Chapter 4 Annani
ANNANI
"Khiann is not dead. He is in stasis, and I am the only one who knows where he is."
The room seemed to tilt around Annani.
Navuh had just confirmed her suspicions. Mortdh had not killed Khiann, and the witnesses had been compelled to lie and incriminate Mortdh. The one thing she had never expected was that Navuh knew where Khiann was buried.
"You are lying," she whispered. "This is just another manipulation. Another game."
"It is not a game. I have been keeping this information as an insurance policy. What will it be, Annani? Is reuniting with Khiann not worth my freedom to you? If so, you must have never cared for him as much as you profess you did."
The words reverberated in Annani's mind, their seismic impact threatening to shatter her into a thousand little pieces.
If it were true...
If Khiann was really alive...
"Prove it," she said, and her voice came out stronger than she expected. "Prove to me that what you say is true."
Navuh's smile widened. "That, dear cousin, is what negotiations are for. My freedom for your truelove mate."
Annani stared at those dark, cruel eyes that glittered with triumph. Navuh's body might be broken, but his spirit was not, and his mind was as sharp as ever.
She had thought that she was playing games with him, making him wait so he would make concessions, but he was just biding his time, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal his trump card.
Was it real, though?
For months now, Annani had entertained a suspicion that Khiann might not be dead, that her father had compelled the witnesses to incriminate Mortdh as a way to get rid of a troublesome opponent.
She could not believe that her father could have been so cruel to her, letting her believe that Khiann was dead, but Ahn had been ruthless, and she could see him weighing her happiness against the greater good of the gods and deciding that the sacrifice was worthwhile.
Perhaps he had even planned to tell her the truth after Mortdh was dealt with, but he had never gotten the chance.
Either Mortdh himself or the Eternal King's assassins had dropped a bomb on the assembly of gods during their deliberations and killed them all.
The problem was that Navuh could have learned about Annani's suspicions from Areana and was now using them to his benefit.
Annani had shared her theory with her sister during their secret conversations, and Areana might have shared it with Navuh.
She hadn't done it while they were still on the island and she had been hiding her communication with Annani, but now that it was no longer a secret, she could have told him about the once-a-week calls and everything they had discussed.
Perhaps that was why he had waited until now to dangle this in front of her. He had just recently discovered that she harbored hope that Khiann was alive.
Kian stepped forward, positioning himself between her and Navuh, his body radiating fury. "Areana must have told you about my mother's theory, and you're using it to your advantage."
Kian seemed to have arrived at the same conclusion as she had.
"I assure you, my dear nephew, that my knowledge of Khiann's whereabouts does not come from your mother's theories. If she knew where he was, she would have found him already. I'm the only one who knows where he's buried."
"Without proof, your words are meaningless," Kian said.
Navuh pinned him with a hard stare. "I don't need to prove anything.
I don't expect you to free me before you find your mother's mate.
But I will accept Annani's word that once I tell you where he is and you retrieve him, she will set me free.
" Navuh settled against his pillows, the picture of calm.
"Take your time. Discuss it amongst yourselves. Regrettably, I'm not going anywhere."
He sounded so reasonable, which only made Annani angrier. He had known for five thousand years where Khiann was and had deprived her of the company of her love.
He had done so while knowing what it meant to have a truelove mate, so he knew the pain she had been living with for millennia, and he had reveled in it.
His cruelty knew no bounds.
Without bothering to say another word to him, Annani turned around and headed for the door, her legs moving automatically while her mind was a raging storm.
She was aware of Kian following her out of the room and the brothers stepping out and closing the door behind them.
They made it to the corridor before Annani's legs gave out, and she would have fallen if Kian hadn't caught her. His arms wrapped around her, steadying her, and she leaned into him for a moment. me
"I was right." The words came out as a whisper, trembling with emotion she could not contain. "Khiann is alive. He is in stasis. The witnesses lied."
"Navuh is a master manipulator," Kian said.
"He must have learned about your theory from Areana.
Now that it's no longer a secret that the two of you were communicating, Areana has no reason to hide what you told her from her mate.
" Annani shook her head. "But he doesn't expect to be set free until after we find Khiann. "
"He might be buying himself time or just playing games. I don't know what he hopes to achieve, but it doesn't make any sense for him to know where Khiann is."
Annani pulled back.
Kian was right to be skeptical, and she should be skeptical too. But what if he was telling the truth?
"Let us ask Areana, then," Annani declared.
Kian nodded and offered her his arm.
When they reached the penthouse, Areana opened the door before they had a chance to ring the bell, and as she took in Annani's state, her expression shifted from welcome to alarm.
"What happened?" She reached for Annani's hands, drawing her inside. "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"Perhaps I have," Annani said. "Or perhaps I am about to."
She allowed Areana to guide her to the seating area.
"Navuh made an offer," Kian said flatly. "He claims to know where Khiann is. Claims he is alive and in stasis, and that he's the only one who knows the location."
Areana paled. "He knows what?"
"He's demanding his freedom in exchange for the information." Kian's eyes were fixed on her. "Did you tell him about Mother's theory that Mortdh hadn't killed Khiann and that the witnesses lied?"
Areana's hand flew to her throat. "I did not. I swear to the Fates that I didn't tell him."
"Why not?" Annani asked. "I never explicitly forbade you from telling him. It just did not occur to me that it might give him ideas."
"But I didn't tell him," Areana insisted. "It just never came up."
Kian arched a brow. "I find that hard to believe."
Areana glared at him, her meek and amiable facade abandoned, revealing the steel she hid underneath. "You don't have to take my word for it. You can check the surveillance recordings from Navuh's room. Every conversation we have had since arriving here has been recorded."
The challenge hung in the air between them. Kian held Areana's gaze for a long moment, then nodded. "Don't think that I won't do that."
Areana narrowed her eyes at him. "Your confidence in me is astounding, nephew."
He shrugged. "We all know that your loyalty belongs first and foremost to Navuh, and even though he is vile and deplorable, you are a captive of the truelove bond. I know the power it wields."
"And so does Navuh." Annani waved a hand. "If he really knows where Khiann is buried, keeping the information from me is just another testament to his sadistic cruelty. He kept Khiann from me for five thousand years, perfectly aware of the pain I was in."
Areana flinched. "I can't say anything in his defense."
"Because there is nothing to say," Kian hissed.
Annani leaned toward her sister. "Did Navuh ever mention Khiann to you at all? And if he did, did he ever hint that he might be alive?"
Areana shook her head. "No. Never. I always assumed Khiann was dead, just like everyone else, and I thought that your theory was just a desperate attempt to cling to some hope that Khiann might return to you.
Navuh never said anything to suggest otherwise.
But that doesn't mean anything. He had kept many things from me. "
"Like what?" Kian asked.
Areana was quiet for a moment. "The enhancement program. He didn't tell me about it until trouble started. He also tried to keep the news about conflicts around the world from me. He knew that hearing about people dying upset me, so he tried to protect me."
"He kept you in a bubble," Kian said. "And that's a euphemism for isolation."
"I know." She sighed. "I lived in a gilded cage, but I did the best I could with what I had.
Navuh left the management of the harem to me, and I treated it as my own little queendom, making sure that the ladies and the staff were well cared for.
But as it turned out, Navuh had his secrets even there. "
"What kind of secrets?" Annani asked.
"During the flood, when Elias and the security chief of the harem were doing everything in their power to safely evacuate everyone, Navuh sent guards, and we all assumed that they'd come to help.
But they didn't emerge with people. Instead, they carried out large, heavy chests.
The ladies and I were outraged because they had done nothing to help evacuate the servants.
They came for possessions instead of people. "
"Did you ask Navuh about it?" Kian asked.
"I did, but he said that what was inside those chests was none of my concern. I just assumed that it was some sort of treasure. Maybe gold or precious stones."
Annani was not surprised that Navuh had prioritized possessions over human lives. He had never cared about humans. Still, she was curious as to what he had been hiding in there.
"I should speak with Elias," Kian said. "The shaman had visions while touching Navuh, and he might have seen something relevant without understanding what it meant at the time. He and Tamira are coming over to our house for lunch tomorrow, so that will be a good opportunity to ask him."
Tomorrow was an eternity away when Khiann might be within reach. Every hour, every minute that passed was another moment her truelove mate spent trapped in stasis, and Elias might not know anything.
But what was the alternative? Free Navuh? Unleash him back into the world, where he could rebuild his empire, resume his campaign of terror, and undo everything the clan had fought for?
Could she be so selfish?