Page 52 of Dark Island: Rescue

"Tula," Annani said, loud enough for the earpiece to pick up her voice. "Give the device back to Areana, please. I need to speak with her about logistics."

There was rustling, murmured voices. Then, Areana was back on the line. "I'm here."

"We need time to plan," Annani said. "Four people, Areana. The complexity is just staggering." She shook her head. "I need to speak with Kian, who needs to speak with others who are experts in the field."

"How long will it take?" Areana asked.

"I do not know." Annani hated the words even as she spoke them. "Can you call again on Saturday? Same time?"

"Saturday..." Areana was quiet for a moment. "It's risky. Our schedule has been on Wednesday for years. Deviating from it could draw attention."

She should have known that Areana would not want to call on any day other than Wednesday.

"If Saturday feels unsafe, if you sense any suspicion or increased surveillance, then do not risk it. We will wait until next Wednesday. Be careful. If Navuh suspects anything?—"

"He won't." Areana's voice hardened. "I've been hiding things from Navuh for five thousand years. I know how to lie to mymate."

The words carried such pain that Annani's throat tightened. This was the cost of Areana's love for Tula, forcing her to betray the man she loved, to deceive the mate the Fates had bound her to. It was a cruel thing to ask of anyone.

But sometimes cruelty was necessary, and pain was an integral part of life.

"I love you," Annani said.

"I love you too." Areana's voice was barely audible now. "Thank you for helping and for doing your best to save all four."

"Family takes care of family. That is what we do."

After the call ended, Annani sat in silence for a long moment, the phone resting in her palm. Wonder had curled into herself on the couch, her arms wrapped around her middle as if to hold herself together.

"We will keep your promise," Annani said finally. "I do not know how yet, but we will find a way."

Wonder looked up, her eyes haunted. "I shouldn't have promised that. It's impossible to extract four people from a fortress without endangering them and Areana. We don't have magic."

"No, but we have determination, resources, and people who are willing to go to great lengths to help save family. Kian will have ideas. Turner will have ideas. And we have resources now that we didn't have when we extracted Carol. We have Safe Harbor, which puts us so much closer. We have people with tactical expertise and creative thinking." Annani shifted closer to Wonder and wrapped her arm around her friend. "We willfigure this out."

Including the unborn child, there were five people to extract, five lives to save, five souls to steal from Navuh's grasp.

Impossible?

Perhaps.

But that had never stopped Annani before.

19

TULA

The ocean stretched before Tula, endless and blue, the morning sun turning the waves into shifting diamonds. She sat on the cold stone bench, her hands clenched in her lap.

Hope and despair warred in her chest, making it hard to breathe. Wonder had promised to save her. Annani had promised to try. But both had made it pretty clear that extracting four people was nigh on impossible. The complexity was staggering. The risk was too great.

Areana removed the earpiece and put it in the hidden compartment in her purse. "Your sister will come through for you, Tula. And mine will come through for me."

"I hope so." Tula looked at the waves crashing on the rocks below—the same rocks that would supposedly claim her life when the time came to stage her death.

If it came to that.

Her hand drifted to her belly, where her child grewwith each passing day. Four months now. Soon, she wouldn't be able to hide it.