Page 54 of Dark Princess Ascending

"Oh, bummer." His eyes slipped closed again.

Gertrude pressed a kiss to his burning forehead. "Rest now. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Love you," he mumbled before unconsciousness claimed him again.

"I love you too," she whispered, though he couldn't hear her.

32

MORELLE

Morelle and Brandon were on their way home when Annani's front door opened, and one of her Odus stepped out and bowed. "The Clan Mother would like to invite you for a cup of tea."

It wasn't an invitation either of them could refuse, especially since they had promised Annani to visit her every day.

"Of course," Brandon said, leading Morelle up the steps. "We would love to have tea with the Clan Mother."

"You're glowing," Annani said as Morelle sat beside her. "Did you enjoy the wedding?"

"Very much so."

Morelle's feet ached in the most wonderful way as she settled onto the couch in Annani's living room. She'd never danced before tonight, but her body had taken to it naturally, following Brandon'slead until she could anticipate the steps herself. By the end of the evening, she'd been spinning and swaying as if she'd been doing it her entire life.

She patted her cheeks, which felt warm. "Peter and Marina are a lovely couple, and the ceremony was beautiful. You were amazing."

"Thank you." Annani beamed. "I love weddings. Each one is as unique as the people I am joining." She took a deep breath. "I feel like a real goddess when I preside over weddings. That and bringing babies into the world is truly divine." She smiled and patted Morelle's knee. "But enough about me. Did you get to dance?"

"A lot. I had no idea dancing could be so much fun. The way the music flows through you, how your body just knows what to do..." She trailed off, still caught up in the magic of it. "When I was growing up, only males danced, and those were warrior dances that were performed to commemorate important battles. I never imagined dancing just for the pleasure of it."

"Your brother seemed to have taken to it as well," Brandon said. "I don't think I've ever seen him smiling so much."

That was true. Ell-rom had always been a pensive boy who had grown up into a pensive adult. There hadn't been much in their circumstances to smile about.

Annani's eyes sparkled. "You know what we should do? We should start a dance class in thegym. Not everyone enjoys running on machines or lifting weights, but dancing—that's exercise disguised as pure joy."

The idea sent a thrill through Morelle. "Really? You'd actually consider joining a class like that?"

Her sister was very involved with the community, but she also kept a distance as necessary, given her station. Morelle couldn't see Annani frolicking on the dance floor with a bunch of clan members.

"We could keep it small." Annani's smile widened. "It would be wonderful to have an activity we could share. Something just for the ladies of the close family to enjoy together."

That made more sense, and it could actually be fun if Syssi, Amanda, and Alena joined them.

"Who would teach the class?" Morelle asked.

"Oh, that is simple enough." Annani waved a hand. "We can follow instructional videos. There are exercise programs on the internet that we can watch on the television. The steps are quite easy to follow. We can do it right here."

"That could be fun." Morelle accepted a teacup from Ogidu. "Thank you."

She glanced at Brandon, who also got a cup and immediately started sipping on it. He seemed deep in thought, but when he felt her gaze on him, he turned to look at her and smiled.

Morelle wanted to ask him if he thought that it was a good idea to tell Annani about her abilitynow, but she didn't know how to ask that discreetly.

He must have understood what she was trying to convey with her eyes because he gave a subtle shake of his head.

The weight of her secret felt heavier suddenly, especially since she was going to tell Amanda tomorrow. Then again, Brandon's reasoning was probably that it made sense to tell everyone together rather than to have the story spread piecemeal through the family.

She needed a moment alone to think.