are we going to interrogate him?" she asked.

"Tomorrow," Kian said. "I know that you want to be there, but you need to rest. One night of recovery won't change much in the grand scheme of things."

"I've never been a patient woman," Kyra said. "My team often chided me for my impulsiveness." She clutched her pendant. "I always trusted my instincts."

"Oh, do tell." Fenella leaned back against the soft couch cushions. "Your life must have been so exciting."

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