When Areana returned with the tea, she set the tray on the coffee table and sat beside Annani with her hands clasped in her lap.
Annani turned sideways so she was facing Areana and took her hand. "I am so excited about finally showing you the village. Amanda is performing her usual magic, transforming the big green into a festive party. It is going to be so beautiful."
Areana winced. "I haven't told Navuh about going to the village this afternoon, or about the welcome party." She looked down at her hands. "I didn't want him to feel abandoned."
"How will you explain your absence?" Kian asked. "Bridget tells me you rarely leave his side."
"I'll tell him that Kalugal is visiting Lokan and that I want to spend some time with my sons and my grandson. It won't be a complete lie since I will be spending time with them in the village. Just not here."
Kian supposed he could understand Areana trying to protect Navuh's feelings, even if he had little sympathy for them, but he couldn't understand how fated mates could deceive each other.
Then again, he'd hidden things from Syssi for years in the name of protecting her. She hadn't known that the little girls' transitions weren't induced by Annani's mere presence but by tiny infusions of her blood.
Now she knew, and Allegra had already received the transfusion, making her immortal.
"How is Navuh?" he asked, not really caring about the evil creature but wanting to know what he was about to face when he visited him.
"About as well as you'd expect." Areana sighed. "He's frustrated because of the paralysis and angry about having been captured by the clan." She turned to his mother. "He wants to speak withyou. He says he has something valuable to offer, something that will be worth your time." Areana hesitated. "He refused to tell me what it was."
Kian exchanged a glance with his mother. "We were trying to guess what it might be. Navuh has already asked Bridget to convey the message to my mother."
"What if Navuh asks about his sons?" Annani suddenly asked Areana. "He might request that they come down to see him, and your lie will fall apart."
Areana's face fell. "He doesn't want to see them. He regards them as traitors."
"That's probably for the best," Kian said. "Kalugal and Lokan want nothing to do with him either."
His words didn't seem to comfort Areana. If anything, she looked more distressed.
"They're his children," she said softly. "My children. Our blood runs in their veins. They can deny it as much as they wish, but it won't change the fact that he is their father."
"I think they are trying to do their best to forget that," Kian said, perhaps more harshly than he intended. "Navuh has spent five thousand years trying to destroy us and subjugate humanity. He's responsible for countless deaths. If he ever had any parental feelings, they were clearly overshadowed by his ambition."
Areana flinched, and Kian immediately regretted his words.
"Forgive me," he said. "I know this is complicated for you. He's your mate, and you love him despite everything. I'm not trying to make this harder."
"I know what he's done." Areana met his eyes, and there was steel beneath the softness. "I'm not blind to his faults or his crimes. But I've also seen the parts of him that others don't. The vulnerability he hides behind cruelty. The fear that drives his need for control. He's not a monster, Kian."
In his book, Navuh was exactly that, but Areana didn't need to hear it. "I reserve judgment for after I talk with him." He rose to his feet. "Brundar, you're with me. Anandur, you stay here to guard the Clan Mother and Lady Areana."
"Aye, aye, captain." Anandur saluted him.
Areana stood as well, anxiety clear in her expression. "Please remember not to tell him about the party."
He put his hand on her shoulder. "I have no intention of discussing social events with Navuh."
"He's still weak. Please don't—" Her eyes pleaded with him.
"I'm just going to talk with him. I'm not going to torture a male paralyzed from the neck down."
15
NAVUH
After Areana had left to meet Annani up in the penthouse, Navuh closed his eyes and tried to imagine what was happening on the island in his absence.
Was Losham already sitting in his chair, issuing orders to his men? Had his other adopted sons begun circling like vultures, each one eyeing the throne? Or had chaos descended, the various factions tearing each other apart in a bloody scramble for power?
