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This time I can't hold my tongue. “A sacrifice—meaning you?”
She dips her chin in agreement, and a stray tear slides down her face.
“I gave myself up thinking that they would just kill me. I made peace with that. As long as Aqua and my father were free, I would give my life willingly.”
“But they didn’t kill you.”
“No, they didn’t. Instead, I was taken to their laboratory and studied. For years, they poked and prodded me, making me go months without water. Any kind of torture you can imagine, they did it. Until one day, another group of supernaturals came, stormed the facility, and freed us all. You would not believe me if I told you how many supes were in that place, but let’s just say it was a lot.”
“I can imagine.”
“Take whatever number you’re imagining and triple it.”
My mouth drops open in shock. I was imagining it in the high hundreds. If there were as many as she says…
“That's…” I’m at a loss for words.
“During that raid on the facility, they learned of five more spread out over Canada. While they were planning though, I left and searched for my family. We always had a handful of safe locations planned at any given time. If we were ever separated, we would go to each and leave a message for one another before staying put.”
“That’s smart.”
“Once I found them, I wasn’t ready to separate, but I knew that I needed to help free the rest of the supernaturals. It was there that I found Bree again.”
“Bree? As in the vampire that captured you to begin with?”
She nods. “Yes, turns out Rayne—who is the granddaughter of Artie and ex-hunter.” I open and close my mouth like a fish. “I know it’s a lot to process. Rayne is also a lot to process. So, Rayne, her mate Drake, and her friend Matt were staying at the facility to monitor the hunters. At the same time, the hunters had sent Bree in to see what was going on. While there, Matt met Bree—turns out they’re mates—and Bree is the best friend of Drake’s sister and Rayne’s bestie, Drusilla, who was captured when they were kids.”
“There's so much to unpack in that.”
“I know. Believe me, I know. It will get easier to keep it straight once you meet them. Anyway, with the help of Artie, the Westwood pack and the Coven of the Moon were able to create a supernatural island—don’t ask what it’s named. Trust me, it’s a whole thing.” The way she rolls her eyes has me filling that away for later in case I want to annoy her. It’s so cute. “The island is safe, and full of more supernatural races than we can count—which I should probably tell you includes dragons?—”
“Dragons?” I feel my mouth drop open in shock. “You mean real dragons?”
“Mmhm. Andres, the King of Dragons, is the mate to Drusilla—the sister of Drake who I told you about earlier.” She says the names like I’m going to remember them tomorrow. As much as I’m hanging on to her every word, it would be impossible for me to remember every name and who their relations are.
“Oh, the fish are done,” she interrupts her own tale. “Let’s eat first before your stomach starts to eat itself.”
My mouth is hanging open, my shock completely evident as I dig into my fish. Everything she’s said so far is running rampant in my head as I glance from my fish to her and back again. I am half in love with this woman already just from the way her eyes light up when she’s passionate, the way her nose wrinkles and eyes roll when she’s annoyed, and how much she obviously loves her friends and family.
Chapter Ten
Pearl
Iwatch the man beside me,Loukas, as he devours his fish and pick at my own. He’s the same man I was watching all those weeks ago, I’m sure of it, but he’s alsodifferent. His full cheeks are sunken, and the bones in his shoulders are more pronounced.
Even his hair has lost some of its luster. Even if I hadn’t overheard his family’s concerns, even if he hadn’t told me about Antonia, Iwouldhave known just by looking at him that he’s in some kind of trouble.
I cannot lie; the fact that he has children with that monster shook me to my core. But I wasn’t lying when I told Loukas that I trust in the goddess to have paired me with my perfect match. Artie is a lot of things especially when she gets in her moods, but pairing fated mates is one thing she prides herself on.
Sure, both Skarlyt and Lennox argue that she got it wrong with their first mates, but Artie explained that sometimes things have to go a little wrong to get it right. If it weren’t for the two of them being rejected, they would not have met each other. Although I am not sure I truly believe that she had that planned out the entire time, I do believe she made up for that small mistake in the end. She’s a goddess, but she can only do so much.She can’t help human influence as the two halves of the soul grow. Perhaps when they were born, their souls were perfect matches. Maybe it was their experiences within the world that warped their previous mates into someone unworthy of them.
Loukas’ stomach growls once more as he sucks the meat off the tiny bones of the fish, proving that he was hungrier than I expected. Just how long has it been since this man has eaten?
Gently, I take the fish carcass from his hand and replace it with my half-eaten fish, allowing him to finish it. He looks up at me with wide eyes, using the sleeve of his shirt to wipe his mouth, embarrassment flashing in his eyes.
“It’s okay,” I tell him tenderly.
“Sorry. I guess I got a little carried away,” he says sheepishly.
