15. Kian

"Do you want me to ring the bell, boss?" Anandur asked as their group stopped before Kian"s old penthouse door.

"They know that we are coming," Kian grumbled. "But ring the damn bell anyway. They are the residents of this place for now."

Julian glanced at the bag William was carrying as he shifted it to his other hand. "Do you want me to carry that for you?"

William cut him an offended look. "Of course not. It"s not heavy. It"s just that the damn handle pinched the skin of my palm."

The doctor frowned. "Let me take a look at it."

William"s ears reddened. "No need. I"m fine."

As Aru opened the door, the god"s gaze flickered over the group, and when it settled on Julian and then Ella, he lifted a brow. "Good afternoon. Please, come in." He took a step back to allow them to pass. "I didn"t expect the doctor and his mate." He looked at Kian with a questioning expression on his face.

"I"ll explain why Julian is here in a moment. Let"s move to the dining room where we can comfortably fit around the table."

Aru nodded. "As you wish."

Greetings were exchanged with the other members of the group, some casting curious looks at Julian and Ella, but no one questioning their presence, probably because they had all heard Kian tell Aru to wait for the explanation.

When everyone was seated around the large dining table, Kian took a position at the head of it, his gaze sweeping over the group. "I"m not much for speeches, so let"s start with the tech first." He turned to William. "The floor is yours."

William rose to his feet and put his paper bag on the table. "I have satellite phones for Jasmine, Margo, and Frankie." He pulled three boxes out of the bag and distributed them to the three ladies. "The phones I gave you before have limited capabilities." He looked at the two friends. "These are much better. I would like the old ones back, please."

Frankie pouted. "What about all the pictures I took with that phone?"

"Everything you had in the old phone has already been transferred to your new one." William smiled indulgently. "You can check."

Her eyes sparkled as she opened the box and pulled out the device. A moment later, she confirmed that all of her photos were there.

"Okay," William said. "Next are the earpieces. Please don"t lose them because I have only one pair per person, and they are not replaceable. Well, they are, but not easily where you are going to be. I would have to air ship them to you."

He pulled out the small pouches with the earpieces and distributed them to everyone around the table. "These will not only allow you to communicate between yourselves and us, but they will also protect you from compulsion. Under no circumstances should you approach the pod without these firmly in your ears."

He explained how they worked, the different machine voices that were now available, and how that made using the earpieces less awkward. "I"ve sent each of you a video explaining how to mold these to your ears. It"s meant for those of you who are using them for the first time and those who need a refresher. Ensuring the earpieces are correctly inserted and perfectly molded to your ears is critical. The smallest gap will expose you to compulsion and make you a danger to everyone else in your group. Is that clear?"

As everyone nodded, William shifted his gaze to Jasmine, and his expression softened. "If you wish, I can assist you with your earpieces."

"Thank you." She smiled at him. "After that preamble, I"m terrified of doing it wrong."

Margo lifted her hand. "I need help too."

"No problem, ladies."

Kian waited patiently for William to be done with their earpieces, all the while aware of Aru"s stare. The god was questioning the presence of Julian and Ella and waiting for an explanation.

When William was done, Kian rapped his fingers on the table to get everyone"s attention. "I know you are all wondering why Julian and Ella are here."

When there were nods all around, Kian continued. "While going over the details of this mission with Toven and Turner, I realized how perilous the conditions are in the Tibet region where Aru will start the search for the pod. I"m not concerned for the gods and immortals, but Jasmine is human, and we can"t risk her getting hurt without medical intervention available to her."

Aru cleared his throat. "It"s not necessary. Julian can give us a crash course in first aid, and I"m sure Edgar has some medical training since he often works with the Guardians."

"I do," Edgar confirmed.

Jasmine canted her head. "Did I hear you right? Did you say "gods"?"

Kian looked at Edgar. "You didn"t tell her?"

The pilot cringed. "I didn"t know if it was okay. I was waiting to ask you today."

Kian groaned. "Let"s make this short." He turned to Jasmine. "Aru, Negal, and Dagor are not immortals like the rest of us. They are gods who came directly from Anumati, the planet on which our ancestors were born. They were sent to locate the missing pods and perform other clandestine tasks. You can ask Edgar or Margo later if you have more questions."

Looking shell-shocked, the woman nodded.

Aru cleared his throat. "I don"t mean to question your judgment, Kian, but adding two more people to our team complicates things, and it does so unnecessarily."

Kian knew what Aru was trying to say. If Jasmine needed medical help, Aru was assuming that a donation of blood from one of the gods would heal whatever was wrong with her, but he was wrong. The blood couldn"t reset broken bones, and that was a big concern given the terrain they were going to traverse.

"Julian is not a Guardian, but he has military training, so his value is not only as a doctor. You are traveling with a human, and if she breaks an arm or a leg, someone will need to reset the bone and secure it. That"s also true for the immortals and perhaps even for you. If the bone is not reset correctly, it might fuse in a way that would disable the injured person, making it difficult or impossible for the team to continue the journey. Also, if you find the Kra-ell, they may be in bad shape and need immediate medical attention. Ella has undergone emergency medical training, and she can assist Julian. Besides, they are fated mates, and it"s difficult for them to be separated for more than a few days. As a mated male yourself, I"m sure you understand."

"Fair enough," Aru said. "But how are we going to fit everyone into one helicopter?"