Page 12 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

"That's not right." Tula pushed away from the table. "He was your best friend, and you loved him like a brother. She knows that."

He nodded. Tula was right. Annani should have allowed him to see Khiann and the other four immortals, and it stung that she hadn't.

Had she ever thought of him as Khiann's friend?

Or had he been only a servant in her eyes?

Maybe she was still angry at him for how he had treated Gulan?

"Well, I'll leave you to your carvings." Tula leaned in and kissed his forehead. "Come to the house when you're done, and I'll make you breakfast."

He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. "I don't deserve you."

She laughed. "Some might say you got exactly what you deserved, and not mean it as a compliment."

"Point them out to me, and they will never dare repeat it."

"My hero." She planted another kiss on his forehead and then sauntered out.

Esag returned to the leg and was about to finish sanding it when the door opened again. Roven and Davuh came in without bothering to knock, which they never did no matter how many times he scolded them for it.

"Good morning," Roven said.

"You should knock before you come in," Esag reminded them. "Fifteen minutes ago, you would have walked in on Tula in a sheer nightgown, and I would have been forced to kill you."

Davuh laughed as if Esag had told a joke.

"I'm not joking."

"Fine." Roven cleared wood shavings from the bench and sat.

Davuh walked to the worktable, picked up the second head, and held it at arm's length.

"This one isn't bad. Who is he supposed to be?"

"I don't know."

"Khiann should have taken all ten that Ahn offered him," Roven said.

"It wouldn't have mattered." Esag returned to sanding even though the leg was done. He needed to keep his hands busy. "They would have been lost just like Khiann and the four he took with him."

"Or not," Roven said. "I can't wait for them to wake up and tell us what happened."

Davuh nodded. "When do we get to see them?" He looked hopefully at Esag.

"I don't know." He was pretty sure he was sanding off too much wood, but he couldn't stop. "No one's told me anything. Besides, we know what happened. An earthquake swallowed Khiann's caravan the same as what happened to the one Gulan was on."

"Right." Roven stood. "We were on the way to class when we saw you were in the shed, so we came to see what you were up to, but we need to go." He motioned for Davuh to follow. "Training starts at seven-thirty sharp, and Bhathian doesn't tolerate tardiness."

When they left, Esag examined the leg and cursed under his breath. It was too skinny now, so he would have to sand the other three to match it.

At half past nine, Alena called with an update. "He's trying to talk, but he can't yet."

"Does he understand when spoken to?"

"We're working on it. We also need to figure out who the other four are because I don't want to keep calling them John Doe numbers One through Four."

He looked at the shavings in his hand. "Take pictures. I might recognize them."