12. Marina

12

MARINA

T he day Marina had been simultaneously dreading and eagerly anticipating had finally arrived.

It was time to leave Safe Haven and part with her friends, her family, and the place that had been her temporary sanctuary after her people's liberation from near slavery in Igor's compound and the oppressive rule of the Kra-ell.

The irony wasn't lost on her.

She was willingly moving to a place where her former masters had chosen to reside, and although they weren't in charge there, she couldn't help the apprehension that gripped her at the prospect of facing them again.

Not all had been cruel, but they had all acted superior, looking upon her and the other humans in the compound as less worthy. After a lifetime of believing that was true, she would have a hard time interacting with them without feeling inferior again.

In the immortals' village, the immortals were naturally at the top of the hierarchy, with the Kra-ell below them, and as usual, humans were last. The difference was that the Kra-ell were in- your-face kind of people who never tried to hide how they felt, while the immortals did their best to appear inclusive and respectful but probably felt the same as the Kra-ell.

What if she was making a huge mistake by moving there? Perhaps she should have convinced Peter to stay with her in Safe Haven, where humans were the majority.

Stop it , Marina commanded.

If she didn't like it in the village, she could always return to Safe Haven, and Peter would come with her because he loved her.

Standing in the parking lot of the main lodge, her belongings packed into a single duffle bag at her feet, she watched as the new team of Guardians spilled out of the rented SUV and exchanged greetings with the departing team.

When they embraced and clapped each other on the back, the sound reverberated from the walls enclosing the parking lot, and their male voices were made more boisterous because of the echo amplifying the sound.

Marina saw Larissa rushing to her from the corner of her eye even though they had already said their goodbyes. Her eyes red-rimmed and her face streaked with tears, she pulled Marina into a fierce, desperate hug. "I'm going to miss you so much," she whispered, her voice choked with emotion. "Promise that you'll call every day."

Marina fought back tears as she held Larissa in her arms. "Of course, I will. At least twice a day." She pulled back a little to look into Larissa's tear-stained face. "You can move to the village, too. It's not as difficult to transfer there as we thought. All you have to do is fill out a request form or have Eleanor fill it out for you and sign it. Plenty of jobs exist, and they need people to fill them."

"I can't." Larissa rubbed a hand over her face, wiping off the tears. "I don't want to live with the Kra-ell again and not with the immortals either. I want to be among humans." She grimaced. "I've had enough immortals to last me a lifetime."

Larissa was still in the process of getting over her very short relationship with Jay, and as a result she was sour on all immortals.

"I get it." Marina took her friend's hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "You need to do what's right for you, staying in Safe Haven and dating human guys."

"Yeah." Larissa let out a watery chuckle, a spark of mischief dancing in her eyes despite the sadness that still clouded them. "I've had enough of immortals, but I'm not going to lie. I will miss the sex and the venom-induced trips." She sighed. "Perhaps I shouldn't be so harsh and give moving to the village some more thought."

They both knew it was nothing more than a joke, a bit of gallows humor to lighten the mood. Larissa's heart was set on staying in Safe Haven and finding a nice human guy to settle down with and have kids.

"You do that," Marina said.

"Right now, I'm still too mad at Jay to even think about it," Larissa admitted in a whisper.

"Why are you so angry at him?" Marina blurted out the question she hadn't dared ask before. "Did he make you any promises? Did he ever lead you to believe it could be more than just a bit of fun?"

Larissa shook her head. "No," she admitted, her voice barely above a whisper. "Jay was upfront about what it was, but I let myself get carried away and yearned for something that I knew wasn't on the table." Her chin wobbled. "Seeing you and Peter and how happy you are together made me hopeful. You two started the same way as Jay and I, so I thought things with Jay might also grow into more."

Marina pulled her into another hug, holding her close as if she could absorb some of her pain. "I'm sorry," she murmured. "I wish I could wave a magic wand and give you the happy ending you deserve."

Taking a deep breath, Larissa pulled out of Marina's arms. "I deserve better than Jay, that's for sure. I deserve someone who will love me and feel lucky for having snagged a rare find like me." She smoothed her hands over her ample curves. "Because I am worth it."

"Yes, you are." Marina grinned. "You are a goddess."

"That's right." Larissa took another fortifying breath.

A gentle hand on Marina's shoulder made her look up, her gaze meeting Peter's warm eyes.

"It's time to go, love," he said.

Marina nodded and turned back to Larissa. "I'll come visit as often as I can. I don't know the rules in the village, but I'm sure I can come back here with Peter. And maybe you'll change your mind and stay with me for a while."

Larissa smiled. "Come back as soon as you can. And call me when your plane lands so I know you are safe and call me again when you get to the village. I want to hear all about it in detail."

With one last fierce hug, Marina followed Peter to the waiting SUV. The three other Guardians returning to the village with them were already seated, two in the front and one in the back, leaving the middle seat for her and Peter.

After he'd loaded their things into the trunk, he got in, sat down, and wrapped his arm around her. "Have you ever flown in a private jet?"

"Yes. We were picked up from Greenland by private charter planes."

"That's not the same as flying in a luxury executive jet. You are in for a treat." He smiled. "Usually, Charlie flies the teams to and from Safe Haven in the larger and less fancy plane, but he and that plane were needed for another mission, so the jet is being piloted by Eric, the clan's standby pilot."

Marina felt a twinge of apprehension. "Is he any good?"

"He's excellent. Eric served in the Air Force for many years. After getting discharged, he started a private charter-jet business and did that for a while, so he has thousands of flight hours under his belt. You have nothing to worry about."