"Thank you," Areana whispered, but didn't budge from her spot in the waiting room, looking into the room where her mate was still alive only thanks to a bunch of machines.
"You should go rest now," Bridget said, more firmly this time. "Let us do our job. There's nothing you can do for him at this moment, and you look wrung out."
She was exhausted. Bone-deep, soul-crushing exhausted. But the thought of leaving Navuh here, alone among strangers who viewed him as an enemy...
"I'll just say goodbye." She walked into the room before anyone could stop her.
She didn't add that she had to do it because she was afraid he would die before she returned to him.
Voicing the possibility might bring it about.
She took his hand, the hand that had held hers for centuries, that had touched her with such tenderness despite all the cruelty she knew he was capable of.
"I love you," she whispered. "And where you go, I follow. So, if you love me, you will fight tooth and nail to stay alive because if you die, I'll be right behind you so we can be together beyond the veil."
35
ANNANI
Annani sat on the couch, her hands wrapped around a teacup that Ogidu had filled moments before. The Odu moved silently through the room, refreshing drinks and arranging aperitifs on the coffee table in his characteristically quiet way.
Her butler was one of the seven Odus who had been an engagement gift from her Khiann. They were also her protectors when the need arose and her companions in times of loneliness. Now, only three had remained with her, the other four having been assigned to each of her children.
Ogidu had been assigned to her son Lilen but had returned to her when Lilen had fallen in battle.
Annani sighed. The grief never truly eased, no matter how many years went by. It had dulled somewhat, yet at times a sudden surge of anguish would strike without warning, leaving her nearly bent in two from the pain.
Around her, the living room was full but quiet. Kalugal sat in one of the armchairs with Jacki beside him, Darius on her lap,playing with her phone. Lokan and Carol occupied the love seat, while Ell-rom and Morelle sat next to her on the couch.
Everyone was sipping on their tea, seemingly comfortable, but tension hummed beneath the surface like a dissonant note.
"More tea, Clan Mother?" Ogidu asked.
"Thank you, but my cup is still nearly full."
Ell-rom shifted in his seat, his long fingers drumming against his knee before he caught himself and stilled them. He exchanged a glance with Morelle, and Annani could see the nonverbal debate playing out between them.
"Perhaps Morelle and I should wait elsewhere," he said. "In the office or the guest bedroom."
"We should not be here at all," Morelle murmured.
"Why would you say that?" Annani asked, though she knew the answer.
"Because this is your reunion with Areana," Morelle said. "Because Areana is no doubt exhausted and frazzled after all she has been through, and meeting you for the first time after five thousand years will be emotional enough. Adding two siblings that she has no clue exist to this reunion will just destroy her, and instead of making this a happy occasion, we will be calling Vanessa for an emergency counseling session."
Annani smiled. Morelle was slowly coming into herself and starting to exhibit more and more traits similar to Amanda's, proving the old adage about blood being thicker than water.
"You make it sound so dramatic," Annani chided. "We are family, and Areana will be overjoyed to discover that she hasanother sister and a brother." She lifted her teacup and took a small sip. "She has survived five thousand years with Navuh, navigating his moods and his madness and saving as many people as she could. She is not fragile. On the contrary. Areana is a rock."
"She is," Kalugal agreed, his eyes shining with pride at her words. "But Ell-rom and Morelle have a point. Not everything has to happen at once. Introducing my mother to the twins could have waited for another day."
Annani shook her head. "I do not believe in postponing until tomorrow what could be done today."
Was she being selfish? Impetuous? Unable to wait another day to share with her sister the good news about their family?
She could not tell Areana before, not while she was still with Navuh, because the Kra-ell were a big strategic secret that the Brotherhood could not know about. She trusted Areana, but her sister had been a prisoner even if she could not admit that to herself. If Navuh had caught their secret communications, he might have gotten Areana to tell him everything she had ever learned from Annani. Areana might have been immune to Navuh's compulsion or compulsion in general, but there were other ways to make someone talk.
"It's not about strength," Jacki said quietly, bouncing Darius on her knee. "It's about emotional bandwidth. Areana's been through so much over the past three days. The rescue, seeing Navuh hurt, the journey, arriving in a completely foreign place. How much can one person take? And I bet she hasn't slept much, if at all."
