Page 61 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

The transformation on the girls' faces as Jasmine spoke was remarkable. They had gone from wary and defensive to completely entranced, their expressions open with wonder as they drank in the tale of gods and immortals.

Kyra recognized that look.

It was probably the same expression she'd worn when she first learned the truth. That moment when the impossible suddenly seemed not just possible, but real.

Surprisingly, they hadn't asked for proof yet. They hadn't asked what would become of them either, but Kyra was sure they soon would. She expected nothing less from Arezoo. The girl was smart and inquisitive, and she didn't accept what she was told without questioning.

Kyra could see herself in the girl, and she wondered if she was like that in her youth. The seeds of rebellion must have started with asking questions and not accepting dogmatic answers as truth. Had she planned her escape before being sent to study in America? Had she played her father by pretending to be a dutifuldaughter and loyal to the autocratic regime? Or had she simply met Boris, fallen in love, and decided to embrace a better life?

Perhaps it had been a combination of both. Once she rescued her sisters, provided that they wanted to be rescued, she might learn more about her past. Maybe they had known about her rebellious plans.

Or maybe her father had poisoned her sisters' minds about her, telling them terrible things about her, things they might have told their children.

She reached for her pendant again, its familiar weight offering solace as uncertainty bubbled beneath her composed exterior. Soon, she would have to tell them who she really was—who they were to each other—and hope they didn't turn on her.

The thought made her throat dry.

Jasmine was just reaching the part about Dormants when Max returned with the tea, Ell-rom following with plates and napkins, and the spell was broken. The girls looked like they were emerging from a trance, their awestruck expressions turning back to wariness.

Max put the tray on the coffee table. "Come and get it, ladies."

"Perfect timing," Jasmine said, imbuing her tone with cheerfulness that was only slightly disingenuous. "I was just getting to the important part, but perhaps a short break for tea will ease your processing of what you've been told so far."

Arezoo fixed Jasmine with a direct gaze as Kyra poured tea into the small porcelain cups. "What does this story have to do with us?" She accepted a cup that Ell-rom handed her with a murmured thanks, but her attention never left Jasmine's face.

The time had arrived. Jasmine might not be done with the prelude, but by now, the girls had enough background to understand what she needed to tell them.

Glancing at Jasmine, Kyra caught her daughter's eye and gave a small nod, signaling that she would take over.

"I'll continue where Jasmine left off," Kyra said. "You ask what does it have to do with you, and my answer is everything because you are part of the exclusive club of the gods' descendants."

Four sets of eyes widened with incredulity.

"It's a great story, but we need proof." Arezoo looked at Max with defiance in her eyes that was mostly bravado. "Jasmine said that you will demonstrate something."

"With pleasure." He rubbed his hands together. "Immortals can project illusions, and I happen to be very good at that, which is why Jasmine asked me to demonstrate. But since I know you will think I'm tricking you in some way, I want each of you to get a piece of paper and a pen or pencil, and once I project the illusion, to write down what you see without telling your sisters or cousins what it is. Then you will all hand the piece of paper to Arezoo, who will read them out to confirm that all of you saw the same thing."

Arezoo narrowed her eyes at him. "Are you going to tell us what you are about to project?"

He shook his head. "I will give no clues, so you won't think that I influenced you subconsciously or in any other way."

"You've done it before," Azadeh said.

"No, but I have heard others talk about disbelieving Dormants and how difficult it was to convince them. It gave me food for thought, and I devised a foolproof method."

Donya rose to her feet. "I'll get paper and pens from the office."

Kyra realized that the girls must have snooped around to know that was where they could find writing supplies.

As everyone waited for Donya to return, Kyra tried to prepare what she was going to tell them. The most difficult part would be to tell four very young women the method by which female Dormants turned immortal. In fact, she wondered how come none of the girls had transitioned given that Durhad had probably violated all four. Hopefully, given that immortal males had the same low fertility as immortal females, none of them had gotten pregnant, but it was also possible that Durhad had injected himself with fertility drugs in addition to injecting the women.

Were there even drugs for increasing male fertility?

Kyra's knowledge on the subject was nearly nonexistent.

The truth was that her knowledge on most subjects was superficial at best. She didn't remember what she'd studied at the university. And when she'd had time to read over the long years in the resistance, she'd read mostly fiction to relax. She hadn't worked on gaining knowledge in anything other than politics and warfare.

It was such a limited point of view.

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