Free Awakening by Caris Roane Page B

beefiness, and the appearance of being nothing but muscle, Luken had both a fine mind and a perceptiveness that made her job both easier and harder. “I need you to resign as leader of the Warriors of the Blood.”
    He paused, staring in the direction of the pool but his gaze had clearly landed on nothing in particular. He looked like she’d punched him in the gut. “Why?”
    Now that was the exact question she couldn’t answer. What would she say? ‘Because I had a vision you were going to die, so I’m sending you to your death.’
    Instead, she told the other part of the truth. “Because I need you to form a special ops team, and to lead that team. You’ll be heading to Third with Duncan.”
    He frowned. “Shit.”
    He added the last of the steaks to the platter and didn’t say anything more as he headed to the door that led inside.
    Endelle moved forward quickly, holding the door for him. Through the long hall, she could see that some of the men had already clustered in the kitchen. Medichi was scooping several quarts of potato salad into a large ceramic bowl. He had some of his famous Limoncello that Santiago poured into small glasses and passed around. Rachel was hunting for linens and silverware.
    The villa was often the off-hours center for the brotherhood these days, especially if women were involved. Parisa, Medichi’s breh , had made it a habit to invite all the men and the bonded women over often just to socialize. Parisa would be here now, as well, but apparently she was at Vela’s house, mentoring her, maybe.
    Endelle had received numerous invitations over the months to join in, but she understood quite well that her presence caused a kind of stress that didn’t help her men. So she rarely attended.
    Luken handed the platter of steaks to Antony. He didn’t go into the kitchen, however, but remained with Endelle. She led him into a small, nearby garden room that had a view of the front lawn and the olive grove beyond.
    Luken shifted to face her, his back to the kitchen. “And what exactly is the special ops team supposed to do?”
    “I don’t know exactly, and Merl will be on the team as well, though I haven’t told him yet. But for starters, Rachel will need to be protected as well as Duncan.
    “You’ll train with the wrecking guns and Merl can teach all of you what you need to know about the darkening grid. Rachel has already asked him to teach her how to fire a wrecking gun.”
    At that, the mulish look to Luken’s jaw left him. “She did?”
    “She’s not an idiot; the woman knows she’s in trouble. She’s a goddam target, for Christ’s sake.” She shook her head. “But I know from the vision that the darkening grid won’t be the end point. The action will be on Third.”
    “Did you see this team in your vision?”
    She shook her head. “No, not exactly. Mostly just Duncan. The team is my idea based on what I think could head off disaster. But there is a job to do, something that must be done if we’re to save Second Earth.”
    Luken lowered his voice, the sound heartbreaking in the small space. “I’ve been feeling it for a week or so that something was coming. But I never thought it would be about Third Earth. Endelle what are you telling me? Am I not coming back because I would swear to you that I’m not in a process of ascension to Third.”
    Moving from dimension-to-dimension was the natural order of things, but usually involved a call to ascension, so she understood Luken’s question extremely well. If he, or any of the team for that matter, weren’t in a process of ascension, then why were they going to Third Earth at all?
    The vision of Luken falling to earth from high up in the atmosphere hit her once more and tore at her heart all over again. How could he survive such a fall?
    But still, she answered with just an edge of hope, “I swear to you that I don’t know. I don’t know what the future holds.” She shook her head several times, her throat tight. “I