26. Sullha #2
The ride up was much longer than before, and Bianca's ears must have popped causing her to whimper. When the doors opened, they did not open onto a corridor.
They opened into a vestibule that stopped every one of them at the threshold.
A round table of pale stone dominated the center of it, its polished surface throwing back a soft double image of the flowers piled on top of it, an enormous arrangement spilling color in every direction.
Beneath it, the marble floor held its own pattern, small tiles set into an intricate design, so that the table seemed to float above a second, quieter bouquet made of stone.
Two sets of doors faced each other across the space.
"This used to be the home of Amanda, the Clan Mother's youngest daughter," Bowen said, gesturing at the doors on the left. "The one across from it used to be Kian's. Both of them live in the village now, so the clan uses these to host guests."
Sullha stood a moment in the vestibule's cool, flower-scented air, between two doors that had once belonged to Annani's children, and thought that she was starting to get used to being confronted with one impossible thing after another.
"Welcome," a blindingly beautiful woman said from the doorway to the right. "I'm Areana. Your host."
She was tall, with pale gold hair that was almost white. Her eyes were a blue so clear they appeared lit from within, her skin so flawless that it made her look like she was carved from stone.
A goddess.
So, that was what a goddess looked like.
Sullha and the others hadn't met the Clan Mother yet, but she could not be more beautiful than her sister.
"Thank you for inviting us," Sullha managed.
"The pleasure is all mine." Areana's gaze moved past her, warm and unhurried, taking in Tomek, the mothers, the sisters, each in turn, as though she had been waiting all morning for them. "Please, come in." She stepped back and held the door open.
Holding Tomek's hand, Sullha was the first to walk through it so the others could follow.
The room she entered was large and bright, with the far wall made from glass.
From floor to ceiling, it was one clean sheet, or so it looked from where she was standing.
Beyond the glass was a terrace with trees, a long pool of water, and all kinds of chairs and tables.
Beyond the terrace was the city, rooftops and streets and the silver threads of distant roads, and above it nothing but blue.
"Oh," Zohara said, behind her.
Tomek ran up to the glass before Sullha could stop him, and put both palms flat against it. "Mama! There is water on the roof!"
"I see it, sweetie. Please put your hands down. You are leaving finger smudges on the glass."
"It's okay," Areana said from beside her. "Let the boy enjoy the view."
"Can I go outside?" Tomek asked, emboldened by the goddess's forgiving reaction.
"Perhaps later." Areana walked up to him and offered him her hand. "Let's eat first."
Staring at the goddess's impossibly beautiful face, he hesitated for a moment, but then he placed his little hand in hers and let her lead him to the table that was laden with platters of food.
Esag joined them there, crouching to Tomek's level and asking whether he'd given the knight a name yet.
Sullha smiled and returned to her appraisal of the penthouse. After the plain concrete conference room, this was the first clan space Sullha had entered that looked the way she had always imagined the lord's mansion on the island must look.
Deep leather couches and chairs, soft rugs, and on the walls hung big colorful art that depicted nothing Sullha could make sense of.
Esag stood by the glass wall with Tula, holding a delicate glass with some red liquid in it. Tony was loading a plate with little sandwiches and Eluheed sat with Tamira on an armchair that was big enough for both of them.
Yaaf and the others were not there yet.
"Please, sit, eat, be comfortable." Areana gestured at the couches.
"Your home is magnificent, my lady," Rohilah said shyly.
"Oh, it is not mine." Areana laughed, and the sound had such a beautiful musical quality to it that it raised goosebumps on Sullha's exposed arms. "The penthouse belongs to Amanda, and I am only a guest here, but she generously let me host this gathering here.
" She laughed again, and the effect was the same as before.
"My other accommodations would not fit even a quarter of us, even if I was allowed to bring guests there. "
The harem ladies laughed nervously.
By now, they all knew why Lady Areana couldn't host anyone in her dungeon apartment, and even if she could, none of them would have stepped foot in there unless ordered to do so with a gun pointed at their heads.
No one wanted to face the former lord of the island, and he most likely didn't want anyone to see him in his diminished state. Sullha had never seen Navuh, but she had heard his voice transmitted over the loudspeakers in the enclosure, demanding the daily devotions.
Only the warriors had to drop to their knees and recite them. Thankfully, women were exempt, but they still had been forced to listen to them several times a day.
Glory to Lord Navuh the wise and the just.
In his guidance and mercy we put our trust.
With his bounty we thrive.
By his will we live, and we die.
We are all brothers in the Devout Order of Mortdh.
In his name we wage this Holy War.
She would never have to listen to that again, and for that and everything else she was grateful, and she owed it all to Yaaf.
He and the others were supposedly invited to the gathering, but perhaps they weren't allowed?