"When I found myself here, in your village, surrounded by people with incredible abilities, I knew that fate had brought me to the right place. I don't believe in coincidences, Kian. I believe I'm here for a reason. And I believe that you are the reason."
Kian's jaw tightened. "I need to know more before I commit to anything. My clan's resources belong to the clan, and my people decide which charities they are willing to invest in. If your mission requires significant resources, I won't be able to decide on that on my own. I will have to put it to a vote, which means that your secret will be revealed to all. I don't think this is something you would be comfortable with."
Eluheed's heart sank. "No. I'm not. But all I'm asking of you right now is to grant me a private meeting where I can share my secret exclusively with you and explain everything." He leaned forward. "Once you hear my story, you will decide how to proceed. What I need from you, though, is a guarantee that what I tell you remains between the two of us unless I explicitly allow it to be shared with others. I know I'm not in any position to make demands, so please, regard it as the desperate request it is. I don't know what else to do."
The silence stretched between them, filled with the sounds of music and laughter from the party.
Kian tapped his fingers in a slow rhythm against the table, then let out a breath. "All right. I will hear you out. When do you want to meet?"
Relief flooded through Eluheed. "Whenever is convenient for you."
"Let me check my schedule." Kian pulled out his phone. "I can squeeze you in on Tuesday at eleven-thirty in the morning. I'll give you half an hour, so come prepared."
23
TONY
The village was impossibly dark.
Tony stood on the pathway outside Kaia and William's house, staring into the blackness and wondering how he was going to find Shira's place.
There were no streetlights, no porch lights, and all the windows were shuttered tight so not a sliver of light escaped to guide his way. Normally, the moon would have been enough to see by, but it was cloudy tonight, and the moon was hidden.
He pulled out his phone and activated the flashlight, sweeping the beam across the path ahead. The village map application showed Shira's house as a little blue dot, and him as a red dot, guiding him along the village paths.
He'd barely made it fifty feet when a figure materialized out of the darkness, making him jump.
"You shouldn't do that," the immortal said, his face briefly illuminated by Tony's phone light. He was tall and broad-shouldered, with the kind of disapproving expression thatsuggested he took rule-following very seriously. "It's against the rules to have visible light outside after dark in the village."
"Sorry," Tony said automatically. "I'm human. I can't see in the dark."
"Then you should have arranged for an escort." The immortal shook his head. "I would have escorted you, but I'm already running late."
The guy continued on his way, disappearing around a bend in the path with the sure-footed confidence of someone who could see perfectly well in the darkness.
Tony waited until the footsteps faded and activated his flashlight again.
Rules were all well and good, but he wasn't about to stumble around in pitch blackness and arrive at Shira's door with a twisted ankle. He kept the beam low, pointed at the ground just ahead of his feet, and walked as briskly as he dared.
The map guided him through the maze of pathways, past darkened houses and silent gardens, until he finally reached the house with the number flashing on the map.
He rang the bell, and as the door opened, Tony forgot how to breathe.
Shira stood in the doorway wearing low-slung jeans and a cropped sweater that exposed a strip of pale midriff. Her red curls tumbled around her shoulders in artful disarray, and her green eyes sparkled with the same mirth he'd become infatuated with during the party.
She was the sexiest thing he'd ever seen, and so different from what he'd been used to in the harem that for a moment, he wasn't sure that entire episode hadn't been a bad dream.
The ladies in their silk gowns, the servants in their uniforms, the antiquated customs, it all felt like something from another lifetime. Another world.
Shira represented his new reality.
"Hi," he said, his eyes glued to her exposed midriff.
"Hi yourself." Shira stepped outside, quickly pulling the door closed behind her so the light from the interior wouldn't spill out. "How is your alcohol tolerance?"
"It's okay, I guess." He activated his flashlight again, pointing it at the path ahead. "Why?"
Shira immediately swatted at his hand. "Put that away! Are you trying to get us in trouble?"
