Page 67 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

After placing the call, Syssi cradled the phone against her ear and loaded the coffeemaker while waiting for Amanda to pick up.

She answered after several rings, sounding a little breathless. "Hello, my favorite sister-in-law."

Syssi chuckled. "I'm your only sister-in-law." It suddenly occurred to her that Amanda might be at Mey's bachelorette party. "Are you busy? Am I interrupting?"

"You are not interrupting anything, darling. Mey's party hasn't started yet."

Syssi frowned. "Yamanu's bachelor party has already started. How come hers hasn't?"

"Yamanu's groomsmen are going to have a break between the bachelor party and the wedding, while Mey's bridesmaids are supposed to stay with her the entire time. She wants them to get dressed in Jin's cabin and then escort her to the event hall from there. Not that I intend to do that. I'll excuse myself and join them for the ceremony."

"I can totally understand that." Syssi needed to decompress after social interactions, and going from one party to the next without a break would have exhausted her mentally and physically.

Funny how certain things hadn't changed after her transition, proving how strong the mind-body connection was.

"It's a busy day for you, so I'm hesitant to even ask, but is there a chance you can come over for half an hour to watch over me when I induce the vision I promised your mother about Khiann? Kian is at Yamanu's party, and if I attempt it without anyone here to monitor me, he will pop a vein."

Amanda snorted. "Yeah, he totally would, even though it's physically impossible for him. I'll be there in five minutes."

"Thank you," Syssi said. "You are the best."

"Oh, I know, darling," Amanda purred. "I know."

Syssi ended the call with a smile. It was the Amanda effect and one of the reasons she still worked at her lab. They weren't making much progress with the paranormal research, but they enjoyed spending time together, and being around Amanda was uplifting. There was rarely a day that Syssi came home from the lab in a bad mood, and when she did, it was because Amanda turned the radio on and listened to the news on the way back home.

Lately, the distressing stuff Syssi heard was so overwhelming that she tried to stay away from it, but then she felt like a coward for hiding her head in the sand. It was even worse now than it had been right before she met Kian. Things had gotten better for a few years, and her visions of doom had subsided, but she should have known that it wouldn't last.

Surprisingly, though, the visions hadn't returned.

Perhaps motherhood was shielding her from the darkness the world was spiraling into.

Was it Navuh's doing?

She had no doubt that he had a hand in it. The worldwide chaos had his signature all over it, and if he was indeed behind what was going on, it explained why he hadn't bothered the clan in a long while. They had assumed that he was busy breeding the next generation of smart warriors, but he hadn't been idle in the meantime. He'd been steering things via his drug and trafficking enterprises, enlisting the help of cartels and terror organizations to propagate his agenda of world domination.

Still, as evil as Navuh was, she doubted that he had a hand in child trafficking. His cohorts did that of their own accord.

Syssi let out a sigh. She wasn't helping anyone by getting depressed over the sorry state of the world, but she could help Annani, even if it was just to provide her closure.

The mystery of Khiann's fate had been weighing on her mind ever since Annani had first shared her suspicions about Ahn's possible subterfuge. If Annani's beloved mate was still alive, trapped somewhere in stasis, it would be a miracle. In a way, the unintended results of Ahn's machinations could have been the survival of his daughter and her mate.

Then again, if Ahn hadn't framed Mortdh for Khiann's murder and instead had sent a rescue team to dig out Annani's husband and the immortals who had been with him, the gods could have still been around because Mortdh would not have flown over the assembly with a deadly weapon in his small aircraft.

Well, not really.

The Eternal King's assassins would have found a way to destroy all the exiled gods and their descendants and blame it on the humans or some natural disaster.

They all needed answers, and Syssi was the only one who might be able to get them. Allegra's presence had enhanced previous visions, and since it hadn't affected her daughter in any negative way, Syssi intended to meditate in the bedroom next to her daughter's crib to give herself the best chance of getting those answers.

As the door chime pulled her from her thoughts, Syssi rose to her feet and went to greet her sister-in-law.

"Thanks for coming." She pulled Amanda into a quick, one-armed hug. "I'm sorry if I interrupted your afternoon nap."

Leaning down, Amanda kissed her cheek. "You didn't interrupt anything important." She walked over to the kitchenette and opened the fridge. "I'm making myself a drink. Do you want one before doing your thing?"

Syssi shook her head. "I don't want anything interfering with my concentration. I will do it in the bedroom and leave the door open."

"That's fine." Amanda pulled a container of orange juice out of the fridge. "I'm going to read on my phone and not make any noises to disturb you."

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