Page 122 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Find someone you want to marry," Beulah said. "And ask Amanda to plan the wedding."

Rolenna shrugged. "I have enjoyed several lovely immortals so far, but nothing clicked. I am holding out for my truelove mate."

"Aren't we all." Raviki sighed, then looked at the table where Khiann's former guards sat. "I might try one of them once they're in better shape. The one with the bushy beard has been glancing my way all evening."

He glanced at her again, and Raviki gave him the kind of smile that told him his suit would be acceptable.

He dipped his head in acknowledgment.

"I'm glad those males didn't forget everything," Raviki said. "It seems they still remember the basic rules of courtship."

Liliat snorted. "Do you remember? Because I don't."

Tula shifted in her chair and rested both hands on the great curve of her belly. "There isn't enough room in there for this baby, the meal I just had, and this dessert, but I'll be damned if I don't eat this beautiful creation."

"Is he kicking a lot?" Tamira asked.

"Not much. The poor guy has no room."

"Eat," Tamira said, waving a hand at the dessert. "I bet the sugar will get him going. Darien would kick up a storm every time I ate something sugary."

"You still remember?" Tula asked.

"Of course I do. It wasn't that long ago. Only a little over a century."

Tula shook her head. "A century is a long time."

"A long time for what?" Kalugal asked as he pulled out a chair next to Tamira.

"To remember a baby kicking," she said. "Your mother looks spectacular tonight. I like seeing her having fun."

Kalugal glanced at the dance floor, where Lokan was spinning Areana in some sort of modern dance.

"Indeed. I'm very happy Jacki managed to convince her to stay longer instead of running back to Navuh." He let out a breath. "I just received an email from the investigator I hired to look for Darien, and I didn't want to wait a moment longer to share the good news."

Tamira's hand flew to her chest. "Did he find my Darien?"

"He found someone, but we can't be sure it's Darien yet. If this is him, he changed his name and altered his photo ID, so it fooled the facial recognition software. I asked Roni to run his picture, but nothing current came up. If Roni couldn't find him, I didn't expect the investigator to do any better. As it happened, the guy found a picture of someone who looked exactly like Darien in a magazine he was reading in a dentist's waiting room."

"That's the picture he sent me." Kalugal handed her his phone.

Tamira looked.

A man in a knit cap and a red climbing jacket, on a slope of gray scree with mist behind him, squinting into the wind. Dark hair peeking out from under the cap. The eyes were the giveaway. Identical to hers, they were a shade of dark blue that was nearly violet.

She did not touch the screen. She was afraid the picture would vanish if she did.

"I'll send you the photo and the article." Kalugal took his phone back. "This is not proof, but it's a strong lead. The face is a ninety-one percent match to the photograph I gave the investigator. That's almost a match, and it's worth pursuing."

"What kind of exploration does he do?" Eluheed asked.

"Caves." Kalugal leaned back in his chair. "He is a cave and high-altitude expedition specialist. He leads teams into dangerous places. Deep systems, high passes, and so on. This is not something I'm familiar with, so I can't tell you more about it. The article was about an expedition in Eastern Turkey. It was over a year ago."

Tamira looked at Eluheed.

His eyes widened, the only sign of what must have been a shock to him.

He met her gaze for a moment, then looked at Kalugal. "That sounds interesting. I know a thing or two about mountain climbing, but caves are a different matter. That's a very niche occupation."