Page 12

SYSSI

T he family was growing, and the dining room was a little crowded with the addition of several highchairs, but no one minded rubbing elbows while cutting Okidu's delicious roast or spearing fingerling potatoes with their forks.

Okidu hovered around them, refilling wine glasses and picking up empty platters while murmuring apologies for having to reach over. He'd outdone himself tonight, which was an achievement since he cooked elaborate dinners for the family every Friday.

Perhaps he'd made a special effort because everyone was in attendance for a change.

Usually, some of the family members had other plans.

Alena and Orion often dined with Toven and Mia and their extended families, while Jacki and Kalugal were either traveling or attending various fundraisers in the city.

"More wine, mistress?" Okidu asked Syssi.

"Just water for now, thank you." She placed her hand over her glass.

That earned her a curious look from Amanda. "Do you have news you would like to share with the rest of us?"

Syssi's cheeks heated at the implication. "I wish, but no. I'm just not a big fan of wine."

Amanda pouted. "That's disappointing. And how can you not like wine?"

It was disappointing but expected. Merlin's fertility potions had helped them conceive Allegra, and Syssi was grateful. To hope that they would work a miracle again so soon was overly optimistic.

"I just don't like the taste. If I'm drinking alcohol, I prefer a sweet and tangy cocktail."

"Like a margarita." Amanda leaned back in her chair with her wine glass in hand. "Which reminds me that we haven't had a margarita party in forever. We should have one." She turned to Alena. "Are you game?"

Alena shrugged. "Sure. As long as it doesn't involve any of your other crazy schemes."

"What crazy schemes?"

Syssi chuckled. "The witchy dancing in the woods, for one."

A smile spread over Amanda's beautiful face. "Ah, those were the days. How I miss them. But I was thinking of something less adventurous, like a karaoke party."

"I would love that," Alena said. "Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there."

Alena was a gifted singer with a powerful voice, so naturally the idea excited her, but Syssi still remembered the last time she and Amanda sang while drinking margaritas. Her sister-in-law had many talents, but singing wasn't one of them. She sang loudly and off-key.

Amanda turned to Jacki. "How about you, darling? Do you like to sing while drunk?"

Jacki smiled. "As much as the next girl, but if you want me to come to your party, it will have to wait until I'm back from Egypt."

"Right." Amanda's face fell.

At the far end of the table, Annani sat with Allegra on her lap, engaged in an animated conversation with her granddaughter.

"Nana pretty," Allegra declared, patting Annani's cheek. "Like Princess Sparkle."

Annani's melodic laugh never failed to raise goosebumps on Syssi's arms.

"Where is your doll, sweetheart?" Annani asked.

"In her bed." Allegra shifted on her grandmother's lap. "Sleeping."

"I see." Annani kissed the top of her head. "Does she have a pretty bed?"

"Very pretty." Allegra launched into a detailed description of the miniature bed Syssi had ordered for her from an artisan on Etsy.

Evie gurgled something incoherent between spoonfuls of mashed potatoes. She was seated on Annani's other side, mostly content to listen to her older cousin talking.

Syssi had never encountered a child who liked mashed potatoes as much as Evie did, especially when the ratio between potatoes and butter was equal parts.

"They grow so fast." Alena cradled little E.T. against her shoulder. "I try to savor every moment."

Orion leaned over and kissed her cheek. "We can have more, you know. Seventeen sounds like a good number to me."

Instead of laughing him off, Alena smiled. "Fates willing. I thought I was done at thirteen, and then this little miracle arrived. I wouldn't mind three more."

As all eyes turned to Jacki for some reason, she lifted her hands in the air. "It's up to the Fates. By the way, do you know that the grand opening of the village's first grocery store is this Monday?"

Syssi shook her head. "This morning they were still assembling shelves, and they are planning to open on Monday? What's the rush?"

"I don't know, but I'm happy that it's happening before we leave for Egypt." Jacki reached for a piece of baguette. "I'm curious to see what they've done with the place."

"They want it to be a gathering place, not just a store," Syssi said.

"Somewhere people can get a taste of different foods.

I like the idea of having more dining options in the village.

When the permanent store is up and running, it will have a seating area where people can eat the prepared food they bought at the store. "

As Annani and Alena discussed the kinds of ready-made foods they would appreciate in the store, and later Amanda and Alena assembled a playlist for the karaoke party, the mood around the table appeared to be relaxed, but Syssi sensed an undercurrent of tension—the more bothersome topics dancing at the edge of discussion but not quite breaking the surface.

The recent terror threat, Lokan's escape and current fugitive status—these heavier matters waited like storm clouds on the horizon.

"I spoke with Lokan right before coming over here." Kalugal set down his fork, apparently deciding to end the pleasant veneer they had all been maintaining. "He and Carol are in Mongolia, doing their best to evade our father's minions."

Kian frowned. "I wasn't aware they were followed into Mongolia. I thought they ditched the bodyguards at the airport and escaped."

"They did, and Turner found them a safe house across the border for the night, but when they boarded the train the next morning, they encountered Doomers.

Lokan thralled them to get rid of them, and he and Carol got off at the first stop after that.

He bought an old van so they wouldn't have to rely on public transportation, where they are easier to find.

I told him to take it slow and continue in a roundabout way. "

Kian didn't look happy, his fingers drumming a staccato beat on the table.

"I should send Guardians to help them. The Doomers Lokan encountered must have been the normal rank-and-file.

If your father sends enhanced Doomers after them, Lokan might not be able to enter their minds and redirect them as easily. "

Kalugal nodded. "I warned him, and I contacted Turner about finding them another safe house, but I agree that they might need help. It will take time for Guardians to get to them, though, and in the meantime, they should just lie low. Perhaps stay in the safe house."

Kian leaned back in his chair. "I still don't understand why Navuh suspected Lokan. We didn't act on any of the information he provided in a way that could have exposed him."

"Navuh could have sensed that something was off," Jacki said. "He knows his son."

"I regret not being able to be here when Lokan and Carol arrive at the village," Kalugal said, returning to his meal. "Jacki and I could have thrown a big welcome party for them."

"Do you want to postpone your trip to Egypt?" Kian asked. "The search for Khiann has waited this long?—"

"No," Annani interrupted. "We cannot delay. Every day matters. I feel it..." She trailed off, but Syssi understood. The goddess had her own form of knowing, not visions exactly, but a deep intuition honed over millennia.

"I wasn't planning on postponing." Kalugal gave her a small smile. "My people found another figurine that might have been made by the same artisan who made yours, Clan Mother, or it could be a copy of a copy."

"Another one of me?" Annani asked.

"No, it's a different one. There is also a possible additional figurine in a private collection of someone I know by reputation, and I plan to make him an offer he can't refuse to purchase it."

"Antiques dealers are worse than arms dealers sometimes," Orion said.

Kalugal cast him a smile. "That's not an issue for compellers, right?"

Orion shrugged. "Snakes are stubborn, and many of them are immune to mind manipulation. Don't assume that your tricks will always work."

Kalugal sighed. "You are right. Let's hope this guy has a malleable mind."

Syssi tuned out the artifact acquisition discussion, her mind circling back to Lokan and Carol, stranded somewhere in Mongolia, hunted by Doomers sent by his own father.

"If Navuh catches them, would he… eliminate Lokan?" Syssi phrased her questions in a way the young children wouldn't understand, but they seemed to sense the increased tension in the adults around them.

E.T. whimpered softly, and Alena adjusted him against her shoulder.

Kalugal took a long sip of wine before answering.

"I've thought about little else since they ran.

Betrayal is not something our father can forgive.

He would try to extract information from Lokan using any means available to him but would probably imprison him somewhere secure instead of doing something that our mother would never forgive him for. "

"You don't sound certain," Annani observed.

"Because I'm not." Kalugal met her gaze.

"Navuh crossed a line I never thought he would when he authorized those massive terror attacks, especially the one at the concert.

I don't think I know him anymore. Something has changed, and I would like to find out what it is.

When I talk with my mother, I'll ask her if she's noticed anything. "

Annani shook her head. "Areana will not answer any questions about your father. Do not even try."

Kalugal closed his eyes briefly. "The truth is that I fear for her. What if Navuh knows about our communications with her? The device we gave her is undetectable, but my mother might not be as circumspect as she believes. Someone could have noticed something."

That was a constant danger, but the weekly conversation with Areana was a lifeline for both Annani and her. If she ever decided that it was time to leave her deranged mate, that was the only way she could request help.

"Perhaps I should summon a vision," Syssi murmured.

"And ask what?" Kian gripped her hand under the table. "Whether Navuh knows about Areana's little betrayal? Or about an escape route for Lokan and Carol?"

When put like that, he was right that requesting a vision would be futile. Those were not the type of questions that the universe answered.

Kian squeezed her hand gently. "Lokan and Carol are both capable people, and I will send a team to protect them. That's much more helpful than asking the universe for answers. You know that you shouldn't squander your gift."

He was right, of course.

Her reservoir wasn't limitless.

She'd realized months ago that, unlike the Supreme Oracle of Anumati who could summon visions at will and en masse, Syssi's gift was more like a battery that needed to be conserved and saved for moments of necessity.

Finding Khiann was a necessity. Lokan, Carol, and even Areana could take care of themselves.