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They'd found a mysterious amulet, rescued a group of women who'd been abducted and were on their way to be sold into sexual slavery, and had killed their abductors.
It had been so traumatic to just listen to the sounds of battle between the Guardians and the cartel monsters that the memory of Dagor protecting her with his own body and absorbing the bullets that could have killed her was blurry. She had been terrified of the sounds of gunfire, the screams, and the shrieks, feeling helpless, huddling on the floor of the truck with Dagor on top of her.
He'd jerked every time he'd been hit, but there had been nothing she could do to help him. When a bullet had passed through his arm into her side, it had soon robbed her of consciousness, but before she'd passed out, she'd seen the panic in Dagor's eyes as he tried to stem the bleeding by pressing on the wound.
Frankie would never forget it.
Her next coherent memory after that had been waking up in the ship's clinic. Then he'd given her his blood to expedite her healing even though it was a big secret that Kian had forbidden the gods to reveal.
The secret was safe with her, and even if she never turned immortal and was somehow allowed to retain her memories of this incredible world she'd been invited into, she would take the gods and immortals' secrets to her grave.
Sadly, though, it meant that even if she transitioned and one day stood in front of the goddess with Dagor by her side, she couldn't share all that he had done for her with others.
Still, there was plenty she could say that didn't violate Kian's orders. Besides, she had known Dagor for only a few days, andshe had no doubt that their life together would provide many more wonderful stories to incorporate into her wedding vows.
Next to her, Dagor was deep in thought, perhaps contemplating the same things she was, and as she reached over and gently squeezed his hand, he turned to her and smiled.
Smiling back, she waited for the music to start and the newly mated couple to take the dance floor. "Did you know about how Anandur and Wonder met?"
He shook his head. "I don't know any of these immortals well enough to know their personal stories. In that regard, you and I are in the same boat." He chuckled. "That was unintentional but fitting."
"I'm on a boat—" Frankie sang without completing the line.
She was a lady, and she didn't use vulgar language out loud. Only on the inside, and not that often either.
Her mother had a strict rule about cussing in the house that her brothers often had gotten in trouble for breaking, but Frankie had internalized her mother's words instead of rebelling against them.
The message was simple. If she wanted people to respect her, she'd have to respect herself first and view herself as someone who was worthy of respect. That being said, many people, including her brothers, thought that cussing earned them respect, so there was that.
Dagor laughed. "I've heard that song, but it took me a while to understand what was funny about it."
"Yeah, my brothers kept singing it and earning slaps over the back of their heads from our mother. She doesn't allow language like that in the house."
Dagor's expression turned serious. "I would like to meet your family one day. Do you think it's possible?"
Her breath caught in her throat. "Why not?"
He waved a hand over his face. "This might be difficult to explain."
Frankie cupped his clean-shaven face. "You could grow a beard. It can hide your perfection. Or we can just tell my parents and my brothers that you are the son of a famous model and a movie star, whose names need to stay confidential because you were their love child."
He looked at her with such intensity in his blue eyes that she was taken aback. "What's wrong?"
"If you are a Dormant, so are your brothers, your mother, your aunts and uncles on your mother's side, and all of their children. The immortality genes pass from a mother to her children. You might have an entire tribe to bring to the clan."
"Yeah, I know. It had occurred to me." She swallowed. "It's amazing and terrifying at the same time. How the heck am I going to explain this to my family? And what about my father? He's probably not a Dormant."
His eyes softened. "First, you need to transition, and then we will worry about the best way to do this."
"Yeah, that's what I told myself when the thought crossed my mind. There is no point in worrying about something that might not be relevant if it turns out that I'm not a Dormant."
He lifted her hand to his lips. "I have faith in the Fates. You will transition."
Negal
As Dagor and Frankie left the table to go dancing, Negal scanned the neighboring tables for available ladies he could ask to dance.
He was a hot commodity on this cruise, with so many lovely females vying for his attention that he was having a hard time choosing between them.
