Dark Choices - I. T. Lucas Page 0,11
cast an amused glance at his mate. “No one tells Carol what to do. I had no say in it. Even worse, I couldn’t be with her during the testing. I was stuck in the clan’s dungeon and had to rely on Kian to send updates to Arwel, who was my guard.”
“The clan has a dungeon?” Rufsur asked. “Is it in the village?”
“It’s in the keep,” Carol said. “And it’s not as bad as it sounds. Lokan didn’t get thrown into some dingy cell. He got a beautifully appointed one-bedroom apartment along with a personal chef.”
Lokan nodded. “I have to admit that during my imprisonment Kian treated me surprisingly well. Especially when he sent Carol to spy on me.”
Carol huffed. “Kian didn’t send me. It was my idea.” She wrapped her arm around Lokan’s middle. “I wanted to check out the sexy prince.”
“And I want to hear all about it over dinner.” Jacki motioned for them to take their seats at the table. “Atzil will be mad if he has to reheat stuff.”
Kalugal nodded in agreement.
What he wanted to hear was the real reason for his brother’s visit, but he wasn’t in a rush. Hearing all about Carol’s daring mission to the island could give him more clues about the clan’s offensive capabilities.
As he’d expected, the story was fascinating, with Lokan revealing more details about his scheme to capture Vivian and Ella, and especially about his dream-walking ability. Carol’s impressions from the harem and her interactions with Areana were no less riveting.
Whatever Lokan wanted to talk to him about couldn’t possibly top that.
Besides, it seemed that his brother wasn’t in a hurry to get to the real reason for his visit either, and Kalugal suspected that he wanted to talk to him privately. Except, Kalugal had no secrets that he wanted to keep from Jacki, and he was pretty sure that Carol was privy to whatever was on Lokan’s mind, which meant that his brother didn’t want to talk in front of Rufsur and Phinas.
When it seemed like storytelling time was over, Kalugal put his napkin on his plate to signal that he was done. “Would you like to adjourn to the library for a drink?”
Lokan looked relieved. “I would love to.”
Rufsur patted his belly. “I’d better go to the bunker and run a couple of hours on the treadmill to burn this meal off.”
“I’ll join you,” Phinas said.
His lieutenants knew him well enough to know when they were being dismissed without him having to say anything.
Jacki started picking up dirty plates. “I’ll stay to help Atzil.”
Apparently his mate had misinterpreted his cues, thinking that she was included in the dismissal.
“Nonsense.” Kalugal took the plates out of her hands and put them back on the table. “Shamash will help Atzil.”
“Okay.”
He smiled. “I love it when you don’t argue with me.”
Lokan chuckled. “I wish I knew your secret. The only way I can avoid arguing with Carol is to say ‘yes, dear’ to everything.”
“Not true.” She slapped his arm. “I’m not unreasonable. It’s just that I’m always right.”
“Yes, dear.”
“Men.” Carol rolled her eyes. “Come on.” She threaded her arm through Jacki’s. “I want to hear all about your experience in the village.”
“Are you in trouble?” Kalugal asked as he and Lokan followed the ladies to the library.
His brother waved a dismissive hand. “We tease each other like this all of the time, and all is forgotten by morning.”
Kalugal walked over to the bar. “What’s your pleasure?”
“It’s hard to decide.” Lokan glanced over the display. “You choose.”
“I’ve discovered an excellent bourbon.” He took the bottle down, then turned to the ladies. “What would you like?”
“An old fashioned for me,” Jacki said.
Carol nodded. “Same here.”
“Coming up.”
Once he was done pouring and handing out the drinks, Kalugal motioned for Lokan to join him at the games table. “Do you play chess?”
“I do.”
“Excellent. We can play while you tell me the real reason for your visit.”
Lokan chuckled. “Missing my only brother and his lovely, newly-transitioned mate is not reason enough?”
Kalugal made his first move. “Not to fly over from Washington on one day’s notice. Whatever it is must be urgent.”
“Not really.” Lokan moved his pawn. “It’s just when the idea occurred to me, I couldn’t wait to share it with you.”
“You could have called.” Kalugal moved another piece. “Using the clan-issued phones makes our connection secure.” He arched a brow. “Unless what you want to talk to me involves the clan, and you didn’t want them to know about it.”
“It might involve them, but that’s