"I need to sit down," Areana whispered.
Lokan and Kalugal rushed to help their mother, guiding Areana to the sofa. She sank onto it, her face pale, her eyes still fixed on the twins.
"I was afraid this would be too much," Ell-rom said, walking swiftly to the bar. He poured a glass of water and brought it to Areana. "I apologize if this was poor timing."
Areana looked at the water glass, then up at Ell-rom with a weak smile. "Do you have something stronger? I think I need something stronger."
"I'm on it," Jacki said, transferring Darius to his father. "Do you like sweet cocktails? I can make you a killer margarita."
Areana winced. "Please, nothing with the word 'killer' in it. But yes, I would love a sweet cocktail. I don’t like the taste of alcohol on its own, but I’m okay with a little bit mixed into a tasty drink."
While Jacki worked, Areana gestured for the twins to come closer. "Please, sit down." She patted the sofa beside her. "I apologize for my reaction. It was just the shock. I promise that I'm not going to faint."
They sat, one on each side of her, and Annani could see how uncomfortable they still were.
"Half Kra-ell," Areana murmured. "I only just discovered that the Kra-ell existed when I met Jade and Drova in Safe Harbor. I regret not asking more about how she and her daughter came to be here, but I was too preoccupied with my mate, who was fighting for his life. He's stable now, thank the merciful Fates. So, I can finally hear the story of the mysterious Kra-ell."
This was the Areana that Annani remembered, the goddess who always knew how to make people around her feel comfortable, welcome, and appreciated. The diplomat that Annani had never been and still was not.
In that, Annani was more like Kian, preferring directness over diplomacy and action over maneuvering.
Ell-rom and Morelle exchanged glances in that special way twins communicated without speaking, and Annani could see them silently debating who should start.
"I'll begin," Morelle said, unsurprisingly. She was the more assertive of the two, less circumspect. "Though fair warning—it's a long and complicated story, so if you are in a rush to return to your mate, perhaps we should save it for another time."
"Can you give me just the highlights? I'm not sure I can absorb much, with the state I am in."
"Here you go." Jacki handed Areana a margarita. "Anyone else want a drink?"
Annani shook her head, and so did Carol.
"I'll have some whiskey." Lokan walked over to the bar. "Kian?"
Kian nodded, and Kalugal raised his hand to indicate that he wanted some too.
After everyone who wanted a drink had one, Morelle began, with Ell-rom occasionally adding details. They told Areana about being born after their father's exile, about being hidden in a monastery with veils covering their faces, about their mother's desperate plan to send them to Earth, where Ahn could protect them.
They told her about the sabotaged ship, about drifting through space for seven thousand years in stasis, about the explosion that scattered the escape pods across Earth.
They told her about the clan finding their damaged pod in the nick of time and saving them days before they would have died, about learning that they had been adrift for thousands of years, and about Ahn and the other exiled gods being dead.
When they finished, silence fell over the room.
"Our father the rebel," Areana said finally, her voice thick with emotion. "I would never have guessed."
Annani nodded. "None of the gods talked about the rebellion. They wanted a new beginning for their children, one that was not tainted by Anumati's politics and injustices." She turned tolook at the twins. "They wanted to create a utopia, but it did not work."
"I'm glad that you are here," Areana whispered. "I just wish you could have gotten here when our father was still alive and gotten to know him. He was a hard male, but a good ruler. You could have learned a lot from him."
Areana spread her arms to embrace her newfound siblings, and Annani felt something settle in her chest. Her family was coming back together. Piece by piece, person by person, they were finding each other again.
It wasn't complete. Khiann was still missing. The threat of the Eternal King still loomed over them all. Navuh's fate was uncertain, and the complications that would arise from having him here would test them all.
But in this moment, in this room, Areana was home, and so were Morelle and Ell-rom.
And that was enough.
36
