Page 3

Jasmine nodded. "I don't have them with me, but we can go to my house and do it there."

"Brilliant. I hope you have decent alcohol and mixers. I can make drinks you've never even heard of."

Jasmine's eyes widened. "I forgot that you were a bartender. You should talk with Ingrid. Her partner runs the Hobbit Bar, and it's open only on weekends because he doesn't have help. You could work for him."

Fenella had worked as a barmaid during her travels, but she hadn't bartended since she'd left Scotland half a century before. Nevertheless, she still remembered many of the drinks she'd prepared back then. Besides, learning new ones was easy now that everything was accessible on the internet.

Most importantly, though, having a job meant earning money, and she could use some for when she decided to leave this place.

"I'll happily talk to the guy. What's his name?"

"Atzil," Jasmine said. "During the week, he works for Kalugal as his main chef. He cooks for all the men—breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That's why he can't open the bar midweek."

Fenella grimaced. "So, he's one of those former Doomers?"

Jasmine nodded.

"I don't know if I could work for one of them," Fenella admitted. "After what his fellow so-called Brother did to me…" She shivered.

"Atzil is the nicest guy." Jasmine leaned over and put her hand on Fenella's arm. "Don't hold his past against him. We've all done things we are not proud of, and in his case, he was born into that crap. It took tremendous will and good character to break free from the brainwashing and realize that he was working for evil incarnate."

"I guess." Fenella put what was left of the croissant in her mouth and concentrated on the sweetness to chase away the bad memories.

"So, what's going on with Din?" Kyra asked. "When is he supposed to get here?"

"This evening, but after all the delays, I have a feeling he's not going to make it today either." Fenella sighed. "I actually feel a bit less concerned than I did after the first two delays. Misfortune always comes in threes, so now that the third happened, that should be it."

She didn't really believe that, but saying it made her feel a little less anxious.

Kyra laughed, shaking her head. "You're that superstitious?"

"Says the woman who makes life-or-death decisions based on a magical pendant," Fenella shot back.

"Touché," Kyra acknowledged. "But the pendant actually works."

"So do my gut feelings," Fenella countered. "They've kept me alive this long."

2

DIN

Din stretched out in the wide leather seat, enjoying the upgrade to business class. Normally, he didn't splurge on luxuries like this, but this was the third time he had rebooked a flight, so he'd given in to a small indulgence. If the Fates insisted on testing him with endless obstacles on his path to Fenella, he could at least travel in comfort.

Closing his eyes, he tried to picture Fenella and what she looked like now. Since she'd turned immortal, she probably hadn't changed much, but she'd said that she was harder now, so maybe her smile wasn't so bright anymore, and her eyes didn't sparkle with mischief and amusement like they used to when she bartended. She had been so beautiful, so full of life, and for some reason, the twenty-three-year-old Fenella had intimidated him—an immortal who had lived nearly half a millennium.

Had he been afraid of falling in love with her?

Probably.

He'd thought that she was just a human girl, a bright and colorful butterfly whose lifespan was but a blink of an eye in the span of his. He couldn't have known that she was a Dormant.

Hell, back then, there had been no Dormants to be found.

Knowing that they had to exist among the human population, the clan had searched for them, investigating every rumor of witchcraft and supernatural ability, hoping to find a Dormant behind it, and yet, they'd found none.

How could he have known that a Dormant was right there in front of his eyes?

How could he have realized that Fenella's pull on him was more than just a normal attraction to a pretty girl?