Dark Prince's Enigma

by I. T. Lucas

  He often wondered if it had anything to do with corrupt minds, or maybe just suspicious ones. Then again, Vivian and Ella had plenty of reasons to suspect him, and they’d been very easy to compel.

  He smiled at her. “That was true before you came. Now that I have your visits to look forward to, I might stay voluntarily.”

  “Oh, Lokan.” She slapped his arm playfully. “You are such a charmer. No wonder you had Ella wrapped around your finger. But I’m onto you.”

  Except, she didn’t seem to mind.

  They were playing a game, which he was starting to realize Carol was as masterful at as he was, and upping the ante just made it more fun.

  “Ella is a young girl, and although beautiful, she can’t hold a candle to you. I would much rather have you wrapped around my little finger than her.”

  That earned him another slap on his arm. “Not going to happen. Many have tried and failed.”

  There was nothing like a challenge to get him excited. “But none of them were me.” He waggled his brows. “I am incomparable.”

  “I’m getting sick,” Arwel murmured.

  The Guardian’s presence was a necessary evil, but he was starting to grate on Lokan’s nerves.

  And apparently on Carol’s as well.

  Turning to her cousin, she waved her hand at the door. “You don’t have to sit here and offer unsolicited commentary. You can go back to your place and turn the volume down on the surveillance equipment.”

  To Lokan’s utter astonishment, Arwel got up and stretched. “I’ll do that. When you want out, pick up the house phone and dial zero. I’ll come to get you.”

  “Thank you.”

  Arwel pointed a finger at Lokan. “Behave.” He lifted it up and pointed at the camera mounted near the ceiling. “I’m watching you.”

  “Carol has nothing to fear from me. She’s perfectly safe here.”

  The funny thing was that he actually meant it, which the empath must have picked up on, and that was why he felt it was okay to leave Carol alone with the enemy.

  “She is safe because I got her back,” Arwel said as he opened the door using an app on his phone.

  That was the one weakness Lokan had discovered so far. If he could take Arwel’s phone, he could get out of the cell. Not that he was going to get very far. Arwel wasn’t the only one guarding him, and the cuffs they had attached to his limbs contained location trackers that would sound the alarm as soon as he crossed the threshold.

  “Finally.” Carol tucked a leg under her. “I love Arwel, but he was starting to be annoying.’”

  “Do you think I can get up from the damn sofa now that he is gone?”

  She waved a hand. “Sure. Do you need to use the bathroom?”

  “No, but I want to get a drink from the fridge. Can I offer you a beer?”

  She scrunched her nose. “I bet all that’s in there is Snake’s Venom.”

  “It’s a very good beer.”

  “Not for me, thank you.”

  “There are also water bottles.”

  “I’ll take one. I’ll bring a fresh supply of drinks when I come back with your dinner.”

  His heart did a very unfamiliar thing—it skipped a beat. And if he weren’t an immortal, Lokan would have feared that something was wrong with it.

  “I’m glad you’re coming back.”

  “Of course, I am. This is not a one-time arrangement. I’m here to see to your needs.”

  He almost tripped over his feet.

  But then she continued. “Do you need fresh towels? A change of sheets?”

  Pulling out a beer and a water bottle, he chuckled. “For a moment there, I thought you meant something else.”

  When Carol didn’t answer, he turned around and looked at her with an arched brow. But the only answer he got was a coy smile.

  The female was a temptress, and she wasn’t shy, but she was obviously waiting for him to make the first move.

  Except, it might be a trap, and the moment he tried anything, Arwel might storm in with a bunch of his fellow Guardians and beat him up. It didn’t make much sense, but neither did letting this gorgeous woman with her fantastic beef stroganoff into his cell.

  Was it some kind of mind game? Was Carol Kian’s version of a carrot, and the Guardians of the stick?

  More information was needed before he dared anything, which meant that he would have to coax those tempting lips of hers into more talking, not kissing. At least for now.

  24

  Carol

  Carol enjoyed watching Lokan’s cocky façade starting to show cracks. She was getting to him, and it was beyond satisfying.

  Without breaking a sweat, she was manipulating the master manipulator and charming the charmer. It was good to know that even though she hadn’t had much practice lately, she’d still got it.

  “I don’t need my sheets changed. But I would appreciate some fresh towels.” He handed her the bottle. “At some point, I’ll also need my clothes dry cleaned.”

  Talk about dialing the thermostat all the way down.

  Well, serving his needs was the excuse she’d used for being there, so she couldn’t get all huffy about it.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  He sat next to her and popped the lid off the beer. “I’m really sorry about asking you to do such demeaning chores, but it’s not as if I can do that myself, and you don’t employ humans, which I still find strange.”

  “Even if we did, no one in their right mind would have allowed them in here.”

  “Because of my compulsion ability. Although I’m not sure what I could have made them do.”

  “Compel them to call your father for help.”

  He snorted. “Not likely. If he didn’t execute me on the spot for letting myself get captured, he would have demoted me to toilet cleaning or trash collecting for the rest of my immortal life.”

  “Ouch. That’s harsh. But if he is so mean, why do his people follow him so blindly? Is it out of fear?”

  “In large part, yes. But Navuh is also incredibly charismatic. He inspires a religious-type fervor. People are willing to suffer for him, to lose their lives for him, or rather for the cause he promotes.”

  “Like a cult leader.”

  “That’s a good analogy.”

  It had taken careful maneuvering, but finally Carol had Lokan where she wanted him. Except, if she hoped to learn from him whether his father was controlling his people by using compulsion, she needed to proceed with caution.

  “But if you don’t buy into his propaganda, I’m sure there are others who don’t either.”

  Draping his arm over the sofa back, Lokan took a sip of his beer, probably to buy himself a moment to think.

  From experience, Carol knew that the best strategy was not to keep pushing but to wait patiently for the answer. Silence was like a void that required filling; if she did it first, the demand would be satisfied, and Lokan would feel less pressured to answer.

  “That was what I used to think when I was much younger. Now I’m not so sure. It could very well be that no one admits dissatisfaction with the way things are out of fear, and most definitely not to his son. But my brothers are the same. The few times I dared engage them in conversation on the topic of our father’s rulership and suggested that change was needed, I was looked at as a traitor. Then again, my brothers are afraid of him as well.”

  It seemed that she would have no choice but to ask him point blank. “Do you think your father uses mass compulsion on his people?”

  He narrowed his eyes at her. “Why would you think that? Did the two defectors say something to that effect?”

  “If they did, it wasn’t to me. Dalhu never comes to the café, and whenever Robert does, he reads his newspaper.”

  This wasn’t a good time to mention that she and the other defector had a history. Maybe that time would never come because her week would be up and she’d get all she needed out of Lokan, and that would be it.

  Why did that thou
ght fill her with such sadness, though?

  They hadn’t even kissed yet, and she definitely was not allowed to fall for the Doomer prince.

  “Robert? That’s not a Brother’s name.”

  She waved a hand. “He adopted an American one. Like you did with Logan. Not very imaginative, by the way.”

  He shrugged. “It was easy to remember.”

  “Are you that old, Lokan, that you have trouble with memory?”

  “I'm old. But not that old. So, if you haven’t heard it from anyone, why would you think my father compels our people?”

  “It just makes sense. You must’ve inherited your compulsion ability from him, but yours is less powerful, which is why you can only compel humans. And because you have the ability to some extent, you are immune to it, and that’s why he can’t compel your blind loyalty like he can with the others.”

  He nodded. “You’re a smart woman, Carol. I had the same thoughts, but even though I was there and exposed to the effects of it throughout my life, it took a long time to come to this conclusion. You figured it out just from talking with me.”

  It was nice to hear that he thought her smart, and she was, but not that smart. If not for her talk with Kian, it would have never occurred to her that Navuh might be using compulsion on his people. Not even Kian was that clever.

  Turner was.

  She waved a dismissive hand. “Sometimes, it’s easier to detect a pattern when you are outside looking in. It’s like living in a stinky house. You don’t smell it until you go on a vacation and then come back. But if guests come over, they smell it right away.”

  Lokan laughed. “I love your analogies.”

  Gazing into his dark eyes, she thought that he looked like a different man when he laughed. Or maybe that was the chameleon quality Ella had warned her against. Lokan adapted his behavior to what suited him best at the moment.

  A survival mechanism, no doubt. Still, she needed to remember that when he was melting her heart with his smile. Besides, he’d just put the last nail in the coffin of her mission. She wasn’t going to the island because there wasn’t going to be a revolution no matter how brilliant a job she did.

  “I wish it wasn’t true, though, because if your father has such absolute control over your people, there is no hope for them.”

  He frowned. “What do you mean?”

  “You said it yourself. If no one opposes him, or rather can’t oppose him, nothing is going to change. You will keep on fighting his insane war and try to help him achieve his goal of world domination while sacrificing your lives and any joy you might have had living them.”

  Lokan wasn’t smiling anymore. “You have a way of putting things into perspective. That sounds depressing.”

  “It is. The only way to change it is to assassinate Navuh, but that’s impossible too. He is surrounded by people who are willing to die for him.”

  The look he gave her was absolutely chilling. “Is that who you really are, Carol? Are you an assassin?”

  Her hand flew to her heart. “Me? Are you nuts? I can’t even hunt because I can’t think of killing an innocent animal.”

  “Ah, but there are those who would spare an animal but not another person. People are strange.”

  “I’m not an assassin, Lokan. Why would you think that? I get it that you are suspicious, but that’s one hell of a leap.”

  He shrugged. “Beautiful women don’t come to visit enemy prisoners unless they want to get information out of them. I’m not that naive, Carol.”

  Damn, he was onto her. But she could still turn it around.

  “Okay, fine. I wanted to find out whether Navuh was compelling his people’s loyalty or not. But nobody sent me. It was my idea, and I used it to convince Kian to let me see you. I’m good friends with Ella, and her stories about you made me curious. And then I saw your portrait, and I just had to see you with my own eyes.”

  A cocky grin brightening his handsome face, Lokan reached for his beer bottle. “And? What’s your verdict?”

  “That you are much more handsome in person. The portrait can’t show your devilish charm. And your voice, oh my.” She fanned herself with her hand. “Smooth as silk. I bet you can talk a girl into an orgasm.”

  The snort that escaped his mouth was accompanied by a spray of beer, but he was quick enough to turn his head sideways, so none of it landed on her.

  “Are you always so outspoken?” He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

  “Pretty much. Sorry about that.”

  He waved a hand. “No. That’s fine, I like it. I just wasn’t ready.”

  “So, do you believe me that I’m not an assassin?”

  “I’m not sure yet. But in case you are, you should be aware of the consequences. Or rather your superiors should be. Without Navuh at the helm, the Brotherhood will fracture into many small militias. To begin with, they will fight each other, but then they will spread out and start trouble elsewhere. It’s like chopping a monster’s head off and having ten sprout in its place. It’s better to have the original monster contained.”

  25

  Lokan

  Without Carol, Lokan’s plush prison cell felt dark and oppressive. It was as if she’d taken all the light with her, leaving only gloom behind.

  It had been a long time since he’d enjoyed anyone’s company so much. In fact, he’d never met a person he didn’t tire of in short order. With Carol, on the other hand, time flew by too quickly, and he hadn’t wanted her to leave.

  She was witty, flirty, and fearless, her free-spirited personality shining brightly through her smiling eyes. Not to mention beautiful and sexy, but he’d seen his share of gorgeous women, so that wasn’t the allure.

  Even her immortality couldn’t explain his instant draw to her.

  Maybe it was the intrigue? The challenge of deciphering who she was?

  Pacing the twenty feet or so that was the entire length of the living room, he replayed every moment of the past two hours in his head, searching for clues, glitches, anything that would give him a better insight into this intriguing woman.

  One thing he was sure of, though; unless she was the best actress on the planet, there was no way Carol was an assassin. She was too soft-hearted for that. But she wasn’t just a café manager who volunteered to cook his meals and tidy up his place either. She was still hiding who she really was.

  Maybe a spy?

  That made sense. With her flirty attitude and angelic looks, she would fool most guys into spilling their guts to her. It was also possible that she had a unique talent. After all, she was an immortal female, so there was a good chance of that.

  Lokan chuckled. Carol’s paranormal talent must be seduction. Were all immortal females so irresistible?

  An immortal female.

  Damn.

  He still had a hard time processing the fact that he’d just spent an entire afternoon in the presence of one.

  Stopping in front of the gorgeous brunette’s portrait, he thought about the male named Dalhu. To escape Navuh’s compulsion, the guy had to have an extremely strong personality. Or maybe he was immune?

  Was the other one who called himself Robert immune as well?

  Or had they both done it because of their love for an immortal female?

  He didn’t believe Carol’s story about the chance encounter between Dalhu and the brunette who he suspected was Kian’s sister. Things like that just didn’t happen. Was it something the clan did actively? Trap warriors with honey instead of fishing nets?

  If it was working on him, and he had to admit that he felt the temptation, it made sense that it had worked on simple warriors. In their case, love had managed to overpower their leader’s compulsion, which was truly remarkable.

  Could love free his brothers from his father’s hold as well?

  It was a fanciful and romantic idea that Lokan allowed himself to indulge in for about two seconds.

  He didn’t believe one word of the crap about true-love mates, or about t
he fictional Fates doing the matchmaking to reward those who sacrificed or suffered greatly.

  Except, it seemed that Carol truly believed in that nonsense, so he wasn’t going to offend her by voicing his opinion on the subject.

  His father was right about females’ soft hearts affecting their thinking.

  Contrary to what Kian and the rest of the clan thought of him, Navuh wasn’t insane. His father had an agenda, and he had stuck to it throughout the millennia. Everything Navuh did was with that goal in mind, and his methods, although sometimes abhorrent, worked remarkably well.

  Besides, compared to the astounding cruelty and disregard for life of some of the human leaders, Navuh seemed compassionate. He certainly wasn’t needlessly cruel, just pragmatic. To him, there was no question whether the goal justified the means.

  It always did.

  Except, Lokan couldn’t care less about Navuh’s agenda.

  What he cared about were his people, who deserved better than sacrificing everything worth living for on the altar of his father’s world-domination ambitions.

  The question was what was best for them, and by that Lokan meant the warriors and everyone else living on the island, including the humans.

  But whoever thought the answer to that was as simple as eliminating Navuh was naive. Things could get much worse without his father holding everything together.

  If only Navuh were more flexible and open to new ideas, Lokan could suggest a few changes that would make life much better for the island’s residents.

  First of all, female Dormants should be allowed to transition, and warriors should be allowed to take mates and form family units. Fewer children would be born, but that would be a good thing.

  The island was big enough for its current population, but it couldn’t support much more than that, and Lokan doubted a new bigger island that was unpopulated and up for sale could be found in today’s world.

  The truth was that the breeding program was obsolete.

  They didn’t need more warriors because the Brotherhood was gradually phasing out from the business of war, for the simple reason that demand was dwindling, and instigating new conflicts wasn’t as easy as it used to be.