Page 2

DIN

T he summer sun warmed Din's face as he and Fenella walked toward the village green, but even more warming was the knowledge that she'd missed him this morning.

Getting such an admission from a woman who was so fiercely protective of her independence was invaluable, but he tried not to strut like a peacock and to keep his jubilant mood at bay. If he made too much of it, Fenella might never admit such things to him again.

When they reached the village square, Din was stunned by the transformation that had been accomplished overnight for Kian and Allegra's joint birthday celebration.

What was usually an open expanse of grass was now a festival of color.

Streamers in pastel shades crisscrossed overhead, tied to temporary poles that had been erected around the perimeter.

Beneath this canopy, white-linen-covered tables dotted the area, each centerpiece featuring paper flowers with doll fairies suspended by wire between them.

A raised platform stood at the far end of the green, no doubt where the Clan Mother would give her speech and Kian would make an appearance with his daughter.

"Wow," Fenella breathed. "I can't believe how quickly this was done. Yesterday, it was just a lawn with neatly trimmed grass." She waved a hand at the buffet that lined one side of the area. "Who cooked all that?"

"I guess the Odus." Din pointed with his chin at the three butlers standing behind the tables with aprons tied around their suits. "Ogidu, Okidu, and Onidu, I think. I have a hard time telling them apart. You know they are a kind of cyborg, right?"

She nodded. "They are not identical, but they still look like triplets to me."

"Ogidu is Annani's butler, Okidu is Kian's, and Onidu is Amanda's, and it looks like they have combined their efforts to prepare this party."

"That's incredible." Fenella stared at the three figures.

"I wonder what it would feel like to have one of those.

It's like having the artificial intelligence chatbot installed in an actual body.

" She looked up at him with a smile. "Soon, there will be one in every household, but I don't think they will look quite as human as these. "

"Which one would you prefer?" he asked. "The human-looking type or one that is obviously a robot?"

She pursed her lips. "I'm not sure. I need to think about it."

He chuckled. "What is there to think about?"

She gave him a look that seemed to question his intelligence.

"A human-looking robot could be fun because I could treat it as a friend and have talks with it.

On the other hand, it's much easier to tell a robot to clean the toilet and then power down for the night, because I want my peace and quiet.

I don't need to think about hurting its feelings or anything like that. "

"There's something to that," Din acknowledged. "The Clan Mother and her children have always treated the Odus as if they were part of the family, so now that they are gaining sentience, there is less concern about them turning out evil."

Her eyes widened. "Are you serious? These cyborgs are sentient, and there is a chance that they could turn against the clan?"

"I don't think that even partial sentience can override their base programming to not harm Annani and her family, but I'm not an expert on those things.

" He craned his neck to scan the crowd for William and Kaia, who were the experts, but it seemed like they hadn't arrived yet.

"It's an excellent question, though, and we can ask William when he gets here. "

Fenella's attention was already on something else. "Oh my God, look at that cake!" She tugged him toward the center of the buffet.

The enormous cake dominated the table—a masterpiece of confectionery architecture.

Six tiers high, each layer was frosted in gradients of pastel colors that flowed seamlessly from one to the next.

Delicate sugar flowers cascaded down one side, and crowning the top was a porcelain doll that resembled a beautiful baby girl dressed in layers of tulle.

"It's gorgeous," Fenella said. "Do you think Allegra will be wearing a dress like that? I can't wait to see her."

Din shrugged. "Maybe."

He was more interested in who had baked the cake. If it were Gerard, they were in for a treat. Otherwise, it would probably be meh.

Fenella's gaze lingered for a moment longer on the cake and then moved to scan the gathering crowd. Looking down at her outfit and the flip-flops on her dainty feet, she grimaced. "I feel underdressed for the occasion. The dress is nice, but these flip flops are too casual."

"You look beautiful, and flip-flops are perfect for an outdoor party on the grass. The females in heels will be sinking into the lawn all afternoon."

He loved the sundress she was wearing and how it hugged her curves in all the right places. Her dark hair was swept up in an elegant knot, showcasing her graceful neck, and he had a hard time refraining from trailing kisses all over it.

"I guess," Fenella said without conviction.

"If you want, I could take you shopping in Los Angeles."

Her eyes brightened. "That would be lovely, but I need to get paid first." She gave a rueful laugh. "I just realized I didn't even ask Atzil how much he's paying me. I was so excited to have the job that it completely slipped my mind."

"You just wanted to have a purpose, not a paycheck."

She laughed. "Unlike you, Professor, I need to earn my keep. But I almost forgot about the tips. Atzil let me keep everything from the tip jar, which was pretty generous. That alone should cover at least two decent pairs of shoes."

Din's heart squeezed at her excitement over the modest sum. He wanted to shower her with everything she needed—clothes, shoes, jewelry, anything that would bring her joy. But he knew better than to offer. Fenella valued her self-sufficiency above almost everything else.

It was something he admired about her but also found frustrating.

Would that change when they moved in together? If they moved in together?

Or perhaps only an official marriage ceremony would soften her stance on accepting his support. Some women cared about such things. But he was getting ahead of himself. Fenella had already made it clear that she wasn't ready for declarations of love, let alone discussions of marriage.

"What's wrong?" Fenella nudged him with her elbow. "You've got that brooding professor look."

Din forced a smile. "I'm just worried about Shira." The lie came easily. He hadn't thought about Fenella's missing roommate since they'd gotten out of the house.

"Maybe she's already here." Holding on to his arm, Fenella rose on her tiptoes and scanned the growing crowd.

Din followed her example, his gaze sweeping across the gathering, looking for Shira's distinctive red curls.

The crowd had grown considerably in just the last few minutes, with perhaps a hundred immortals now mingling on the green.

Then he saw it—a flash of fiery red among the sea of more subdued hair colors.

"There she is." He pointed toward the far side of the lawn, where Shira stood talking with a dark-haired man Din didn't recognize. "Near that big tree over there."

As Fenella followed his gaze, relief washed over her face. "Thank God. I was starting to worry." She tugged at his arm. "Come on, let's say hello and give her grief about not letting me know where she was."

As they approached, Din studied the man with Shira. He was tall and lean, dressed in dark jeans and a button-down shirt similar to Din's own outfit. There was nothing remarkable about him other than the intensity with which he listened to whatever Shira was saying.

"Shira!" Fenella called when they were a few yards away.

Her roommate turned, her face lighting up. "Hi!" She waved them over.

Fenella gave her new friend a quick once-over as they approached. "I tried calling you this morning. I was worried when I saw that you weren't home. I left you a voicemail message."

Shira at least had the grace to look sheepish. "I'm sorry. My phone died, and I didn't have my charger with me." She turned to the man beside her. "This is Ruvon. Ruvon, these are my friends, Fenella and Din."

"I know," Ruvon said, his voice soft and his handshake firmer than Din had expected from his slight build.

Something about him seemed vaguely familiar, though Din couldn't place where he might have seen him before.

"Ruvon works for Kalugal. He handles his security systems," Shira said.

Ah. That explained it. Din wasn't well acquainted with Kalugal's men.

"I heard that you started working at the Hobbit Bar," Ruvon said to Fenella.

"I did," she confirmed. "Last night was my first."

Ruvon smiled for the first time since the conversation had started. "Your psychic readings were the talk of the village this morning. Perhaps I'll stop by tonight to get one. Should I bring a specific object or would anything do?"

"Bring your wallet." She winked. "I bet it hides many interesting stories."