Page 46 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"Then I am excited for you," he finally said. "You deserve to be happy and to enjoy your sons and your grandson. I don't begrudge you that."

He even meant it. He would never forgive his traitorous sons, but Areana had always stood by his side and had never betrayed him, except for her misguided effort to save Tula, who hadn't deserved it. Areana deserved her happy ending.

She smiled. "That's very generous of you. I know it wasn't easy for you to say, even though you could do nothing to prevent it or promote it. I still appreciate it."

"You are welcome." He refilled their cups not because he was thirsty for more tea, but because he needed a few more minutes of rest before he was ready to tackle the shower.

"Khiann went home with Annani," Areana said.

"When?"

"Sunday. Annani says he's doing well. She wants me to come to the village to see him."

19

YAAF

It was a little after five in the morning, and no one in the house was asleep.

Yaaf lay on his back in the room he shared with Bardov, listening to his roommate's breathing. Bardov was on the other bed, his face turned toward the wall, and he had a block up so solid it rivaled Yaaf's.

They were all getting better at blocking, but until recently, Yaaf was the only one who needed to use it. The fact that Bardov was blocking in the early morning hours could only mean he was thinking about something he didn't want the other seven to know about, and that something was most likely Asira.

Still, even with the wall up, his emotional turmoil was leaking, keeping all of them awake, including the four staying in the house next door.

Yaaf put up his own wall and thought about Sullha.

Three hours ago, she'd been draped across his chest, her breath feathering his neck, and he hadn't wanted to leave. She was coming down from the venom trip faster now that she'd gotten used to it, so his excuse for staying in her bed was getting shorter. Last night, she'd come down off the cloud with a contented smile and slurred that his chest was too hard to be a cushion. He'd kissed her lips softly, and she'd fallen asleep again, which was his cue to leave.

He never stayed the night because of Tomek. The boy needed to be told before he found Yaaf in his kitchen, eating breakfast in his pajamas with Sullha and Leehy, but they weren't ready yet to take that step.

Eventually they would, though, because Yaaf was tired of leaving Sullha in the middle of the night and going to his narrow bed alone.

As for the collective, it wouldn't change much of what was already working. The eight of them had agreed to test splitting into two houses, four and four, and it was fine. The hive mind adjusted to the short physical distance, so it could also adjust to one of them moving into a third house that was almost as close as the two they shared.

He could live with Sullha, and the seven would feel him there as they felt him here.

When he and Sullha were ready, they would sit Tomek down and explain what was about to change. Hopefully, the boy would not have a problem with it. If he did, Sullha would choose him over Yaaf, at least temporarily.

When he heard the patter of small feet on the porch, he thought it was his imagination spilling over, but then a small fist pounded on the door.

"Yaaf!"

He was up before Tomek finished yelling his name, and when he reached the front door and threw it open, he found the boy standing on the porch in his pajamas, no shoes, and panting.

"Mama won't wake up. Nana is shaking her and shaking her, and Mama won't wake up, and Nana doesn't know what to do."

The moment Tomek had shouted his name, the wall came down, and the collective mobilized.

Bardov arrived at a run. "What can I do?"

"I've got it," Yaaf told him, then crouched in front of Tomek. "Let's check on your mama."

He scooped Tomek up, and as the boy's arms locked around his neck, Yaaf broke into a run.

The path blurred past, and he barely registered the pebbles biting into the soles of his feet, but then it dawned on him that Tomek had run over these pebbles barefoot, and he didn't have Yaaf's soles. His little feet must be cut up and bleeding.

He should have told Bardov to come. He could've used his help.