Page 74 of Dark Princess Ascending

Brandon took a long drag from his cigarillo. "That's why I wanted to talk to you. I don't want to hide my suspicions from Morelle, but telling her that she was created to be a weapon might be devastating to her. Her brother won't take it well either."

Kian topped up their glasses. "But if we're right, and we don't tell them, we leave them vulnerable. Once their abilities become known to the rest of the clan, others will probably come to the same conclusions."

"The Eternal King feared his own blood bringing him down," Brandon said. "What if he knew more than that vague prophecy? Perhaps someone betrayed Ahn and told the king what his son had done. Knowing that his grandchildren had been engineered with the clear purpose of ending his reign of power, of ending him, would explain his obsession with finding them and eliminating the threat. It would also explain the elaborate plot to have Igor befriend them, crown them, and then kill them. The king knew that they were too powerful to attack directly."

Kian chuckled. "I wonder if you see all the puzzle pieces fitting in so perfectly together because of your background in movies. Plotting a storyline is your forte."

Brandon took another sip of his whiskey. "Maybe. The pieces only clicked for me today after you told me what Ell-rom's ability was."

Kian nodded. "Indeed. It wasn't possible to put it all together without that missing piece. Still, we might be totally off about all this, and those who could tell us are dead." He took another drag. "Their parents are both gone, and the Eternal King is not going to tell us even if we had a way to reach him."

"Here is another possible piece of the puzzle," Brandon said. "What if their mother didn't die by accident nor was she assassinated by the Eternal King's minions? What if she sacrificed herself to save them by taking their secrets to her grave?"

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in thought. The smoke from their cigarillos mingled in the air between them, carrying the weight of their speculations.

"It's possible, although as far as I know, suicide is taboo for the Kra-ell. If she wanted to take a secret to her grave, the queen would have more likely engaged in battle to the death."

"We need safeguards," Brandon said. "Whether we tell them our suspicions or not, we need to make sure to keep their abilities in check. Ell-rom and Morelle are good people, but power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. We need to make sure that doesn't happen to them."

Kian nodded. "I'm officially charging you with safeguarding Morelle. As her mate, you are thebest qualified to do that. I'll have to talk to Jasmine about watching Ell-rom, which I'm not looking forward to."

Brandon finished his whiskey. "We should wait to reveal Ell-rom's ability until it's absolutely necessary, and since you are still planning to test him, I assume that we have plenty of time. In the interim, we should focus on helping Morelle master hers first and establish her as a protective force rather than a destructive one, especially for her sake."

"Good thinking." Kian poured them each another measure. "Naturally, I need to tell the Clan Mother our suspicions, and she might have some ideas and suggestions of her own."

He wondered if that was something his mother should share with her grandmother. Ani, queen of the gods, wanted to get rid of her husband, so she would probably be very happy to know that the twins could be the weapon she needed. The problem was that she couldn't get them to Anumati, and Kian doubted their abilities would work across the galaxy.

43

ANNANI

Annani was reclining on a lounger in her backyard with her light-filtering glasses on, even though the sunlight wasn't as harsh this late in the afternoon during the winter months. It was still warm enough for her to wear nothing more than a long-sleeved gown, and the shawl Ogidu had brought out for her was draped over the other lounger just in case it got colder when the sun set.

She had a glass of sparkling water on the side table next to her and several slices of apple on a plate, but she hadn't touched any of that yet. She was meditating, or rather trying to, and it wasn't going well.

As old as she was, Annani had not mastered the art of emptying her mind. Thoughts raced through as if she had a maze of high-speed highways in herbrain, and trying to slow down the traffic only made her head ache.

When the sliding door behind her opened, she turned to look, expecting one of her Odus with yet another snack for her, but it was Kian who stepped out into her backyard.

"Good afternoon, Mother." He leaned to kiss her cheek.

"Good afternoon to you, too. To what do I owe the pleasure of your visit?"

He sat down on the other lounger, his legs spread out and his elbows resting on his knees. "I want to talk to you about something, and instead of calling, I decided to stop by on my way home. I hope it's alright and I'm not interfering with your plans."

"Not at all. My last visitor of the day departed a while ago, and I was just resting out here and enjoying the crisp winter air while trying to meditate, but I gave up on that even before you arrived."

He nodded. "I know what you mean. I've never been able to meditate, either. But it is lovely out here, and just enjoying the outdoors is nice. One of the main positives of this geographic location is the weather. Business-wise, though, it's not very hospitable."

She smiled. "My dear Kian. You should have promoted a politician who would make this beautiful state friendlier to businesses. Enterprise is thebedrock upon which all else is built. Without it, the entire community deteriorates."

Kian chuckled. "There was no one I felt comfortable backing with clan contributions, and it's not like we could have run one of our own as a candidate, although, to be frank, I was tempted to suggest it to Amanda. Imagine her running the state."

He had said it as a joke, but Annani believed that Amanda would have made a great governor. In a state that worshiped beauty, she would have been elected in a landslide, and after serving for a few years, she could have faded into obscurity by dramatically changing her looks. She had done that before quite successfully, but without holding public office.

Amanda was smart and capable, and she was not too proud to consult with others when she felt she needed help, and just that already put her ahead of others.

"At least your sister would have solved the homeless situation. It is so shameful how such a resource-rich state squanders its wealth on corruption instead of housing the homeless and providing them with the assistance they need." She tilted her head. "Is there a way for us to undertake this mission as well? Perhaps we can help these poor people."