40. Annani #2
Khiann's eyes went to his face with open interest. "He-am."
"That means yes," Annani said. "Khiann's vocabulary is still very limited, so yes means he is glad to see you as well."
Kian glanced at her, a smile lifting his lips. "I know what he-am means, Mother."
"Yes, of course you do." She looked at Khiann, who was watching them with interest but no alarm. "William says the earpieces have a limited vocabulary for now, so choose simple words."
Kian winced. "What should I say?"
"Just talk about whatever interests you. Khiann must be bored out of his mind with only my stories to entertain him. Anything you say will be a break in the tedium."
Julian came over with a plastic chair and set it next to Annani's. "Easier done sitting down."
"Thank you." Kian rewarded him with a smile. "Do you have any suggestions for conversation topics?"
Julian shrugged. "I'm sure you can talk endlessly about what you're passionate about, and since you're very good at managing the clan's business empire, I assume you're passionate about it. Just talk about that."
Kian nodded. "You're right that I'm passionate about it, but it will probably bore Khiann so much that he'll fall asleep."
"Try it." Julian patted Kian's shoulder. "You never know until you do."
Khiann watched the exchange with fascination, and Annani knew exactly what he was seeing and deducing from it because she knew her mate. Five thousand years in stasis had not changed who he was, only what he remembered about himself.
"All right." Kian crossed his legs at the ankles.
"The clan owns businesses all over the world.
Technology, mostly. We promote innovation, financially but also with knowledge my mother brought with her in the form of Ekin's tablet.
We own mines. Rare metals, but also coal.
Hotels and other building projects. We even own a cruise ship, but so far, we have only used it for clan celebrations and special missions.
The plan was to make it another business enterprise, but it has been put on hold. "
Khiann listened eagerly to every word, but Annani could see which words did not translate properly by the creases in his forehead. There was no word for cruise ship in the old tongue, and she could only imagine what the device chose for it.
Most of what Kian was telling him was going over his head anyway. But he was listening and watching Kian's hand gestures as he spoke, and he did not seem bored or sleepy.
Then she remembered that Khiann had been a merchant and the son of a merchant, and that he had loved the trade and the long journeys in search of new goods.
Ahn had wanted him to enter politics so he could help govern the gods once her father stepped down and she became ruler, but Khiann had wanted nothing to do with it.
No wonder he found what Kian was telling him fascinating rather than boring.
It probably did not bore him at all.
"Khiann was a merchant," she said when Kian paused. "And he was the son of a very enterprising god. He does not remember it, but the instinct is still there. You are speaking his language."
"Good," Kian said. "When you're fully recovered, maybe you'll want to sit in with me. See how it's done in today's world. Things have changed a lot in five thousand years."
"He-am," Khiann said, and he looked pleased.
So did Kian. "All right, then. It's settled. You will come to work with me."
"There is going to be confusion," Annani said. "Your names are too similar. Perhaps we should call one of you Big K and the other Little K."
Kian gave her a flat look. "And which am I supposed to be?"
"That is for the two of you to settle."
"The way I see it, Khiann is twenty, and I'm two thousand and change, so I should be Big K."
A sound came from Khiann, and it took her a moment to recognize it as a laugh. It was not a regular laugh because sounds were still a challenge for him, but it was pretty close.
"I assume you don't wish to be called Little K?" Kian asked.
"Nu."
"I understand. I don't want it either. We will come up with something else." Kian rose to his feet. "I should let you rest. You look tired." He paused. "I would like to do this again. Perhaps next time I should bring Syssi and Allegra."
Khiann smiled. "He-am."
"Tomorrow?" Kian asked.
"He-am."
"Great. I will see you tomorrow, then." He turned to Annani. "Will you join us for breakfast tomorrow? Sari and David are coming."
Annani felt guilty. Her daughter had traveled halfway around the world to be with her, had extended her visit by a few more days, and yet she was spending very little time with her.
"He-am," Khiann said.
Annani turned to him. "You want me to have breakfast at Kian's house?"
"He-am." He sounded resolute.
She laughed. "I forgot how bossy you could be."
Khiann raised a brow, and Kian echoed the expression.
"What are you two lifting your brows at me for? Khiann was bossy. Not as bossy as me, but still."
Kian laughed, shook his head, and walked out the door.
"Unbelievable. You two have known each other for five minutes, and already you are ganging up on me. Men."
"Nu."
"Oh yes, you are. Tomorrow, though, Syssi and Allegra will be here, so we will be three against two."
It occurred to her that Kian had not said wife and daughter, just their names, but Khiann seemed to know who he was talking about. He could have deduced it, but he could also remember it from the stories she had told him while he had slept.
"Do you know who Syssi and Allegra are?"
"He-am."
Annani let it go, because it did not matter how he knew. What mattered was how well this visit had gone.
"I am proud of you, my love," she said. "Thank you for accepting my family the way they accept you."
He looked at her, and whatever she saw in his eyes was too big to express in the few words he had. She chose to think of it as love, because she wanted it to be, and because below memory, below language, she believed it had never died. Their love endured.