Page 43 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Of course," Khiann said before Annani had a chance to say no. "But be careful."

Morelle sat down, and as she pushed the stick, the chair lunged forward and clipped the leg of the low table hard enough to slop tea onto the saucers.

"Gentle," Khiann said.

"You didn't say it was tethered to a wild beast."

Brandon laughed, and Ogidu moved the teapot to safety without a word.

She took the chair around the room once and brought it back with far more skill than Khiann had managed on his first attempt, which he chose not to dwell on.

"I want one," she told Brandon. "Not like this one. I want a motorcycle."

The earpieces said the word motorcycle without translating it, and Khiann did not know what it was. Evidently, there was no word for it in the old tongue or it had not been put into the devices yet. Annani had told him that it was a work in progress.

He turned to her. "What is a motor-cycle?"

"It is like a motorized chariot but with only two wheels. I can show you later what it is."

"Not happening," Brandon said. "You are not getting a motorcycle."

"I am immortal," Morelle protested. "Nothing will happen to me." She walked over to her mate and sat on his lap. "We should both get motorcycles and go on a coast-to-coast trip."

"That actually sounds lovely." He wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned against his chest.

Khiann was envious. He wanted this kind of comfortable intimacy with Annani, but his body was not ready for it.

18

NAVUH

The corridor from the apartment to the elevator was one hundred and twelve steps, and then from the elevator to the pool, another sixty-three.

But it wasn't the number of steps that was the problem. It was how long it took him to make them while leaning on the walker like some aging human. Areana and Daniel were impatient, and they would have preferred that he use the wheelchair so they wouldn't be stuck by his side, forced to walk at his snail's pace.

But he was done with being an invalid, and he needed the exercise no matter how much it took out of him.

Tonight, he intended to make those steps in less time.

The walker went ahead of him, four rubber feet on polished concrete, his hands gripping the handles and taking at least half his weight off his legs. The cuffs reflected the overhead lights each time he lifted the frame and set it down. They looked like jewelry, but they were lethal, and he wasn't stupid enough to test what they would do if he tried anything.

Besides, in his state, trying anything didn't make any sense unless he reached a point when pain was preferable to boredom.

He had not reached that stage yet.

"You are pushing yourself too hard," Areana said from his left.

"If anything, I am not pushing hard enough."

"Doctor Bridget said it's better to build up your strength slowly. You need to allow your body time to recover between sessions."

"Doctor Bridget is not here." On his right, Daniel said nothing.

The Guardian had been assigned to him from the start, and he had grown accustomed to his silences. The male was not stupid, he was just the silent and patient type, and he was also not filled with hate, which puzzled Navuh.

Kian hated him with barely contained passion, as did Annani, and the other Guardians regarded him as if he were Satan himself.

That he could appreciate.