Page 65 of Dark Rebel's Reckoning

"I'll talk to him tonight," Max promised.

"You do that." She nodded toward the group of women, who were now settling back into their seats. "But maybe we should focus on the current situation first."

She was right.

The difficult part was about to start, and he and Ell-rom should make themselves scarce.

He caught Ell-rom's eye and motioned with his chin toward the terrace. "I need some fresh air. Care to join me?"

"Yes. I enjoy being outdoors."

"Hell of a day," Max muttered as he closed the sliding doors behind them.

Ell-rom's lips quirked upward. "And it's not over yet."

"Not by a long shot." Max walked over to a lounge chair that was not visible from the living room and sat down. "I don't envy Kyra and Jasmine the conversation they are about to have with the girls."

Ell-rom nodded as he sat on the other lounger. "I heard what you told Fenella about the Doomers going after Kyra's other family members. When are you heading out?"

"Tomorrow, if Onegus gets everything ready. Naturally, Kyra is coming, and probably the Kra-ell as well."

"What about me and Jasmine?" Ell-rom asked.

"You should stay here and watch over the girls. Jasmine can do fun things with them, maybe take them shopping. I'm sure they would love that."

Ell-rom nodded. "I'm happy to return the favor. Until not too long ago, I needed to be taken care of right here in this penthouse. Now I'm paying it forward."

42

KYRA

Kyra dabbed at her eyes with the back of her hand, unaccustomed to such an intense display of emotion. The girls seemed equally affected, but the ferocity of their reaction puzzled her.

These girls had clung to her as if she were a lifeline in a storm, yet they'd only just learned of her existence.

Was it simply a release of tension after the nightmare they'd endured? Or was it the profound relief of discovering they weren't alone in the world, especially when they believed returning home was impossible?

Max and Ell-rom slipped out onto the terrace through the sliding glass doors, which gave them privacy for the uncomfortable conversation to come. She appreciated their understanding that some things were easier to discuss in a women-only space, particularly given what these girls had been through.

She needed to learn more about her sisters and the rest of her nieces and nephews, but she didn't want to start by telling the girls that their families were in danger.

"Tell me about your families," Kyra said, settling back on the couch. "Do you have any other siblings? Are your mothers very religious? How do they get along with your fathers? Are they happily married?"

As she'd expected, Arezoo regarded her with that penetrating gaze that seemed too old for her nineteen years—a familiar wariness that Kyra recognized from her own reflection.

"Are you asking just because you are curious or for some pragmatic reason?" the girl asked.

Perhaps she shouldn't dance around the truth, especially given that she was leaving tomorrow, and they deserved to know why she was abandoning them so soon after finding them. "Both," she admitted. "I don't even know my sisters' names." The words tasted bitter on her tongue, a reminder of everything that had been stolen from her. "The other reason is that the fake doctor told us his minions are going to abduct more of our family members. Your other cousins. They might even take your mothers if they think they are attractive enough."

Arezoo paled, her olive complexion taking on an ashen hue. "Why does he want more of our family? Is it because he thinks all of them can turn immortal?"

Kyra nodded. "He thinks that he can have immortal children with you and with us. As Jasmine explained, immortal males can't have immortal children with human females. The only way he can have immortal children is with immortal or Dormant females." She waved a hand over the group. "That's me and Fenella because we are already immortal, and you because you are Dormants. Luckily immortals, males and female alike, have a very low fertility rate, so the chances that he got any of us pregnant are very low, but just to be sure, the clan's doctor isarriving this afternoon, and she will conduct some health tests to check that no permanent damage was done to us, and she will also check for pregnancies."

The girls exchanged glances, some silent communication passing between them, but they didn't panic as she'd expected.

Arezoo chewed on her lower lip. "He didn't do what you think he did to us. We are still intact."

That caught Kyra off guard, a wave of relief washing over her so intensely that it left her momentarily speechless. But it was highly improbable, given what she knew of the Doomer's intentions, and she suspected that the girls were either in a state of denial or that they had been heavily drugged while the unspeakable had been done to them.

---