The Powerful Pride of an Immortal (Immortal Supers Book 4) by Kurtis Eckstein (ebook reader for surface pro .TXT) 📗

I nodded, recalling Freya’s mini-lecture on the subject. “Yeah.”

“I was born about eighty years before then,” she replied evenly.

Damn.

“And how exactly are you immortal?” I wondered politely, knowing she could easily refuse to share this information.

She finally looked up at me then, her expression pensive. “Do you know what causes aging?”

I nodded again. “Yeah, I mean, it’s just a symptom of DNA being damaged, right?” I hesitated then, when she raised her blonde eyebrows, as if the answer should be obvious. “So, I guess if it’s impossible for it to become damaged, then…”

“Correct,” she confirmed, focusing straight ahead again at the closed elevator doors. “My superpower is actually a lot stronger than it was when I was really young, but even back then it was impossible for me to be harmed, even on a cellular level. My power keeps my body in pristine health.” She glanced at me again from the corner of her eye. “And no, before you ask, it’s not possible for superpowers to get stronger like that – at least, not usually. Sure, they can be developed to their full potential, but my situation was a special case, the details of which I can’t share.”

I nodded again, focusing up at Winter. Damn the height difference between the two women was extreme. Basically a foot difference. “And what about–”

Winter immediately cut me off without looking. “Classified.” Her tone then softened a little, though she still kept her pale green eyes forward. “That’s not information we can share with you, so don’t ask again.”

“It’s not something we share with anyone,” Liz added. “Even the people we’re about to see.”

Well, shit. I wondered if that meant they were hoarding a ‘fountain of youth’ super like Heidi, or something else altogether. Either way, I had no problem respecting that decision.

If anything, I was just curious.

After all, they were making it seem like there were a lot more immortals than I initially thought, and I was very interested to know more about them. I mean, who wouldn’t be? I felt like an idiot in hindsight, but I’d gone most of my life assuming I was the only one who couldn’t die.

Unexpectedly, Winter spoke up again, responding to my thoughts.

“Most people in your situation assume as much, since we usually keep out of the spotlight. Plus, supers with longer than average life-expectancies are very rare, and those who are truly unkillable are even more rare. The fact that you’re associated with someone like Ms. Rosetti is…fortuitous.”

Not sure what she meant by that, if she was just implying that it was really lucky that I’d met Freya, or if she was insinuating that it couldn’t have happened by chance, but I didn’t get an opportunity to think about it long because the elevator doors popped open then, revealing a couple of security guards waiting for us.

Rather than leading the way, both women remained where they were, so I stepped out first when one of the guards gestured for me to follow. We then walked in a line down the wide hallway, with Winter taking up the rear. Oddly enough, it almost felt like she was Liz’s bodyguard, rather than the other way around, considering the shorter woman’s ability. Although, I knew her height probably had something to do with that perception.

It certainly wasn’t every day that I met a woman who was as tall as I was, though of course there were women even taller.

When he got to the correct meeting room, the guard stopped by the door, so I went ahead and stepped inside.

Jackie Hendricks, a woman with dark brown hair, green eyes, and pale skin, was wearing a normal dark blue blouse, causing me to briefly feel like I’d truly overdressed for the occasion. However, then I realized there were three other people in the room, two women and one man, seated at the long rectangular table on opposing sides.

All three of them were dressed in suits similar to mine.

Jackie looked up at me when I hesitated, a pile of papers on the desk in front of her along with a tablet. She was sitting at the head of the table right next to the door, seeming as if she was the chairperson for the occasion. She smiled warmly when she met my gaze, reminding me of her pleasant attitude back in the hospital after the terrorist attack at the mall.

I recalled her thanking me for everything I’d done for Lexi, including my part in saving her from the situation with Blaze. And, while I knew she had a role to play, I was sure that out of everyone, she was the person most likely on my side in all this.

“Mr. Archer,” she said pleasantly, getting up to shake my hand. “We’ve been expecting you. Please, if you wouldn’t mind, have a seat at the other end. We’re still waiting on a few people.”

I nodded. “Sure,” I agreed simply, only to nod at the three others as I walked down to take a seat. None of them got up to shake hands, with the man and woman on this side of the table giving me especially critical looks.

I wasn’t sure what I was expecting of my escorts, but I was surprised when Liz and Winter followed after me as if they were both my bodyguards, though I knew that was far from the case. Still, while I sat, they both took up a position on my left, standing side-by-side not even acknowledging those in the room. On the table in front of me, there was another tablet along with a stylus, which I assumed might be used to sign documents. I ignored them for now.

Without missing a beat, Jackie began to introduce her colleagues as she sat back down as well, gesturing to each person with her hand.

“This is Ms. Connolly, Mr. Pennington, and Mrs. Dolan.”

I nodded to each in turn, taking in their appearances. Both Mr. Pennington and Ms. Connolly were the two critical ones sitting on my right,