35. Kian
”Here you go, sweetie.” Kian put the tray over Allegra”s highchair while Syssi put a bowl of cooked veggies in front of her.
Allegra regarded the peas and carrots with such distaste that Kian could barely stifle a chuckle.
”Tha!” She pointed at the breadbasket.
He turned to Syssi. ”Can I give her a piece of baguette to chew on?”
”Only if she eats at least some of the veggies.”
Allegra slumped in the highchair with an air of resignation that would have made a surly teenager proud, gave her mother an accusing look, and then picked up a piece of carrot and stuffed it in her mouth.
”Good girl,” Syssi encouraged. ”Eating your veggies is important. Try the peas, too.”
Struggling not to laugh, Kian turned his attention to Amanda and Dalhu, who were similarly engaged with Evie. Their daughter was much more amenable than Allegra and didn”t make a fuss as Dalhu fed her some mush from the bowl. But then, she was younger than Allegra, and her personality might still change. So far, she seemed to take after Alena more than Amanda, but she still might develop a forceful personality like her mother. No one could have ever accused Amanda of not being assertive.
Shifting his gaze to his mother, Kian was happy to see her basking in the joy of her granddaughters.
Good times.
If only all the moments of their lives could be so peaceful and happy. Some might say that would be boring, but Kian would have welcomed it with open arms.
There was always something to keep him on edge. Now it was the developing saga with the Doomers in Mexico, and Syssi”s promise to his mother to induce a vision about Khiann.
She hadn”t yet, but she planned to do so when Allegra took her afternoon nap. The problem was that their daughter was not always cooperative in that regard, and sometimes instead of sleeping, she chose to rest in her crib awake.
He wondered what she thought about when she lay quietly with her wise eyes open and her blanket clutched in her small hands. Was she pondering the mysteries of the universe? The meaning of existence?
”Did Edna probe Jasmine already?” Amanda”s question pulled him out of his reveries.
Turning to his sister, Kian nodded. ”She did.”
”And? What did she find? Did Jasmine click with Edgar?”
”According to the guys in security, Jasmine took Edgar to her cabin, and he stayed there for a couple of hours before returning to the wedding party.” Kian wasn”t happy about sharing that information with his family, but he knew that Amanda wouldn”t rest until she got it out of him. Resistance was futile, and it was faster and easier to just report things as he knew them.
Amanda grinned. ”I hope that it was more than just sex, and they clicked. Did Edna say anything about it?”
”She didn”t report anything about Jasmine having feelings for the guy, but she might not have looked for them, or they might have been absent. I didn”t ask.”
”I like how assertive Jasmine is,” Amanda said. ”She knows what she wants, and she isn”t afraid to take it. What else did Edna say?”
”Edna seems to think that Jasmine is harmless. There are some painful shadows in her past, probably childhood traumas that Edna didn”t explore, and she”s a Wiccan, which we already knew, and she believes in the Mother of All Life, which we did not know.” He chuckled. ”I wonder if that”s another influence of one of the Kra-ell”s early settlers.”
Amanda”s eyes sparkled with excitement. ”That”s probably a coincidence. Many of the ancient civilizations worshiped the Mother. Anyway, I”m so happy that Jasmine is a practicing witch. If she turns out to be a Dormant and joins the clan, I”ll have someone to play with.”
Syssi groaned. ”Promise me that even if Jasmine joins the clan, you won”t start a new tradition of forming witch circles and chanting in the nude inside the village. The place is not big enough to ensure your privacy, or rather to ensure that those who shouldn”t see a bunch of ladies dancing in the nude under the moon are not exposed to it.”
”I don”t mind who sees me.” Amanda leaned back in her chair. ”It”s liberating, and it works.”
Dalhu wrapped his arm around Amanda”s shoulders. ”The Fates work in mysterious ways, and it seems like they chose to deliver you a playmate.” He leaned and kissed her temple. ”You can chant in the nude as much as you want, just not without proper safety measures. While you and your lady friends are busy having fun, I and the other mates should secure the perimeter.”
Kian shook his head. ”I can”t believe that you are taking this so seriously, Amanda. Doing it for fun is one thing, but to actually think that it”s effective is crazy.”
”Oh, really.” She gave him a haughty look. ”It worked every time.”
”Coincidence.”
Amanda looked down her nose at him. ”If it makes you more comfortable to think that, be my guest.”
”Thank you.” He mockingly dipped his head.
”You”re welcome. So, are you going to allow Jasmine on the upper decks?”
”In light of Edna”s findings, or rather lack thereof, I don”t see why not. And if Jasmine bonds with Edgar, I will allow him to tell her the truth so he can ask her consent to be induced. In the meantime, though, I”ll instruct everyone not to talk about immortals and gods around her, and I”ll have her kept under close watch.”
Annani, who hadn”t said much until now, nodded. ”In case Edgar is not the one for her, it will be good for Jasmine to interact with more people.”
”Precisely.” Amanda dabbed at Evie”s mouth with a napkin. ”You still didn”t tell us what this lunch is about. You wouldn”t have asked us to come earlier if it was just a regular family get-together.”
His mother”s idea was for the two couples with young children to come a little earlier so the girls could finish eating before the rest of the adults arrived.
”Patience, my daughter.” Annani leaned over and patted Amanda”s hand. ”We have important issues to discuss, and I did not want us to be interrupted. Once the girls are done with their lunch, Ojidu can watch over them in the bedroom while the adults talk, but we need to wait for your sisters and their mates and for Aru and Gabi to join us. It concerns all of you.”
”Now, I”m really worried.” Amanda crossed her arms over her chest. ”Can you at least give me a hint?”
Annani smiled. ”It is big, but no one is in any immediate danger.”
”Thank the merciful Fates.” Amanda let out a breath. ”By the way, how is Margo doing?” She looked at Kian. ”Is she really transitioning?”
”I don”t know,” he admitted. ”I haven”t checked on her this morning.”
”Perhaps you should call her before the others get here,” Amanda suggested. ”She”ll be so happy to hear about Jasmine being allowed on the upper decks.”
Kian turned to their mother. ”Is it okay with you if I call Margo now?”
”Of course. I am also curious about her transition.”
Kian pulled out his phone and scrolled through his contacts until he found Margo”s. He could have used a voice command like all the young gods were doing, but he liked doing things the old-fashioned way.
Margo answered on the second ring, sounding breathless. ”Hello, Kian. What a nice surprise. How can I help you?”
”I have some good news, and I also want to know how you are feeling. Did you experience any changes? Are there any new developments?”
”I”m feeling great. Bridget came to check on me earlier, and she said my fever and blood pressure have both gone up, which, according to her, are good signs that the transition is progressing as it should. Surprisingly, though, I don”t feel weak or dizzy anymore.”
Kian had a strong suspicion regarding Margo”s sudden improvement. Negal had most likely given her his blood, and he just hoped that the god had exercised discretion.
”That”s fantastic news, Margo. Is Bridget moving you to the clinic, or is Karen still there?”
”Bridget said that Karen is doing well enough to be released and that I can move in whenever I want, but I”m not in any rush. I told Bridget that Negal had been glued to my side, fussing over me and functioning like my own personal nurse, and she agreed that I could stay in the cabin for now. If things get worse, Negal will take me to the clinic.”
”That”s good.” It was unusual for Bridget to agree to leave a transitioning Dormant in the care of her partner, but she must have had her reasons.
”So, what”s the good news you were calling about?” Margo asked.
”I cleared Jasmine to roam around the upper decks. She can visit you, spend time on the Lido deck, and she can attend the weddings, but only after the ceremonies are concluded. I want to keep her exposure minimal, so we won”t have as much to thrall away in two days.”
”That”s wonderful. When can she come up?”
”As soon as she wants, but she doesn”t know yet. I need to send someone to inform her. Regrettably, we don”t have a spare phone we can give her.”
”I can ask Frankie to go down there and get her if that”s okay with you.”
”Of course. It will save me the trouble. But you need to remember not to say anything about your transition. You will have to tell her that you are just sick. As I said before, the less she knows, the less we will have to erase.”
”Don”t worry,” Margo said. ”I totally get it, and I won”t breathe a word about anything she doesn”t need to know. Thank you for letting her out of the lower decks.”
”My pleasure.” He ended the call.