Page 6 of Dark Gambit Reliance

"Do you know if others received the same commands?"

"Igor held weekly assemblies which everyone in the compound had to attend, and he repeated the same instructions, except for the two last ones that were specific to me and the other students who got to leave the compound. Other humans got private one-on-one sessions with Igor only once in a while, if at all, and I don't know how often the hybrids and the purebloods got private sessions with him, but I think it was quite often."

Turner sighed. "That's what I thought. Igor is very thorough."

He sounded as if he admired the guy, which annoyed her, but she could understand how the strategist might be appreciative of another's talent.

"Does it make a difference?" She was afraid to hear Turner's answer.

"Regrettably, yes. Even if it was possible to deliver a message to your father, neither he nor your aunts could deliver it to Jade without reporting it to someone. The term Igor used was 'anything suspicious,' and delivering a secret message to Jade would definitely fall under that description."

Sofia's heart fell.

Turner was right. How come it hadn't occurred to her? She should have realized that her father and aunts would be bound by the compulsion. Now that she was free, it was so easy to forget the effect Igor's compulsion had on her life. She still had to contend with Tom's, but it didn't feel as oppressive and heavy-handed as Igor's.

"Here is your coffee." Marcel handed her a cup and sat down next to her on the bed.

"Thank you." She took a small sip. "So I guess the idea of helping a rebellion led by Jade is out."

"Don't worry. I will come up with a way to free your people. I have a couple more questions. Are Jade and Igor exclusive with one another?"

"Igor is not for sure, but I don't know about Jade. Maybe she's just more discreet than him. None of the purebloods are exclusive. It goes against the Mother's teachings and their tradition."

"That's what I thought, but I wanted to make sure. My last question is, how do the pureblood and hybrid females wear their hair?"

"Either loose, braided, or in a ponytail. Why?"

"If we find a way to supply a few main players with compulsion-blocking earpieces, they will need to hide them under their hair."

Hope surged in Sofia's chest once more. "The hybrid and pureblooded males wear their hair long too. Well, most do. I've seen two hybrids with modern haircuts. Maybe they were sent on an undercover mission."

"Excellent. That will make it easy for them to hide the earpieces."

"How are you going to get the devices to them? And wouldn't Igor's compulsion force them to report that?"

Turner chuckled. "Patience, Sofia. I'm still working on it."

5

MARCEL

Sofia returned the phone to Marcel. "The fantasy was nice while it lasted. I got carried away imagining tiny robot spiders and drones, and I forgot the human element that's kkjjunder Igor's compulsion."

"We all make mistakes. Well, maybe not Turner." He returned the phone to his pocket. "Do you still want to stay here while I get food? Or do we go together?"

"Let's go to the dining hall. But if Roxie or anyone else from the retreat sees us, we tell them that we just came back. I don't want her to think that I returned without coming over to say hello."

"Of course." He offered her his arm. "If you want, we can go around and dine in the paranormal enclave's private dining room. It's where the clinic is."

"Am I allowed in there?"

"You are with me now, and you know about immortals, so you're governed by a different set of rules."

With all the back and forth between him and Kian, Marcel wasn't sure what he had gotten permission for and what he had not, but since he'd already told Sofia the biggest secret, he assumed that everything else fell under that umbrella.

"Can I rejoin the retreat?" she asked.

"You can if you want to, but I'd rather you spent your time with me."

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