Page 71 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Instead, he gently squeezed her hand.

"Call me tonight," he said.

She looked up at him and smiled. "I will."

26

SULLHA

On Friday morning, two vans waited in the underground garage instead of one.

Sullha herded Tomek out of the elevator with his backpack bouncing on her shoulder, stocked with cars, two coloring books, and crayons in case the visit turned out to be long and boring.

It was amazing how quickly children adapted to new things. Tomek was already treating elevator rides as if he had done them his whole life, while some of the women still clutched each other in fear.

Gathered beside the second vehicle were the harem ladies, dressed in bright colored dresses, their hair perfectly styled, and their faces painted with a skill Sullha would never master no matter how many times she tried, and she'd tried a lot. In the end, she'd just washed her face and declared it good enough.

Yaaf loved her the way she was.

He'd told her he loved her again last night, and her heartbeat had still not returned to normal.

"Sullha!" Tula broke from the group and walked over to her with arms open.

"Good morning." Sullha walked into the hug willingly, angling so she didn't put pressure on Tula's pregnant belly.

"Look at you," Tula said. "Village life agrees with you." She took Sullha's hand and pulled her toward the others. "Come. I want you to meet my mate, Esag."

The male had flaming red hair that curled at the ends and eyes the shade of the ocean, a blue that was almost turquoise. He was tall and broad like all the immortal males Sullha had met so far. His eyes were kind, and the smile on his face was effortless, as if smiling was his natural default.

She liked him at first sight.

"Esag is an artist," Tula said, and smiled at Tomek. "He made you a present."

Tomek's eyes widened. "He did?"

"Indeed." Esag reached into his pocket and pulled out a little carved knight, complete with shiny armor, a sword, and a pointed metal hat. "I also made a princess for him so he wouldn't be lonely." He reached into his other pocket and pulled out another figurine.

His command of the old language was flawless, but his pronunciation was completely different. He sounded high class, like the harem ladies.

"Thank you." Tomek reached for the knight and the princess, but it was obvious that he was much less excited about her than about the knight.

He handed the princess to her. "Mama, can you put her in the backpack?"

"Sure, sweetie." She smiled at Esag. "Thank you for the figurines. They are beautiful."

"My pleasure. Next time I'll bring him only knights, or maybe horses to go with them."

"I want a horse," Tomek exclaimed. "Please? Can I have a horse?"

Esag laughed. "You'll get a horse, young man. But it will take me a few days." He pulled out another figurine of a princess. "Excuse me, but I have one more present to deliver to a little girl." He walked over to Bianca.

"This is Tony." Tula switched to English as she gestured at a man with dark hair. "He used to be mine, but I traded him in." She said it with such open affection that Tony laughed.

"We both upgraded," he said. "My mate lives in the village and works as a librarian in the city. I was lucky enough to get a position walking distance from home."

"He works with Kaia," Tula said, as if Sullha was supposed to know who Kaia was. "And this is Eluheed." She pulled her toward a man who was holding Tamira's hand. He was lean, with light brown hair and wise blue eyes. "He's Tamira's mate."

"An honor to meet you," Eluheed said, and dipped his head.