Lokan draped an arm around his mate's shoulders. "For you, the interest will be purely academic. You're not going to be seducing any politicians. I'm the only one you are allowed to seduce."
"Is that so?"
"It is. You are my truelove mate, my one and only, and you have eyes for me alone."
"That's right." Carol kissed the underside of his jaw. "It's you and me forever, sweetheart."
Annani's lips curved. "Speaking of forever, what about a wedding?"
Carol grinned. "Now that we're safe in the village, why not?" She glanced at Lokan, and something soft passed between them. "And after the wedding, we can start working on making a baby."
Areana clapped her hands together, delight flooding through her. "You couldn't make me happier. I'll get to attend your wedding, and later the birth of your first child."
She'd missed so much with Kalugal and Lokan, but she could be present for this. She could experience the birth of another grandson or granddaughter.
"We haven't decided on anything yet," Lokan cautioned, but he was smiling. "We need to plan for it."
Darius chose that moment to throw his toy on the floor and let out a demanding squawk. Jacki sighed and bent to retrieve it,handing it back to him. He immediately threw it again, giggling at the game.
"Someone's getting restless," Kalugal observed.
"Someone needs a nap," Jacki corrected. "But someone will never agree to miss all the family fun."
The warmth of the moment lingered for a breath, two breaths. Then Kian cleared his throat.
"As wonderful as this family gathering is, that's not the reason for our visit."
The temperature in the room seemed to drop, and Annani set her teacup down with a small sigh, the pleasant façade falling away to reveal the weariness beneath.
"Yes." She turned to Areana. "I am afraid this is more than a social visit."
"I gathered as much." Areana folded her hands in her lap. "What's happened?"
Annani looked at her son. "Perhaps you should explain."
Kian nodded. "I spoke with Elias and Tamira yesterday. I wanted to find out whether the shaman had seen in the visions he provided for Navuh anything that could point us toward Khiann's location. He hadn't, but some details emerged as we talked. Tamira described a glass enclosure that Navuh had built in his basement following the flooding in the harem and the removal of five big chests from a secret storage area in the underground pyramid that served as your home."
A chill ran through Areana. She had seen that glass enclosure, as had everyone else who had taken shelter in the basement duringthe rebellion. Was that where Navuh had put the chests? And what was in them?
"Tamira said that it was a large area filled with sand and that it had its own climate control."
Darius fussed, and Jacki stood, swaying gently to soothe him. The baby's eyelids were growing heavy despite his protests.
"I don't understand," Jacki said softly, still rocking. "What does a glass enclosure have to do with anything?"
"We suspect that the chests removed from the harem contained Khiann and his four immortal companions. When they could no longer be stored safely there, Navuh moved them to his mansion and built a special enclosure that provided optimal conditions for preserving bodies in stasis."
Areana had a hard time pulling air into her lungs.
Annani's truelove mate was in the basement of Navuh's mansion?
Hidden in plain sight?
"That's..." She couldn't finish the sentence. Her mind was racing, trying to reconcile what she'd seen with her own eyes and what Kian and Annani were suspecting. It would never have occurred to her that the chests could have contained Khiann and his immortal companions, not even after Navuh had made his offer and admitted to having Khiann. But now it seemed so obvious.
"Are you sure?" Kalugal asked. "What if the chests just contained artifacts that needed special preservation?"
"We can't be certain until we actually open the enclosure and see what's inside," Kian admitted. "But the circumstantial evidencepoints in that direction. Navuh's offer to trade Khiann's location for his freedom. The enclosure was built right after the harem was flooded. The five chests correspond to the five doll men in Cyra's drawing. The five stars in Allegra's."
