He didn't believe in the Fates. People loved to assign meaning to random events and to frame them as divine will or fate.
He had drunk enough of the coffee for the cup to become less of a challenge, and he managed to return it to the table with one hand.
"My sons are traitors," he said. "They betrayed me, and I will never forgive them for that."
"They just chose a different path, Navuh. They didn't stage a coup or try to overthrow you. They just left. You can call it abandonment, but you can't call them traitors."
"They escaped using trickery."
"Because they had no choice." She raised her voice.
"Kalugal took an entire platoon with him, and Lokan had been supplying the clan with information for years. They didn't just simply walk away."
She took a long breath. "It's pointless to argue with you."
He didn't like this new Areana who was wearing pants, arguing with him, and raising her voice. He missed the old, regal Areana who had always been the calming factor in his chaotic life, but that version of her wasn't coming back.
She'd been thoroughly contaminated by her sister.
"Kian seems loyal to his mother. Is it because she lets him run things? I bet he wouldn't have been as accommodating if she had held on to the reins of power."
"Kian is her regent, and it's true that she no longer runs the day-to-day operations of the clan, but she is still the ultimate authority. Both Kian and Sari answer to her."
"Sari? Who is that?"
"Kian's younger sister who runs the European arm of the clan."
"So, Kian is the oldest?"
She shook her head. "Kian is her second. Alena is Annani's eldest. She is the true Clan Mother, but she is not interested in a leadership position. She has had fourteen children, which is atrue miracle of fertility for an immortal, so all of the original clan members are basically her descendants."
This was new information. He had only known about Kian, but he knew that Annani had to have at least one daughter to pass her godly genes further down the line. Otherwise, it would have been just Annani and Kian, and there would have been no clan.
"How old is Alena?" he asked.
"I don't know exactly. Kian is just a little over two thousand, and she is a few decades older than him."
"Does Sari have children?"
"No, she doesn't. Amanda, Annani's youngest, has a baby girl."
He shook his head. "Fourteen is an insane number for an immortal female. She's a freak of nature."
Areana glared at him. "She has been blessed by the Fates."
"Semantics." He reached for the cup, picked it up with one hand, and took another sip. "Insane people were thought to have been touched by the gods. That didn't make it so."
The picture he'd had of Annani's clan needed recalibration. She had four children who did her bidding. Two were running things for the clan, one was popping out children like a human on fertility drugs, and one was doing whatever.
"Who fathered Annani's children?" he asked.
"Humans, of course. There was no one else. Annani believed that she was the only goddess left on Earth."
"I know they were human. I am asking who they were. Were they kings? Princes? Generals? Did she select them for any particular reason?"
Areana pursed her lips. "Annani didn't mention any kings or princes, but she did say something about generals and scholars. She chose men based on merit rather than birthright." She chuckled. "If I am to believe the history books or the movies made about human royal families, they are not known for producing the best specimens."
He grimaced. "No, they aren't. So, what merits did Annani look for?"
