Page 2 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

She could imagine Alena, though, standing behind her chair with a hand pressed over her mouth, tears running down her porcelain cheeks. Happy, emotional tears of a daughter who knew what this male meant to her mother and how long she had been waiting for this day.

The medical staff was there as well, but all three of them had gone deathly quiet, as if they feared a loud breath would intrude on their Clan Mother's reunion with her truelove mate.

Five thousand years had passed since the last time she saw those blue eyes looking at her, and for most of that time she had believed she would only see them again once she joined Khiann on the other side of the veil. Even after she had started to suspect that the witnesses who had testified to seeing his murder had lied, she still had not dared to hope that she would ever find him.

The Fates had been merciful to her. She had no right to ask them for more.

Khiann's lips parted, and as his jaw started working, Annani leaned in so quickly to catch what he was trying to say that her hair swung forward, fanning over his blanket.

What emerged from his throat was a breath shaped like a word, air pushed through vocal cords that had not made a sound in five thousand years. He tried again, the effort showing in his whole face, his brows drawing together, his chin tightening, but still nothing came out. She saw fear flood his eyes.

His breathing quickened, and the monitor beside the bed changed its rhythm, yet Annani did not turn her head to look for the physician.

Bridget came around to the other side of the bed. "That's completely normal. Nothing is wrong with you. Your body has been asleep for a very long time, and your voice will take time to return, but I promise it will."

He did not understand a word of it because she had said it in English, and the language did not even exist in the world that Khiann remembered. But he understood the tone, because his eyes shifted to Bridget's face and stayed there for a moment.

Annani was still clasping his hand between hers, and she leaned close to his face until his focus returned to her.

She debated translating Bridget's words but decided they would be too much for him to process in the first minutes after waking. She opted for something much more basic.

"You are safe, my love," she said in the old tongue, slowly, giving each word its full weight.

His eyes came back to her and fastened on her mouth with such intensity that her breath caught.

"You are among friends. Nothing here will hurt you."

He watched her speak, but he did not seem to comprehend the words, even though they were simple, basic, something a small child should have understood. Then his Adam's apple started bobbing, and he seemed desperate to say something, so perhaps he had understood them after all, just not why she had called him her love.

One day he would, even if he never regained his memories, because she was going to tell him everything and fill his head with hers.

"Do you remember me?" Annani asked just in case she had been wrong.

His eyes searched hers, and nothing moved behind them.

"I did not think so." She patted his hand. "That is all right. My name is Annani, daughter of Ahn and Nai. I have been telling you stories while you slept." She held his gaze. "I hope you heard at least some of them, but if you did not, I will tell them again. Your name is Khiann, and you are the son of Yaeni and Navohn. I am your truelove mate, and I have been waiting for you for five thousand years."

His mouth worked again. His throat moved. He was trying so hard to say something that the muscles stood out in his neck, but nothing came. This time, the frustration on his face was so raw that it hurt to look at.

Then his fingers tightened around her hand.

It was barely anything. A fraction of a grip, a pressure so slight it brought tears to her eyes because that was the whole of his strength, and he had spent it all trying to communicate with her.

Annani forced the tears back behind her eyelids.

One day soon, he would squeeze her hand properly. Everything from this moment forward would only improve, and he was not going to regress or slip back under because she would not let him. She would sit by his side, hold his hand, and talk to him until he was strong enough to tell her she was talking too much and that he needed some peace and quiet.

Not that such a thing would ever happen.

During their short life together, Khiann had never spoken such words to her. He had loved the sound of her voice and listened to everything she said. That did not mean he had agreed with everything, though. Perhaps if he had, he would not have embarked on that journey east, and history would have taken a different course.

Annani shook her head. She was not going to indulge in what-ifs. It was a futile endeavor.

"Do not try to speak, my love," she said softly. "You are safe, and you are getting stronger by the hour. Your voice will return the same way your body did. Just be patient for a little longer." She smiled at him. "We have all the time in the world now, and I am not going to let you out of my sight."

His eyes stayed fixed on her face. The fear slowly ebbed, and something calmer settled in its place.

"Mother," Alena said from behind her. "Kian will be here in a few minutes."