"It is too small for Navuh and Areana to share long-term. It will do for now, but I want something better for my sister. Something that is not underground." Her eyes held that particular gleam that meant she'd made up her mind. "Areana has lived underground long enough."
Kian felt his jaw tighten. "So, what are you suggesting? That we allow that monster in the village, give him a house with a view and hope for the best?"
"I am not suggesting that we give him free run of the village," Annani said with an exaggerated feigned patience. "I am suggesting that we find a solution that allows my sister dignity while maintaining security."
"There is no such solution."
"Of course there is. There is always a solution." Annani rose from her chair with her usual fluidity, every inch the goddess she was. "We just have not thought it through yet."
Kian pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling a headache building behind his eyes. "Mother, be reasonable. Navuh is a dangerous monster. He hates you with a rabid passion. He's responsible for countless deaths, mostly human but also some of ours, for centuries of suffering. We can't bring him into the village."
"I want to give my sister something better than a cell," Annani said. "She is not the enemy. She is family."
"But she is mated to the enemy," Onegus pointed out. "True mates can't be separated. Where she goes, he goes."
"Exactly." Annani smiled as if Onegus had made her point for her. "Which is why we need to find a solution that works for everyone."
Kian stood, needing to do something with the frustrated energy building inside of him, and started pacing.
"You're asking the impossible, Mother. There's no way to secure Navuh adequately in the village without turning wherever they stay into a prison. And a prison is a prison, whether it's underground or has windows."
"It can be, in essence, but not feel like a prison to Areana. Just to Navuh." Annani smiled, looking at him with those ancient eyes that had seen empires rise and fall. "We need to think outside the box."
"We need to be practical," Kian countered. "The dungeon in the keep was designed for exactly this purpose. It's secure, monitored, and escape-proof. The apartment is nicely appointed, and it has served other couples well."
"Our clan is full of brilliant people, my dear son," Annani said, and there was steel beneath the silk of her voice now. "People who have solved impossible problems before. If we put our heads together, we will find a solution."
"Mother—"
"Kian." She stepped closer, and despite being significantly shorter, she somehow managed to look down at him. It was a goddess thing, or perhaps a mother thing, the ability to loom regardless of physical stature. "I am here today because of Areana's sacrifice. Which means that you and Onegus and most residents of the village would not be here today if my sister had not volunteered to take my place as Mortdh's bride. I owe her,and by extension, my clan owes her better than a tiny cell in an underground dungeon. You can say whatever you want about Navuh, but he has kept her in luxury. I hope she does not expect the same from me, but I intend to fulfill her every wish and desire. Except one." Annani lifted a finger. "To let Navuh be free. That is the one wish I cannot grant her. Other than that, she can have whatever she wants."
Kian closed his eyes for a moment, beseeching the Fates for patience. "What are you actually asking for? You sound like you have something specific in mind."
"One of the houses in the village," she said immediately, confirming his suspicion. "It can be a remote one. We can retrofit it with whatever security measures are necessary for Navuh, but we make it a home, not a cell."
"That won't be the luxury Areana is accustomed to in the harem, and it will require reinforced walls, unbreakable windows, specialty, extensive surveillance systems that will allow them no privacy, and around-the-clock guards."
"It is all doable," Annani said. "Expensive, time-consuming, but doable."
Onegus shook his head. "People are not going to like this. I know it is your prerogative to ask for whatever you want, Clan Mother, but usually issues like this need to be voted on by the council, and in this case, I believe it should be brought before the big assembly."
Annani surprised Kian by nodding. "We can do this. In fact, we should. I am sure my people would not deny me the wish to be near my sister. Not if we provide them with assurances that Navuh can be properly contained."
She was likely right. Her people would deny her nothing if she asked for it explicitly. Not because they feared her but because they loved her.
"We don't even know if he'll survive," he said.
"All the more reason to prepare properly," Annani countered. "If he dies, Areana will need comfort and support. If he lives but is diminished, she will need help caring for him. If he recovers fully, we will need maximum security. We prepare for all possibilities."
Wonder had been quiet during the exchange, but now she spoke up. "There's another consideration." Everyone turned to look at her. "The others rescued. The harem ladies, Tony and Elias. Where do we house them?"
"We will bring them to the village," Annani said without hesitation. "That is where they belong. The ladies are immortal, and the men have been exposed to them for too long to thrall them to forget that immortals exist. They will need to stay here with us."
"I just remembered something." Kian rubbed his temples. "Tony is Kaia's friend. He's a bioinformatician. Kaia might make use of him in her research."
"He will want to see his family," Onegus pointed out.
"We can arrange for that." Kian sat back down. "Compulsion to keep him from revealing immortal secrets and a good story about some drug lord who kidnapped him to be a slave in his drug laboratory or something of the sort. Then he comes back here and calls his parents once in a while, supervised, of course. The question is what do we know about the other guy, Elias."
