Page 56 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

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KYRA

The whoosh of the glass door opening preceded Anandur and Brundar's return, both holding cardboard trays stacked with coffee cups, pastries, and various sandwiches. The comforting scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted into the meeting room, and the pleasant aroma made her briefly close her eyes.

Kyra took a discreet deep breath.

She was good at projecting confidence, but the truth was that she could have used a few more days of quiet to recuperate in the comfortable bed in the beautiful penthouse.

Now that was not an option.

Her family was in danger, Max was going, and nothing could keep her from joining the team.

"Perfect timing," Kian said, accepting a coffee from Brundar. "Thanks," he murmured and then shifted his attention back to the large screen on the wall, where the clan's Chief Guardian was waiting patiently until the coffee was distributed. "We need to figure out fast transportation in and out of Iran. Kalugal tookJackie to visit an archaeological site in Egypt, so his plane is unavailable. The clan jet is big enough to take the team there, but we need backup in case we end up getting out more people than we have the space for."

"Eric can provide an additional charter plane," Onegus said.

Max grabbed a pastry from Anandur's tray and straightened. "What's our timeline? The Doomers have a head start, and we don't know exactly how close they are tracking Kyra's family and whether they've already gotten them or not."

"The sooner the better," Onegus said. "Tomorrow, if we can manage it."

Nodding, Kian set his coffee on the table. "That's good. Turner may also have contacts in Tehran who can do preliminary recon and gather local intel before the main team lands."

"It would certainly streamline things," Max said. "Better than going in blind."

On the screen, the chief lifted his gaze from what she assumed was a notepad. "I'll make arrangements with Eric about chartering his plane, and if his is not available, we can use one of the Alaskan sanctuary's planes, although I hope that won't be necessary. They only have one large enough for our purposes. As for the timeline, I think we can be ready by tomorrow. I hope the fake identities we prepared for you will be good enough to get you to Tehran. Iran's security is tricky these days."

Leaning back, Kyra sipped on her coffee and listened as Kian ironed out the mission details with the chief, with Max adding a comment here and there.

Hopefully, they wouldn't expect her to provide input because she was a native. It was true that she spoke the language and knew how to blend in without attracting attention to herself, but she didn't know Tehran at all, and she wasn't an expert on urban warfare.

"I'll talk to Turner." Kian put down his coffee cup. He turned to Kyra. "Given what we've learned about your father, your sisters are likely very traditional, which means that they might resist leaving. You need to be prepared for that possibility."

"They won't resist once they understand the danger their children are in," Kyra said. "No mother would."

"Provided that they believe you," Toven murmured.

Kyra was proud of being able to hold the god's gaze and not look away. "I will make them believe me." She wasn't sure how she was going to accomplish that, but she would find a way.

"We have all the fake paperwork ready from the rescue operation," Max said. "That will save us some time."

"True." The chief leaned forward, his handsome face filling the screen. "That's one of the reasons I suggested using the same team."

"I don't have any papers," Kyra murmured, hoping Kian wouldn't use that as an excuse to leave her behind.

"You do," Max said. "We prepared paperwork for you in case it was needed. We didn't know that we would be coming back with five extra women, so we didn't prepare anything for them, but there was no need to show anyone their papers." He shook his head. "I still can't believe I found Fenella in that shit hole."

Kyra was only mildly offended by Max referring to Tahav in such a derogatory way. He wasn't wrong, but it had been her home for many years, and her people still lived there.

"I need to contact my team," she said. "Max said I shouldn't because they can't deal with the Doomers, and I would just be risking their lives, but I can tell them to collect information in the Tahav area and not engage."

Kian nodded. "That's a good idea. Don't tell them where you are or who took you. As far as they are concerned, you are on another mission."

"Of course." She chuckled softly. "They wouldn't believe me if I told them I was in America anyway."

Kian agreeing to her contacting her people lifted a weight off her chest. It hadn't felt right to just abandon them. Their paths had to diverge at this point, but she needed to say proper goodbyes and get closure. It wasn't easy to leave behind friends who had fought by her side for so long.

Kyra thought about her sisters, and how likely they were to leave their husbands behind. If they were anything like the man her father chose for her, they wouldn't be missed, but she couldn't just assume that. What if her sisters were happily married and loved their husbands?

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