by I. T. Lucas
“Don’t you dare.” Syssi laughed. “Keep your clothes on. Besides, it’s Sari’s party, so I think she should pose.”
Sari graciously agreed, pulling a barstool into the center of the living room. “Just so we are clear, I’m volunteering to be the model only because I can’t draw for the life of me, and I’m not posing naked.”
“That’s a shame,” Amanda grumbled. “You have a beautiful figure.”
Sari dipped her head. “Thank you. But the clothes stay on.”
They spent the next hour drawing and laughing at each other’s fumbling efforts, and when everyone was done, Lisa’s sketch was chosen as the best.
“I want to keep all of them.” Sari collected everyone’s sketches, insisting that each of them sign her creation.
“You should have Dalhu draw your portrait,” Amanda said as she handed over hers. “You and David can come to his studio in the village, or you can just send him a photo to work from.”
“I don’t want to trouble him.” Sari put the collection of drawings into the box the kits had come in.
“It’s karaoke time.” Wonder pushed to her feet. “I need help setting it up.”
“I’ll help you,” Amanda offered. “I have lots of experience with these machines.”
Syssi vaguely remembered Amanda buying a karaoke machine to entertain the all-female crew of the Anna. Alex’s yacht had been used for trafficking young women that the corrupt immortal had been thralling into a stupor and selling for profit.
Back then, none of them could have anticipated that rescuing trafficking victims would become one of the clan’s main humanitarian efforts. But the Fates must have started them on the path with that yacht.
When everything was set up, and Amanda took the microphone, singing along to Journey’s 'Don’t Stop Believing,' everyone joined her.
Well, everyone save for Annani, who shifted closer to Syssi. “I was thinking,” the goddess whispered in her ear, “that I like Ronja a lot, and I think that she deserves another chance at love.”
“She sure does.”
“Perhaps she should attempt transition after all.”
Syssi turned to look at her mother-in-law. “I would have loved for Ronja to have another chance, and she’ll get it, but not as an immortal. She can’t transition at her age.”
Annani smiled mischievously. “Perhaps with the help of my blessing, she can.”
Syssi stifled the incredulity that threatened to show on her face. Annani’s blessing was a great morale booster, but it couldn’t guarantee a successful transition.
It wasn’t as if she could argue with the goddess, though. That privilege was reserved for Annani’s children, and perhaps in this case, also Bridget, who had medical training to back up her position. Then again, Annani regarded Syssi as her daughter, so perhaps she was allowed to voice her doubts, as long as she kept it respectful.
“As powerful and as generous as your blessings are, I’m not sure even that would be enough to pull Ronja through the transition. But I’m not an expert. Bridget is probably the one you need to talk to.”
Syssi was kicking the can down the road, but she wasn’t in a position to argue with the goddess, while Bridget had the authority to back up her argument. The doctor would no doubt shoot Annani’s idea down and save Ronja from nearly certain death.
“You are right,” Annani acquiesced. “I need to consult Bridget.”
41
Margaret
It had been difficult to say goodbye to Bowen when he left for his second shift of the day. Margaret felt guilty. If she hadn’t been such a wuss, she could have gone to the clinic with Ana and waited for Bowen to come home.
But then he would have been too late to take her shopping, and she really needed an evening dress if she was to attend the wedding. Besides, she had a wonderful time.
When a knock sounded on the front door, Leon rose to his feet and opened the way for Wendy and Vlad.
“Is that you, Mom?” Wendy pretended not to recognize her.
“It’s me.” Margaret flipped her hair back and smiled. “Just improved.”
“I’ll say.” Wendy sat on the couch next to her. “I don’t know if it’s the hair color or the clothes, but you look ten years younger.”
The smile slid off Margaret’s face. “Thank you. But it doesn’t change the fact that my body is thirty-eight years old, and that transitioning is dangerous for me. Potentially deadly.”
As everyone went quiet, Margaret felt bad for ruining everyone’s good mood. She waved a dismissive hand. “I’m sure that everything will be okay. It’s just that I didn’t know that until a few hours ago, and it was a little bit of a shock to learn it.”
“Does that mean you decided to go for it?” Anastasia asked.
“I don’t know.” She pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. “What do you think I should do, Wendy?”
Her daughter pursed her lips. “I say, go for it. Thirty-eight is not old, and I have no doubt that you will transition successfully.” She turned to Vlad. “You said that so far, every Dormant who started transitioning has made it through.”
Vlad nodded. “Correct.” He glanced at Margaret. “But some had a really difficult time. I remember that Turner was in a coma for two weeks. Maybe even longer.”
Leon chuckled. “That bastard would have wrestled death and won. He doesn’t accept defeat.”
“Who’s Turner?” Margaret asked. “I keep hearing that name.”
“It’s a long story,” Leon said. “Syssi’s brother knew him from his special ops days, and when the clan needed to find a kidnapped clan member, he brought him in to help. Naturally, no one suspected that Turner was a Dormant, but he needed to be in the know in order to help us out. Kian gave the guy the bare minimum of information, but Turner is a brilliant bastard. He figured out that Andrew had turned immortal, and he demanded to be induced. The problem was that he had cancer, and that needed to be taken care of first. Kian sent him to Bridget for evaluation, the two fell in love, and the rest is history.”
The shortened version left a lot out, but Margaret could ask Bowen to tell her the whole story some other time. Right now, she was more interested in how Turner had transitioned despite the cancer.
“Female immortals don’t have fangs and venom. So, who induced Turner?”
“Kian,” Vlad said. “Because he’s Annani’s son, he’s the purest immortal we have, and his venom is the most potent. He was Turner’s best chance. Also, Annani gave Turner her blessing, which many believe was what helped him pull through.”
“A blessing?” Margaret whispered. “Does the goddess have healing powers?”
Leon and Vlad exchanged glances, and then Leon lifted his hands in the air. “Maybe. All I know is that every time she gave her blessing to a transitioning Dormant, it helped.”
“Can I petition her to help me?”
Leon nodded. “It would be best if you started your transition while she’s here. But since she’s supposed to leave a week after Kian’s birthday, I doubt that you’ll make it in time. Still, if your transition gets dicey, Bowen can plead with her to fly over and give you her blessing.”
When the silence that fell over the room was interrupted by another knock on the door, Wendy pushed to her feet. “That must be Stella and Richard.” She walked over to the front door and opened it.
“Hello, everyone.” Stella swept into the living room with Richard in tow. He was holding a humongous satchel that Margaret was sure had been custom-made. There was no way something that size and that embellished was sold in stores. It had Stella written all over it.
“I brought outfits and accessories galore.” Stella stopped in front of Anastasia. “I love the hair.” She turned to Margaret. “Yours too.”
Wendy laughed. “Are we having a costume party?”
“Something like that.” Stella took the satchel from Richard and plopped it on the coffee table. “I heard that you bought evening gowns for the wedding, but I bet that you didn
’t buy anything for Kian’s bimillennial birthday, which is Wednesday. I thought that you could model my designs.”
No one had mentioned the birthday, or that Kian was two thousand years old. Margaret hadn’t met him yet, and now she was dying of curiosity.
Wrong phrase. She shouldn’t mention the word dying in regard to anything until she transitioned successfully.
“Are we even invited to the birthday?” Ana asked.
“Of course.” Leon wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Everyone is. I should have thought about it when you told me that you were shopping for a dress for the wedding.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Stella waved a hand. “I have it covered.”
“Is it going to be as formal as the wedding?” Margaret asked.
“A little less.”
As Stella started pulling dresses out of her satchel, Richard opened the sliding door to the backyard. “That’s our cue, guys.”
“Right.” Leon walked to the kitchen. “I’ll get the beers.”
When the sliding door closed behind the men, Stella fluffed out a colorful dress. “This one will look great on you, Margaret. Try it on.”
“Now?”
“Yeah.” Stella unfurled another one and tossed it at Ana. “Right now, Sari is having her bachelorette party at the building across from the keep, and we were not invited.” She pouted. “I figured we could have a party of our own.”
“Splendid idea.” Ana draped the dress over her shoulder. “I’ll try on this beauty and then bring out the wine.”
Stella gave her the thumbs up and then pulled a red dress out of the satchel. “I saved the best one for you.” She handed it to Wendy.
As the three of them headed to the bedroom to change, Margaret felt tears prickle the back of her eyes.
Happy tears.
Grateful tears.
Life just didn’t get any better than this. She had her daughter back, a great guy who loved her, and friends who were like family.
This was worth living for.
“I’m going to attempt the transition,” she told Wendy.
“Oh, Mom.” Wendy pulled her into her arms. “I’ve never doubted that you would, not even for a moment. You are a fighter.”
42
Onegus
“Thank you.” Onegus took the garment bag from Connor. “You’re a life saver. I wouldn’t have made it to the village and back on time.”
“My pleasure.” Connor put a paper bag on the desk and pulled out a Tupperware container. “Have you eaten yet?”
Onegus’s mouth watered. “I didn’t have time.”
“That’s what I thought. Dig in.” Connor took a look around Onegus’s spartan office. “You should spruce this place up a little. It’s depressing.”
“It’s just temporary.” Onegus motioned for his roommate to take a seat. “Can I offer you a beer?”
Connor shook his head. “I’m saving the drinking for the wedding. How is your lady getting here?”
“I’m sending one of the Guardians to pick her up.” He opened the container and lifted one of the turkey wraps Connor had prepared for him.
“I can do that if you want. I know that your men are all busy guarding our guests.”
“That would be a great help. Thank you.” Onegus put the wrap down and pulled out his phone. “I’m texting you her address. Just be careful with what you tell her. She doesn’t know anything yet.”
Shaking his head, Connor glanced at the small fridge that served as Onegus’s printer stand. “I think that I’ll have that beer after all.” He got to his feet and pulled a Snake Venom for himself. “Do you want beer or water?”
“Water. I’m on duty.”
“Naturally.” Connor put a water bottle on the desk and sat down with his beer. “How are you going to explain to Cassandra what she’s about to see?”
“I hope she won’t notice. People will have to keep up the pretense because of the human servers, so it’s not like she’s about to witness a lot of weirdness.”
Connor arched a brow. “The servers will clear the banquet hall when Annani enters to preside over the ceremony. Do you think Cassandra will not notice a glowing goddess?”
“I plan to get her tipsy by then.” Onegus twisted the cap off the bottle and took a long swig. “Hopefully, she will not notice the peculiarities, and if she does, I’ll thrall the memory away.”
There was no way Cassandra could miss a glowing goddess, but maybe he could convince her that it was a trick of the light?
“Right.” Connor arched a brow. “And how are you going to get her tipsy while overseeing security?”
“Good point. You’re seated next to her.” Onegus saluted with the bottle. “You’ll need to do that for me. I’ll also ask Jackson, Roni, and Nick to keep offering her drinks.”
“Why don’t you just tell her? You must know by now that Cassandra is your one and that she is a Dormant.”
“I suspect that she is, but I have a plan for when and how to tell her, and it’s not during the wedding.”
His eyes glowing with interest, Connor leaned forward. “What’s your plan?”
“I’m trying to convince Cassandra to come with me to Paris after the festivities.” He shook his head. “I was sure she would be thrilled and that I’d get an enthusiastic yes. But Cassandra is unlike any other woman I know. She said that she needs to think about it.”
“And once she agrees, and you take her to Paris, how are you going to tell her?”
“I don’t have all the details figured out yet, but I’m thinking a honeymoon suite in an exclusive hotel and a dinner for two on the suite’s balcony.”
“That’s so romantic.” Connor snorted. “I bet it wasn’t your idea.”
“It was Ingrid’s. How did you know it wasn’t mine?”
“Because you would have taken Cassandra to the cabin and thought that it was the most romantic getaway ever.”
“I did suggest that. She got so mad that I had to invite her to the wedding to compensate. She thought that I didn’t want to be seen with her, and that’s why I chose a secluded cabin for our weekend getaway.”
Connor leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest. “She thought that you were a player.”
Nodding, Onegus pointed with the wrap at Connor. “The cabin was also Ingrid’s idea, but that was a mistake. Next time, I’ll come to you for advice.”
“As you should. Let me ask you something. After you tell Cassandra the truth over a romantic dinner on the hotel suite’s balcony, how are you going to keep her from running out and telling everything to whoever is willing to listen?"
"I didn't get that far. I'll figure something out."
43
Kian
“This is so nice.” Syssi leaned on the cushion Kian had put on her chair. “I love these family gatherings. I wish we all lived in the same place.”
Annani reached over the dining table and patted Syssi’s hand. “What makes them special is that we do not have them often. It takes a special celebration for us all to congregate in one place. If we were all living in the village, it would not have been as fun.”
Kian agreed wholeheartedly, but he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut. Coming from his mother, it wasn’t going to offend anyone, but if he dared to say something like that, his mother and sisters would think that he preferred them in small doses. Not that they would be wrong. Other than Alena, they all had big personalities, and having them all in one room was too much.
“Thank you for a lovely breakfast, Mother.” Sari pushed to her feet. “But we have a wedding to get ready for, and the hair and makeup team is on its way.” She looked at David. “You can stay for a little longer if you wish.”
“I’ll come with you.” He rose to his feet.
“You are not allowed to see me before the wedding.”
“That’s a silly superstition. But if you want, I can stay in the bedroom and read while you are getting ready.”
She smiled at hi
m. “You know that I like you near me at all times.”
Jacki leaned over and kissed Kalugal’s cheek. “I’ll see you tonight.” She followed Sari up. “Thank you for inviting us, Clan Mother.” She bowed to Annani.
Ronja, Lisa, and Alena also said their thanks and goodbyes, and then the five of them left to meet the beauty team in Sari and David’s apartment.
Syssi and Amanda had opted out of the pre-wedding preparations and were going to change into their bridesmaids’ dresses at home.
Annani, naturally, didn’t require any preparations. There was no improving perfection. She never applied any makeup or styled her hair.
“How is Ronja dealing with Bowen finding his mate?” Annani asked.
“I’m not sure she knows.” Syssi adjusted the pillow at her back.
“I thought that there was something going on between them, but I’m starting to doubt it.” Amanda put her empty coffee cup down. “Ronja didn’t even ask where he was and what he’s been doing during the time he was gone.”
Annani let out a relieved breath. “Good. I like her, and I do not want to see her hurt again. Ronja deserves a break.” She looked at Kian. “Is there anyone else other than Bowen who's showing interest in her?”
“I’m not the right person to ask. Matchmaking is Amanda’s department.”
“She’s friendly with many people,” Amanda said. “But as far as I know, she isn’t interested in anyone.”
“That is a shame.” Annani motioned for Ojidu to refill her coffee cup. “I would like her to attempt transition.”
Kian had a feeling that was where Annani had been going. “Regrettably, she’s too old, and it’s too risky.”
Annani leveled her eyes at him. “I will be there for her. I will give her my blessing, if needed, more than once.”
Translation, his mother was willing to give Ronja more than one transfusion of her blood to help her transition. It might be enough, and it might not be. The risk was too high in his opinion. Besides, Ronja hadn’t expressed an interest in transitioning.