Page 56 of Dark Island: Rescue

Drova crossed her arms. "Well, whatever it is, I can break through it. So, you can all relax."

Kalugal smiled indulgently. "No one doubts your ability, but if you encounter a particularly tough case, let me know. I'd be happy to assist."

"Assist?" Drova's eyes flashed red for a moment. "I'm a stronger compeller than you are. What can you do that I can't?"

"It's all in the phrasing." Kalugal crossed his arms over his chest. "I hope you are using the script I prepared for you and not improvising. You're strong but inexperienced, and it's very easy to leave loopholes."

"Of course, I'm using the script." She mimicked Kalugal's pose, folding her arms over her chest. "I'm not dumb."

"No one said that you are." Kalugal smiled at her, and there was more than a hint of condescension in his expression. "You are just a little too full of yourself."

She snorted. "Look who's talking."

Kian tuned them out and checked his phone again. Annani should have finished her call with Areana by now, and he was anxious to hear whether Esag's vision was true.

His phone buzzed.

Kian's hand shot to it before the vibration finished. The table conversation continued around him, but everything else faded as he checked the screen.

"Excuse me." He stood. "I need to take this outside."

Syssi's eyes met his, understanding and concern flickering across her face. She knew what this call meant.

Kian walked quickly through the main mess hall that had emptied while their group was having breakfast, and as he stepped into the morning heat, he looked for ashaded spot near the building's corner where he wouldn't be overheard.

"Hello, Mother." He sat on a pile of concrete blocks. "I assume you've spoken to Areana."

"I did."

"And?"

"She confirmed Esag's vision. Tula is pregnant. Nearly four months along."

It hit him harder than it should have since he'd been prepared for it. Four months meant time was running out. Soon, Tula would be unable to hide her condition. They needed to act fast.

"Have you told Esag?"

"No, not yet. You were the first one I called. There is a complication."

Of course there was.

"What kind of complication?"

"Areana is asking us to rescue four people, not just Tula, and not just Tula and Tony, but also Tamira and her partner Elias."

Had Areana lost her mind?

He'd already concluded that extracting even two was impossible, and she wanted him to extract four?

"I understand Tony. But why the other two?"

"Apparently, Tamira and Elias had been planning their own escape, and when Tula revealed her pregnancy, they offered to take her and Tony with them. Areana stopped them before they could attempt it because they would have just gotten themselves killed trying, and she promised them to find another way off the island."

Kian pinched the bridge of hisnose. Areana must have made the promise in a moment of weakness, and he wasn't going to risk war with the Brotherhood because his aunt had made a promise she had no way of fulfilling.

"Extracting even two people is—" He stopped himself, remembering that Wonder was undoubtedly listening in. "It's much more complex than extracting just Tula using the same method we used to extract Carol."

"I know." Annani sighed. "But Areana has made the promise, and they are counting on us."