Page 36 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

Then came the breakfast itself, which had lasted more than an hour, and now the long-promised talk that Annani had done her best to avoid.

She was obviously uncomfortable sharing her history with him, and he worried it was because there were things in her past that she thought would upset him.

"Should I serve more tea?" Ogidu asked as Annani made herself comfortable, arranging her long skirt around her legs.

"Yes, please," she said. "This is going to be a long talk, and I will no doubt get thirsty."

"Master?" Ogidu turned to him. "More tea for you as well?"

Khiann was tired of tea. "Could I trouble you for some coffee? I developed a taste for it after drinking Syssi's creation."

There was no word for what she had made in the old tongue, but the Odu seemed to understand the reference.

"Of course, Master." Ogidu bowed. "But I am afraid I can only make drip coffee. The Clan Mother does not have a machine like Mistress Syssi's."

"I am sure any coffee you make will be excellent."

It was a shame that Annani's home did not come equipped with that marvelous machine that made such tasty coffee, but it was not as if he could ask her to get one.

He was a guest with no financial means of his own.

He needed to talk with Kian about a possible occupation, but in his current state, there was nothing he could contribute. He did not know how to read or write in his own language, let alone the one spoken here.

"I need to get one of those simpler models that do everything automatically," Annani said. "I will ask Syssi to recommend one."

"That is not necessary," he said. "I do not want to be a burden."

Annani looked as if he had slapped her.

"You are my mate, Khiann. I would go to the ends of the earth to make you happy, and ordering a machine like that online takes five minutes."

He frowned. "What does it mean to order something online? What line?"

He imagined a pulley system, with goods attached to a rope on one side and pulled until they reached their destination, but he was quite sure that was not what Annani had meant.

She laughed, and something in his chest eased. He loved that sound. He could listen to it all day long and never get tired of it.

"Ordering things online comes way down the list of what I need to tell you. Let us start with the history of our people and how they got here. Some of what I will tell you is fact, and some is speculation. I will not pause to say which is which because the assumed parts are probably factual, we just do not have proof of them."

Just as Annani was about to finally tell Khiann more than just teasing tidbits, Ogidu arrived with a fresh teapot and a carafe of coffee that smelled wonderful.

When he finished pouring and serving and each of them had a cup in hand, Annani took a few sips, then set her cup on its saucer. "Anumati is the home world of the gods. It has been ruled by the Eternal King for so many epochs that no one even remembers the rulers before him. His real name is El, and he is my grandfather."

For a moment, Khiann was not sure he understood what Annani had said. "You are the granddaughter of the King of Anumati?"

"Yes, but he does not know I exist, which is why I am still alive. If he knew of my existence, he would have destroyed Earth and everyone on it just to eliminate me."

A cold shiver ran down Khiann's spine, and dread pooled in his gut. "Why does he want to kill you?"

"Because he does not want any contenders to his throne, and I am his only legitimate heir. My father, Ahn, was El and Ani's only son. All of El's other offspring are from concubines and therefore ineligible for the throne. That is why he also tried to kill Ell-rom and Morelle, even though they are not legitimate because Ahn was not officially mated to their mother. In their case, though, El feared the rumored extraordinary powers that their combined genetics afforded them, and the prophecy about twins of his blood who would bring his end. I do not remember the exact wording of the prophecy, but that was the general idea."

She paused and took a sip of her tea. "I am extremely lucky that Earth is shielded from the seers of Anumati. But I digress. You wanted to hear how the gods came to Earth."

"I did, but now I want to know what extraordinary powers Ell-rom and Morelle have and whether those powers can be used to kill your grandfather."

She laughed, sending goosebumps up his arms. "El remained in power for hundreds of thousands of years because he is very good at detecting and eliminating threats to his throne. His wife is probably the only one who has a chance of ending him, but he knows how to contain her. As for my siblings, they have interesting powers, but nothing that can reach El. We do not have spacefaring craft."

Khiann shook his head. "It all sounds so vile to me that I do not wish to even hear about it, but I am your mate, and it is my duty to protect you, so I need to know everything there is to know about those who threaten you."