Page 1 of Dark Shaman: Eternal Hope (The Children Of The Gods #100)

TAMIRA

A s Tamira trekked through aisles of uninspired, practical clothing, searching for something to catch her eye, the lights flickered, went off, and then came back on.

Since power generation had been impacted during the rebellion that had torn through the island just two days ago, the lights had been going out quite frequently.

Still, they'd all gotten so used to the outages that she hardly noticed them anymore.

The island's clothing store seemed untouched, though, miraculously escaping the destruction that had leveled entire buildings in other areas of the island.

Perhaps the rebels hadn't targeted this section because it served the humans, whom they deemed irrelevant. After all, they were nothing more than indentured servants, slaves to the immortals who ruled this Fates-forsaken place.

The irony was that the lives of most of the immortals here were not much better; they were also regarded as property of Lord Navuh, and that included Tamira and her fellow harem ladies.

Some would argue that their status was elevated because they lived in luxury and didn't suffer the hardships others who lived here were subjected to, but the truth was that the harem was much more restrictive.

At least the humans and immortals could routinely enjoy large open spaces, including access to the island's beaches and the ocean.

The harem inhabitants had only been allowed out in recent days because their home had been flooded, and they had to be evacuated.

"Why do they use such cheap fabrics?" Raviki ran her fingers along a rack of sundresses, ignoring the flickering. "Is this what humans are wearing these days?"

"This store sells clothing to the service personnel," Sarah said. "That's why it's all simple and cheap."

"What about the visitors?" Raviki asked. "Passion Island is an exclusive location, and only the rich and influential can afford a vacation here." She turned to Tamira. "Can anyone with enough money book a vacation, or is it by invitation only?"

Tamira shrugged. "How should I know? I assume that the right people find out about the island from others like themselves, who have already been here.

But we all know why people come here, and it's not something that would attract female visitors.

Very few women, if any, come. It's mostly men, and they can shop for fancy things in the hotel store. "

"I wish they had quality clothing for women in the hotel." Beulah pulled out one of the dresses and crinkled her nose while draping it over her front. "I have a new appreciation for whoever got us dresses from this store. They chose the best it had to offer."

Areana wasn't looking at the meager selection.

Instead, she gazed out the front window at the buildings across the street.

"We are lucky that it's the monsoon season.

Imagine trying to explain the revolt to a bunch of tourists.

I doubt it would have been possible to thrall all of them to forget the explosions. Trauma is not easy to erase."

Tamira narrowed her eyes at Areana. "The types who come to this island to enjoy the deviant pleasures it offers would have deserved to be haunted by the sounds of explosions in their dreams for years."

"Not all of them are deviant," Areana said. "Many just want to be with young, beautiful women who are eager to please them. That doesn't make them monsters. Just weak."

Did Areana truly believe in what she'd said?

She couldn't be that naive.

She'd probably spoken for the benefit of the people working in the store and the cadre of guards that were trailing her and the other ladies to keep them safe.

Tamira had heard the horror stories from the maids who'd been sent to work in the harem.

No longer young and pretty enough for the brothel, they'd been thralled to forget most of what they'd endured; but, after years of service, that wasn't really possible, and they still had nightmares about their time there.

"It feels strange, doesn't it?" Areana held a blue one-piece swimsuit up against her slim body.

"I've never shopped in an actual store. Back home, I had seamstresses who created my dresses, my maids shopped for everyday things, and merchants delivered goods for me to choose from. It wasn't much different in the harem."

Tamira's memories were similar, even though her family had not been royal or noble. They had been simple immortals but wealthy enough to lead a privileged lifestyle.

"I haven't either." She walked over to the display and chose a modest one-piece in black with white stripes.

There were no other customers in the store, and Tamira had a feeling that was intentional.

Other than the ladies and their cadre of guards, there was only the shopkeeper, a nervous-looking human woman who kept glancing at the door as if expecting trouble, and her assistant, who was doing most of the work.

"This one would look lovely on you." Areana held up a deep purple suit with elegant cutouts along the sides.

It was nicer than the one Tamira had chosen, but it was too revealing for an outing on the beach with numerous guards watching. "Perhaps Raviki would like it." She walked over to the men's clothing section. "I need to get swim trunks for Elias."

Lord Navuh had generously allowed the men to join their beach excursion, probably because he was in such a great mood following his victory.

Half the island lay in ruins, and all the planes and boats had been destroyed, and yet Tamira had never seen Navuh so upbeat.

It was more terrifying than his usual cold austerity because it was such a significant deviation from what Tamira had been used to seeing during the five thousand years she'd known the lord.

Surely he wasn't that happy about the destruction or even about winning.

He must have discovered something that would advance his ultimate goal of global domination.

"We have more men's swimwear in the back," the shopkeeper's assistant said, pulling her out of her thoughts and bringing her attention back to the task of finding a nice pair of swim shorts for Eluheed.

As Tamira followed the woman, she tried to guess what size would fit him. He was such a handsome man, lean and muscular like a runner or a swimmer.

Not a man , she corrected herself— an immortal .

It had only been a few days since he had revealed his true identity to her and confessed his love for her.

Knowing that she wasn't going to lose him to mortality, which had been her greatest concern, and that they could be together forever, had her soaring on a happy cloud.

The problem was that if they didn't find a way to escape the island and Eluheed's immortality was discovered, their happiness would be short-lived.

For now, she had to remember to call him Elias unless they were alone and to keep his immortality and his alien identity a secret.

Stifling a sigh, she selected a simple pair of black swim shorts that matched the swimsuit she'd chosen for herself but then grabbed a second pair in navy blue just in case he didn't like black.

"Should we get cover-ups?" Tula asked, eyeing a display of light fabric wraps.

"Definitely," Areana said. "It's not like swimming in our private pool in the harem, where we have privacy. Here, we are being watched constantly, and we need to be mindful of that."

Tamira glanced at the guards who were keeping some distance so as not to crowd them, but they could still hear every word they were saying.

These males believed Mortdh's teachings, or the bastardized version of them that Navuh was passing off as his father's words.

They thought that women were created for the sole purpose of serving men, and even wearing a tent wouldn't deter them.

She knew that they wouldn't dare to touch Lord Navuh's possessions, but just knowing what they were thinking was enough to make Tamira's skin crawl.

Not all of them , she reminded herself. Some must be able to think for themselves and not believe the hateful teachings.

She hoped her son was one of the enlightened ones. Navuh would have claimed him as his own, so he was probably a commander by now, a general even. Provided that he was still alive.

What if he had been one of the enhanced ones?

No, that couldn't be.

Surely, Navuh would not experiment on his sons, certainly not those who were his by blood and hopefully not even those he had merely claimed as his.

"How are we going to pay?" Tula asked when they'd exhausted what the store had to offer. "We don't have any money."

Areana laughed, and as always, the sound of her laugh raised goosebumps on Tamira's arms. Its unearthly beauty was one of the few things that identified her as a goddess.

Tula cleared her throat to remind Areana that she shouldn't laugh in front of the guards.

Tamira doubted any of them could recognize a goddess's laugh, but they might notice the different quality of it and wonder.

No one was supposed to know that Areana was more than an immortal and that she wasn't like the rest of the harem ladies.

The secret of her existence had been kept for over five thousand years, and Navuh would do anything to keep it that way.

If any of those guards were to suspect anything, they would be put to death immediately.

"I'm sorry." Areana put a hand over her mouth. "It's just that I find it funny none of you thought about money until we were ready to go. Naturally, Lord Navuh will pay for everything." She turned to the shopkeeper. "Prepare the invoice for me to sign. You can forward it to Lord Navuh's purser."

"Yes, my lady." The woman bowed.

As the shopkeeper's assistant folded their purchases into bags, Tamira looked out through the store windows, her gaze drifting to the mountain that separated this part of the island from the part that housed the underground barracks and other Brotherhood facilities.