"Text him. His contact info should be in your phone."
Tony pulled out the device and navigated to the contacts. Sure enough, Yamanu was listed right at the top. He opened a new message and stared at the blank screen for a moment, trying to figure out how to phrase the request. How did one ask a near-stranger to wrestle with them and form a lifelong friendship?
He decided to keep it simple.
Hi, Yamanu, this is Tony, one of the guys you rescued from the island. I realized that I might be a Dormant, and I want to attempt transition. Kaia recommended you as a potential inducer. Would you be interested in doing this for me? Don't feel obligated because I asked. I won't feel offended if you decline.
He read the message twice, decided it was good enough, and hit send before he could second-guess the decision.
The response came almost immediately.I would be honored to serve as your inducer. When would you like to do this?
Tony stared at the screen, surprised by the speed and enthusiasm of the reply.
Whenever works for you, he typed back.I'm flexible.
"What did he say?" Kaia asked.
"He asks when I wanted to do it, and I said that I'm flexible."
"That's awesome." She high-fived him.
Another message came in.How about this Saturday night?
Tony's heart started hammering in earnest. "He wants to do it this Saturday."
"That's great," Kaia said. "It's better to do it sooner rather than later. If you spend too much time thinking about it, it can grow into monstrous proportions in your head."
Panic was starting to constrict his airways, and Tony desperately wanted to backtrack or tell Yamanu that there was no rush and that he would like to do this in a month, or two, or six.
But then Shira's smiling face appeared in his mind, and he knew he shouldn't wait and risk losing her to someone else. He wasn't going to repeat the mistakes of his past. This time, he was going to pounce full force and not let go until he secured the prize for himself.
That's perfect. Thank you, he texted back.
27
KIAN
Kian was seething as he and his mother left Navuh and headed to the elevator. He was in no mood to see Areana and the pleading look in her eyes that was starting to grate on his nerves.
She'd begged for mercy for her monster of a mate, when she knew perfectly well that he didn't deserve any. She was dealing in emotional currency, and his mother was falling victim to it, and what his mother wanted, his mother got, because she was still the head of their clan even though he and Sari were running everything in her name.
If he wanted to put Navuh in stasis, she would override his decision, and the Guardians would have to obey her command.
Given the occasional sideways glances she was casting his way, his mother was well aware of what was going through his mind despite the serene composure she maintained. Knowing Annani, she was probably preparing to lecture him about patience and diplomacy, and he didn't have the patience for it. The irony wasn't lost on him, though.
He wanted to punch something.
Navuh was playing games, which should surprise no one. He had valuable information, if his hints were to be believed, but he refused to share it unless they met his impossible demand to set him free.
The audacity of it.
After five thousand years of hunting their people and orchestrating atrocities, of building an empire on suffering and subjugation, he couldn't possibly think that this was on the table.
The gall of the demand.
"Your thoughts are thunderous," his mother said. "They are circling like vultures, picking at the same carcass of frustration without reaching any useful conclusions."
"My conclusion is perfectly useful. Navuh is wasting our time. He has no intention of cooperating unless we agree to his terms, and I have no intention of giving him what he wants. I'd rather see him rot in the catacombs."
