Page 3 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

Now that they were outside for the first time, the five of them basked in the sun.

His immortal guards were also wearing strong sunglasses, and they all turned their faces toward the sun because none of them could remember what it had felt like.

Annani stood back and did not rush them.

She had resolved not to rush anything and to let things develop at their own pace, although it was not easy for her.

She had always embodied a can-do attitude, and her natural inclination was to take charge of everything. That was her love language, and she was very good at it. Otherwise, she would not have been able to achieve all that she had.

But Khiann required patience, and she knew that the last thing she should do was manage him or let him feel as if he was being managed. He was her mate, not one of her children, and she needed to remember that.

Annani had always been headstrong, and back in the day, when she had courted Khiann, he had loved her assertiveness. A lesser male might have felt threatened by her, even trampled on, but he had been proud of her and had fully supported her. That Khiann had been a young god, though, sure of his own worth, coming from a place of strength, and he had delighted in being swept off his feet by a fierce goddess because it had cost him nothing of value and had gained him everything he cared about.

In contrast, the Khiann sitting in the motorized wheelchair outside the clinic was frail and unsure, and if she managed him the way she usually managed everything and everyone, she would crush him.

He was like a sapling needing careful watering and a gentle breeze, while she was a torrent and a storm.

She had to rein herself in and not rush the mate dynamic. She was taking him home, so there was that, but she would not be the one lifting him to the toilet or helping him in the shower, no matter how much she wanted to.

Khiann was not ready for that.

Her Odus would do those things, and it would be much easier for Khiann to accept being cared for by biomechanical servants than by her.

It was going to be all right.

Annani felt in her gut that she was doing the right thing by taking Khiann home. No other option even existed, as far as she was concerned. She had trusted her instincts for five thousand years, and they had never steered her wrong.

Ogidu brought the cart around, but he could wait. She and Khiann would get in once Khiann was ready, and not a moment before. The four guards were being housed in one of the older homes near the clinic, and they were to make their own way there in their chairs, shepherded by Gertrude, who was taking the first shift caring for them. Hildegard would replace her later in the day.

"Go slow and try not to run over any pedestrians," Julian told the guards. "Almost everyone in this village is immortal, so they will likely jump out of your way, but some are human, and you could cause them real damage."

It was early Sunday morning, so the chance of humans roaming the village paths was negligible, but Julian was right to warn the four.

"I don't see anyone," Adaluh said. "Is everyone still asleep in this place?"

"Today is a rest day," Annani said. "Out of every seven days, two are treated as rest days."

None of the five remembered that in the old country rest days had been monthly rather than weekly, and they would simply accept it as the way things were.

There were some advantages to memory loss. Instead of having to unlearn old things and then learn the new, they would simply start everything fresh, as children did.

"I'm going back to the clinic for the rocking chair," Julian said. "My mother reminded me to return it to her."

Annani nodded. "I am very grateful to Bridget for allowing me to use it for so long."

Annani could have asked that a new chair be delivered for her use, but doing so would have offended Bridget, who had seemed to enjoy having Annani sit in her chair, even though the original two weeks had stretched into three.

Bridget was home now, on pre-maternity leave, and since she lived only a few houses down from Annani, Julian and the chair could catch a ride with them.

Julian returned a few moments later carrying the rocking chair and loaded it into the back of the cart.

That broke the spell, and the five males turned their faces away from the sun and scanned the village square.

Khiann's gaze drifted to the café.

At this hour on a Sunday morning, the café was nearly empty, and that was no coincidence. Annani had chosen this early hour deliberately to spare Khiann the gawking eyes. His first sight of his new world should be peaceful and quiet, without the press of well-meaning immortals crowding close to gape at the Clan Mother's returned love.

"We shall visit the café when you are ready," she said. "Just say the word."