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"Good morning, Fenella," she read out loud. "I hope I'm not disturbing you too early but given the fabulous news of you being related to Jasmine and Kyra, I thought the three of you should get tested together. Would eleven-thirty work? If yes, I will have someone pick you up and drive you to the university campus. Let me know as soon as you can." Fenella frowned at the screen. "What the bloody hell is she talking about? What testing?"

"Amanda is a neuroscientist, and she runs a research laboratory that is equipped to test paranormal abilities. She must believe that you have some latent abilities worth exploring."

Fenella scoffed. "The only 'ability' I have is staying alive and a decent poker face."

"Don't be so quick to dismiss it," Din said. "Intuition is often underestimated, but it can be a powerful tool and even a sign of some psychic ability."

"Don't you think I would have noticed if I had magical powers?"

He chuckled. "It's not magic, love. It's genetics. Many immortals and Dormants have enhanced abilities—precognition, telepathy, far-seeing, and other talents. Amanda has the proper tools to test you for most of them."

Fenella thought about all the times she'd had a feeling about a place or a person that had later proved accurate—the inexplicable urges to leave town just before trouble found her, the sense of unease about Din's travel mishaps.

Could there be something to it?

The times she'd gotten in trouble were when she'd decided to ignore her intuition because listening to it meant giving up on something she'd wanted.

"There is no harm in giving it a try," she finally agreed.

Din smiled. "It's also an opportunity to get out of the village. You were complaining about feeling cooped up. The university campus is over an hour's drive from here, and there is a lot to see on the way. The campus itself is also a nice place to visit."

That caught Fenella's attention. The prospect of seeing something beyond the village borders was enticing.

"I suppose it's worth the trouble if just for that." She typed a quick reply to Amanda, confirming the time and asking where exactly they should meet.

The response came almost immediately:Excellent! Be at the underground garage at 10 AM. Transportation will be provided. Kyra, Jasmine, and Morelle will be joining you. Din can come if he wants.

"Well, that's settled," Fenella said, setting the phone aside. "It seems I have a date with the boss's sister. Do you want to come along?"

The truth was that she was nervous about someone with the title of neuroscientist poking around her head.

"If you want me to, of course."

"I do." She looked at the timer on her phone. "It's just a little past eight." A slow smile spread across her face as she moved closer to Din. "It seems we have some time to kill before we need to get ready."

"I can think of a few ways to occupy that time," he murmured, his hand sliding along her waist.

"I was hoping you'd say that." Fenella closed the distance between them.

* * *

Two hours later, freshly showered and dressed in a simple blouse and jeans that somehow managed to look designer despite their casual cut, Fenella walked with Din toward the underground garage that served as the village's transportation hub.

"Tell me more about Morelle. I know that she's Ell-rom's sister, but not much other than that."

"I don't know much about her or Ell-rom, but I can tell you what I've learned so far. They are twins, and they are the Clan Mother's half-sister and brother. Their shared father had a dalliance with the Kra-ell queen before he was exiled to Earth and married Annani's mother. He didn't even know that the Kra-ell queen was carrying his children. She sent them to him with a large number of Kra-ell settlers bound for Earth, but there was a malfunction, and the ship arrived seven thousand years later than scheduled. The twins almost died because their stasis pods malfunctioned, and Jasmine found them in the nick of time. Morelle is mated to Brandon, who is the village council member in charge of media."

"Ell-rom is nice. Is Morelle like him?"

"I don't know." Din smiled apologetically. "As I said, I've never met her."

When they made it to the underground garage, Kyra and Jasmine were already there, along with two others Fenella didn't recognize—a strikingly beautiful woman with short dark hair who was nearly as tall as the guy standing next to her.

"Fenella." He offered her his hand, flashing a smile that could light up the entire space. "I'm Brandon, and this is my better half, Morelle."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Fenella said.

As Brandon introduced Din to Morelle, a sleek cream-colored SUV pulled up, driven by Okidu.