Page 73 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"It is Sunday. Will the lab be open?"

"There is always someone at the lab."

"Thank you, Aru."

"My pleasure, Clan Mother." He ended the call.

Through the glass door, she heard Gertrude encouraging Khiann. "Good, good, that is it. Can you do one more?"

Annani stayed outside until they finished. Khiann plopped down on the couch, sinking into the cushions, tipping his head back, and closing his eyes.

When she opened the sliding door and stepped inside, she noticed his shirt was dark at the collar. Gertrude was writing on her tablet, and Ogidu came from the kitchen with two tall glasses of lemonade. He set one on the table in front of Khiann and the other in front of the nurse.

Gertrude tucked away the tablet. "Every day, Khiann. Corridor in the morning, corridor in the evening. Backyard tomorrow. I will be here at ten."

"I will be waiting."

She took a few sips of lemonade before setting down the glass. "This is excellent, but I need to go." She shouldered her bag and nodded to Annani. "Clan Mother."

"Thank you, Gertrude."

When the door closed behind her, Annani sat on the couch beside Khiann and picked up his hand. It trembled, very slightly, the way it did when he was completely spent.

"You should have stopped before exhausting yourself."

He opened his eyes. "Convenience is the enemy." He turned his head on the cushion to look at her. "I have allowed myself to idle for long enough. Now it is time to work. And do not tell me to take it easy because I have all the time in the world. That might be true, but I am frustrated, feeling like a newborn with a grown man's body that does not even work as it should."

Until now, he had not admitted to feeling so out of sorts. Annani had assumed it was hard for him, but she had not grasped how bad it was.

"I understand, and I will not tell you to take it easy." She lifted his hand and kissed the knuckles. "I invited Aru over, and he will be here in about half an hour, so if you want to freshen up before he comes, now is the time." She lifted his shirt collar so he could see. "Perhaps a shirt change is in order."

When he did not move, she chuckled. "Would you like me to bring you a fresh shirt over here instead of you trudging to the closet?"

He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and opened them again. "I shall trudge. After that speech I just gave you, I do not have a choice."

"You always have a choice, sa-mu. Never feel pressured into anything because of me."

He smiled, leaned over, and kissed her cheek. "There is no better motivation for a male to improve than the expectations of his mate."

Annani laughed. "You see? You are not a newborn. The wisdom you had before stasis is still in there." She tapped his temple. "I have a feeling there is more of that locked inside, and that at least some of it will eventually surface."

"It did not for Geraldine."

"Geraldine lost half her brain matter and had to regrow it. You did not."

"True." He put his hand on her thigh, and that small touch was enough to ignite the need she had been suppressing for a very long time. "So, what is the reason for Aru's visit?"

"I want you to meet him and hear what he has learned from his sister."

He was quiet for a moment. "Does he know that you told me?"

She was so glad that Khiann remembered their conversation. He was definitely improving.

"I told him." She squeezed his hand. "Now, go get changed. If you need Ogidu to help you or bring the chair to you, ask. Do not play the hero. You have done enough exercise for today."

He looked at the motorized chair with longing in his eyes, then sighed, gripped the handles of the walker, and heaved himself up. "No pain, no gain."

When Ogidu escorted Aru in, Khiann returned to the living room, and his hair was wet, indicating he had showered, and he was dressed in fresh clothes.