by I. T. Lucas
Not one to cower before anyone, not even the formidable Ahn, Annani lifted her chin. “I snuck out first to see Khiann, and then he came to the palace under the pretext of meeting Tula, Gulan’s little sister, and helping her with her school project.”
“I assume Tula had no such assignment?” Still looking amused, which was a good sign, Ahn lifted a brow.
Annani shook her head. “No.”
“And how did you manage to elude your guards and sneak out to see Khiann?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh please, Father, as if it was difficult. I ordered Tula to get in my bed and pretend she was me, and then shrouded myself in her image. The guards thought that the two girls leaving my room were Gulan and her sister, and that I was sleeping in my chambers.”
“So you forced both Gulan and Tula into being your accomplices?”
“I did. Please do not be mad at them. I gave them no choice. And Khiann did not know what I was planning to do either. But I had to talk to him and convince him to come ask your permission to court me.”
Nai was shaking her head while hiding a smile, and Ahn seemed to have trouble keeping a stern expression as well. It was obvious the two adored their daughter.
“What kind of project was Tula supposed to work on?” Ahn asked.
Annani lifted her hand and waved at Khiann. “Commerce, of course. That is why she needed Khiann’s help.”
“I see.” He rubbed a hand over his square jaw. “This gives me an idea for a punishment. One that fits your crime.”
Annani’s eyes widened in surprise. “Punishment? Is your displeasure with me not enough?”
“Not this time, daughter. You put yourself in danger, and you coerced your poor maid into endangering her little sister.”
Khiann would have been worried for Annani if not for Ahn’s smirk. A quick glance at Nai revealed her hiding a smile with a hand over her mouth, but her eyes betrayed her, sparkling with amusement.
Ahn leveled his gaze at Khiann. “And you, my friend’s son. What do you have to say for yourself?”
Khiann bowed his head. “I cannot apologize, my lord, since my apology will not be sincere. I have adored Annani since we were children in school, but I have never entertained even the tiniest of hopes that she might be my fated truelove. I did not dare. But when she came to see me, I was grateful and elated, thanking the Fates for her courage and castigating myself for not acting first. I am humbled by Annani’s determination and her will to act upon it. She will make a fine ruler one day.”
Seeming pleased by Khiann’s sincere answer, Ahn nodded. “You have guts, Khiann. If you were a coward who trembled in fear before me, I would have declined your suit. Not only because my Annani needs a strong mate to stand up to her, but because she needs you to lend her your strength and support. My daughter’s journey is not going to be easy. It is going to be fraught with peril.”
Khiann bowed his head again. “It would be my honor and my privilege.”
“That being said, you were a co-conspirator in Annani’s scheme and therefore will share in her punishment.”
“Of course, my lord.” As long as his suit was accepted, Khiann was willing to suffer any torment Ahn could come up with.
Except, Annani joining him in the punishment was not going to happen. If Ahn needed to punish someone, he could do as he pleased with Khiann, but not Annani. He was about to speak up when she beat him to it.
“What punishment, Father?” Annani asked in a tone that was defiant and not at all fearful.
“I appoint Khiann as your tutor. That project Tula supposedly had to do for school is now yours. You are to prepare a full and detailed report on the subject of commerce. Khiann is going to come to the palace every day after his work for his father is done and teach you what he knows. You are to compile this knowledge into a comprehensive report and submit it to me in one moon rotation.”
As Annani realized her father’s plan, a smile spread across her beautiful face. “Does this mean that the old goat is no longer my tutor and Khiann is taking his place?”
“For one moon rotation. After that time I will reevaluate, depending on the quality of that report.” Ahn winked. “And, of course, on the level of dedication the two of you show.”
9
Ahn
“I like the boy,” Nai said as they retired to their bedchamber for the night. “He is handsome.”
Ahn arched a brow. “Is that the only criterion for a suitable mate for your daughter? All gods are handsome, and all goddesses are beautiful.”
“I am not referring to his features, although they are most pleasing, it is his bearing that impresses me.” Nai sat on the bed and removed her sandals. “He is confident without being arrogant, and he is honest without being foolish about it. Besides, did you see how Annani looked at him?”
Ahn sat next to his mate and wrapped his arm around her. “It is the same look you gave me when I first saw you bathing in that pond. It got me in a lot of trouble.”
“Are you sorry that I entrapped you?”
He kissed the top of her head. “How many times have you asked me this question, and how many times have I answered never?”
She laughed. “Thousands.”
None other than he got to see this side of his mate. Mindful of her humble beginnings, Nai always strove to appear regal and composed. She only dropped that mask when they were alone. It was in moments like these, with her face relaxed and her laughter free and uninhibited, that he loved her the most.
“I thank the Fates every day for your incredible courage to do what you did. If not for your subterfuge, I would have been mated to my cousin, and she would have made my life miserable. Instead, you forced my hand and made me the happiest of gods.”
She leaned her head on his shoulder. “You were mine, I knew it the moment I saw you. I could not wait until I was of mating age because it would have been too late, and you would have mated your intended.” Even after all these years, and all of his reassurances, Nai still felt the need to explain herself and why she had acted the way she had. Others might have scorned her, even to this day, but not him. Nevertheless, Ahn liked to tease her about it.
“So it had nothing to do with my status?”
Nai huffed. “You asked me that same question thousands of times, and my answer was always the same.” She mimicked his words to her. “No. I would have done the same if you were the lowliest of gods. You are my truelove. I have a feeling Annani and Khiann are the real deal too. I hope so, for her sake. It always saddened me to think of her in a loveless joining with Mortdh. He would have squashed her spirit.”
“I hope I am not committing a grave mistake.” Ahn sighed. “Even though bowing out would be the right thing to do, when Mortdh finds out, he will be enraged nonetheless. Fates only know what he will do.”
“You can offer him Areana as consolation. She is second in line after Annani.”
“He will not accept a much older daughter from a mistress, especially not one who was already mated.”
Areana was Ahn’s only other child. Born a century before Nai had entered his life, she was older than his mate, who had been only sixteen when he had joined with her.
The pledge of eternal fidelity Ahn had made for taking Nai a year shy of her majority had turned out to be superfluous. Since their first fateful encounter, he had never desired anyone but her.
“Widowed,” Nai shook her head. “The poor woman. It has been years since her mate was killed, and yet she still mourns him and refuses to consider another.”
“Bandits are the bane of our existence. I wish there were more of us to eliminate this plague once and for all.”
“You could do what Mortdh is doing and assemble an army of humans to fight them. He is insane but not stupid.”
Ahn shook his head. “I will not stoop that low. Humans serve and worship us in exchange for our benevolent leadership and guidance. I will not repay their trust by leading them into a war that will result in countless casualties. Our
obligation is to help them live good lives. Sacrificing them on our command is not part of the deal.” He had wronged humans once, eliminating the vast majority of their population. He was not going to wrong them again.
“But bandit attacks are causing much loss and suffering to humans as well. Do you not think that they would like to defend themselves?”
“They are free to do so. I allow armed guards, but I will not allow an army. Humans are violent. They will start with the bandits and continue against each other, and soon wars will erupt between the city-states.”
Ahn was well aware of his people’s bloody history and the terrible things they had done, one that his young mate had no knowledge of. None of the subsequent generations of gods had. It was better that way. As long as they believed that they were peaceful and benevolent people, they would act as such.
It had worked for thousands of years.
But now Mortdh was threatening to destroy that carefully constructed and fiercely maintained illusion.
Far away in his northern stronghold, he did as he pleased, ignoring the laws that had governed the gods, keeping their destructive powers in check since the very beginning of their settlement in this remote corner of the universe.
10
Annani
As Annani followed Nai’s maid to her mother’s private reception room, she wondered what the summons was about. Her lessons with Khiann were supposed to start that same evening, so it probably had to do with that.
Would Nai have some words of wisdom for her? Finally share with her the secrets of seduction?
Doubtful.
It would probably be about what she was not supposed to do while alone with Khiann, and not what she wanted to do. If Annani had her way, there would be very little studying done and a lot of kissing and touching. The question was how many guards her parents would send to keep her from getting what she wanted.
No matter.
Between her powers and Khiann’s, they would have no problem thralling a number of guards in a way that would leave no trace and no lingering suspicions.
“You wanted to see me, Mother?” Annani bowed as she entered the chamber.
Gulan, who entered behind her, bowed deeper and then retreated to the back of the room and stood against the wall.
Nai lifted her head and gifted Annani with one of her rare smiles. “Yes, daughter of mine. Please come sit with me.”
It was not that her mother was a somber or unhappy goddess, quite the opposite was true. Nai adored Ahn and counted herself the luckiest female for capturing him. But she also loved her role as the ruler’s mate, and as such, she had to exude authority, which she interpreted as holding her head high and acting serious at all times, even around her only child.
“I wish to converse with Annani in private.” She dismissed Gulan and her own maid.
Gulan looked beyond relieved as she bowed again and left the room.
Nai intimidated her, as she did most people. Knowing how strong her influence on Ahn was, and how much he valued his mate’s opinion, gods, as well as immortals and humans, trod lightly around her.
Arranging the folds of her dress, Annani sat on the divan across from her mother, careful to keep her back straight and her chin held high and look as regal as her mother expected her to look at all times. Fates forbid she would dare to slouch, or let an unseemly crease mar the skirt of her dress.
When the maid closed the door behind her and Gulan, Nai cast a soundproofing shroud around the room. “You will do the same every time Khiann is with you,” she told Annani.
“Why? It is not as if we are going to be alone.”
Nai lifted both brows. “Really? What do you take me for, a fool? Two powerful gods who want to be alone will find a way to do as they please. But you are young and inexperienced, and you might forget that unbeknownst to you someone might be listening in. Always shroud conversations you do not wish overheard.”
“Yes, Mother.”
Nai reached for a cup of water and took a sip, then put the cup down and sighed. “This talk is long overdue. And since you are about to become intimate with another god, I cannot delay any longer. It is hard for a mother to accept that her little girl is all grown up.”
Annani stifled the impulse to roll her eyes. She could not remember her mother ever babying her or treating her as anything other than the future ruler of the realm.
Besides, if Nai was referring to what transpired between a male and a female, they had already had that talk, and Nai had explained the basics of what went where and why.
Her mother had delivered the information in the most dry and technical terms possible. It had not been a very inspiring or motivating talk. If Annani had based her expectation solely on her mother’s words, she would have never felt the desire to be intimate with anyone.
Fortunately, her imagination had supplied the missing details, and then a few conversations with her very talkative and not at all bashful seamstress had confirmed what Annani had suspected all along. There was much pleasure to be had, and procreation was not the main goal.
“We already had the talk, Mother.”
Nai waved a hand. “Those were only the basic facts. There is so much more.”
Duh. “I see. What else can you teach me, Mother?” Annani widened her eyes in mock innocence.
Nai had either not noticed or had chosen to ignore Annani’s impudence. “As I explained before, a male god, as well as a male immortal, bites his female during intercourse, mostly around the time he reaches his climax, which is when he fills the female with his male essence.”
Great, Nai’s delivery was exactly the same it had been the other time. Dry and uninspiring. Ekin had been more passionate when explaining about his improvements to the irrigation system than her mother was when talking about matters of the flesh.
Nai lifted her cup and took another sip of water. “What I have not told you is that the venom of a male god or immortal is addictive.”
That was indeed news to Annani. “In what way? Does it make the female crave more intimacy?”
“It does. But if she is intimate with only one male and his venom is the only one to enter her system, she will crave only him and will be repulsed by others.”
That did not sound too bad. Annani had no intention of taking on other lovers. She was going to be faithful to Khiann and demand the same from him. And if they were each other's fated trueloves it would not be a problem at all.
She shrugged. “I do not care. I only want Khiann.”
Her mother smiled indulgently. “You are infatuated with the boy. That does not necessarily mean love, and certainly not truelove, even though I am sure you are convinced that it does.”
Nai was wrong, but Annani had to play along. She had been granted her wish and was going to see Khiann every day. No way was she going to jeopardize this by acting disrespectfully toward her mother.
“That is what the courtship is for. We will explore our feelings for each other.”
Nai laughed. “I am sure more than feelings will be explored.”
Then her expression turned serious again. “This is exactly what I want to talk to you about. First of all, Khiann’s courtship is unofficial. Until the two of you are sure that you are each other's trueloves, Mortdh cannot find out about it. All his spies will report to him is that you have a new tutor.”
“A handsome young god. I am sure he is going to get suspicious.”
“He might. But Mortdh is not in love with you, and he does not care what you do. What he cares about, though, are appearances. He would not mind too much if you do not remain chaste until you join him, but he would be enraged if you become pregnant and have a child that is not his.”
Annani waved a dismissive hand. “The chances of that are so small that it is of no concern. How often do goddesses conceive?”
“Rarely. But it is a possibility. Add to that the certainty of addiction, and you will understand why you should not engage in intercourse with Khiann until you are su
re he is the one.”
Annani narrowed her eyes. “What exactly does the addiction entail? And how can I avoid it? Most goddesses, other than those who are joined with their truelove, are not monogamous or faithful to their mates. How do they manage that?”
“When a goddess or an immortal female is sexually active, the only way she can avoid addiction to one male is to frequently change partners. A mix of several venoms prevents the addiction to a particular one. Once the addiction sets in, it is impossible for her to be with any other male other than the one she is addicted to because she will feel no attraction to anyone else.”
“What if something happens to that male? Like what happened to poor Areana’s mate? Is that why she is still alone?”
Nai shook her head. “She is alone because she still mourns his death and chooses not to take a new lover. The addiction is long gone. Initially, she must have suffered terrible withdrawal pangs on top of the pain of losing her truelove, but with time they had no doubt subsided. A widow is not sentenced to eternal loneliness.”
“What about the males? Do they get addicted as well?” It would be terribly unfair if they did not.
“Eventually, they get addicted too. But it takes less time for the female to succumb than for the male.”
Annani crossed her arms over her chest. “This is so unfair.”
Nai clasped Annani’s hands. “I know, my dear girl. Promise me that you will wait to get intimate with Khiann until you are certain that he is the one. I do not want you to suffer through withdrawal. I hear that it is terrible.”
“I promise.”
Since Annani knew with unshakable certainty that Khiann was the one, it had been an easy promise to make. She might wait a week or two to prove it to herself beyond a shadow of a doubt and to comply with her mother’s wishes, but not longer than that.