She turned and hurried out of the room and into the small kitchen, struggling to keep her calm facade in place. Her heart thundered and her ears rang, and trembling shot down her arms. The cook, busy stirring something in a pot, didn’t look over his shoulder at her.
“Mama,” Belle said happily from a blanket in the corner, where she and her stuffed animals were having tea with her twin sister.
Karma forced a smile and moved toward the three-year-old girls, her heart bursting. They were adorable children with light brown eyes, flowing black hair, and cute button noses. There was no doubt they were enhanced humans, although Karma couldn’t pinpoint their enhancements. She had a feeling Belle might be psychic and Boone empathic, but she could be dead wrong about that. They’d been hers since they’d been kidnapped two years ago. A weapon to use against her. “Hi, girls. Are you being good?”
Boone, her hair in a braid, nodded seriously. “Of course. It’s teatime.” She craned her neck to look beyond Karma. “Is Other Mama here?”
Karma’s stomach dropped. “No, baby. Your other mama isn’t here right now.” She pressed a finger to her lips.
Boone’s eyes widened. “Sorry,” she whispered. “Forgot the secret.”
“It’s okay.” Karma tucked her skirts and perched on her knees by the teacups. “Your mama is in heaven, and sometimes she checks in with you, but she needs to be an angel now.” Karma’s human enhancement had been channeling, and she tried to use the gift to help the women and children in the camps.
When the Kurjans had kidnapped the twins in their search for enhanced females, they’d killed the girls’ parents. The girls hadn’t seen any violence, but they knew their parents were in heaven, and Karma had been helping to keep their memories alive as best she could. The twins didn’t remember their life before, and perhaps that was good. Their mother, a pretty woman named Linda, had checked in several times, whether Karma had been open to her or not.
She had to get those girls free somehow. Their best chance here would be mating one of the Kurjans when they were of age, but that was no way for these bright lights to live. Their worst chance was one Karma couldn’t think about—and didn’t understand: Jaydon had a plan for a ritual that would kill them, and she had to stop him.
Cele stepped inside the kitchen, her chin up and her gaze regal. She’d been mated to a Cyst general for nearly a century, and she enjoyed her status. The female appeared to be in her early thirties with red hair and brown eyes. “Girls? Let’s go.”
Karma stood. “They can stay here—”
“No. Now.” Cele gave a haughty smile. “We have to pack. It’s time to move.”
Then she really had no choice. Karma helped the girls pick up the tea set, determination settling hard on her shoulders. To prevent their deaths, she’d do anything. Even align herself with her enemy, Benjamin Reese.
It was almost time.
Chapter Three
Getting stabbed in the ear was so annoying. Benny sent healing cells to his inner ear, wincing as the ruptured tissue stitched itself back together. He’d gotten some information from the Kurjan during the torture session but not nearly enough. Terre had been very graphic about what he planned to do with the female, and Benny had tuned him out at that point. Then his eardrum had been pierced, and going temporarily deaf had helped.
Darkness had fallen, and above him, he could now hear movement. Maybe even a helicopter outside. Were they leaving? He couldn’t let that happen until he had Karma in his hands.
The door at the end of the tunnel opened, and he stiffened, feeling her energy. There she was. Light exploded inside him, and he relaxed into it. How the female gave him a sense of peace, even from down the corridor, was a mystery he’d explore later.
A Cyst soldier accompanied her and opened the cell door, locking her inside with him again. Thus far, she seemed to be irrelevant to the Kurjans.
How little they knew. He wiped blood off his face and smoothed back his thick hair, trying to look presentable. “How are you?”
She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind. Yeah, he’d seen that look before…often. “How can you be standing?”
He popped his cheekbone back into place and went to work on his ribs. “I already healed my legs.” Then he glanced down at the tray in her hands. “What did you bring?”
She removed a cloth napkin to show a steak on a plate. “I brought you something to eat.”
“Protein will help. Thank you.” He took the meat with his still-working hand and munched happily, letting the food energize him much faster than it would a normal immortal. Being a hybrid gave him extra skills.
She set the tray down and took the pack off her shoulder. “I have medical supplies.”
He shook his head, finishing the meal. “I don’t need anything.” His other hand began to mend. Blood would help him more than anything, but he couldn’t take hers yet. Not while she still held another male’s mating mark. “I appreciate your help.”
She kept her gaze averted. “Very well.” Then she backed up until her rear hit the bars. She glanced over her shoulder and down the hallway before turning back to face him. She’d gone pale, and her hand trembled. “They’re going to move you in about ten minutes, and I don’t know where they plan to take you.”
His clavicle popped loudly back into place. Man, she was pretty. Small and light in a big, dark world. “I thought I heard helicopters.”
She swallowed, and her chin firmed. “Half of the camp has already flown away.” While her tone remained neutral and her expression blank, he sensed an underlying thread of anger.
He stretched his hands out, making sure his fingers had healed from the many breaks Terre had inflicted with a hammer. “You’re unhappy that they left without you?” When she didn’t answer, he searched for another reason. “You’re angry they took, well, friends of yours?” It made sense that she had friends in the Kurjan nation, since she’d been with them for so long.
She grew still. “Angry? I don’t get angry.”
Yet he felt that anger. “I’m empathic. Well, somewhat. Usually I don’t take notice of people, to be honest. But you? I want to know you, and I’m tuned in.” He cocked his head, studying her suddenly defensive posture. Just what was he dealing with here? He was a bull in a china shop usually. Today, he had to learn gentle. “There’s nothing wrong with getting angry.”
Her already straight spine straightened even more. “I am not angry.”
Well then. “All right.” Another helicopter took off. That had to be at least half of the camp. “How many soldiers are still here?” he asked.