Page 72 of Dark Witch: Entangled Fates

Annani shook her head. "It is the right thing to do. Ahn's mother deserves to know about all of his children, and that includes Areana. I mentioned that my sister had survived, but the queen did not ask about her."

"I'm not surprised that she didn't," Kian said. "She must have assumed that Areana was a mere immortal, and despite her lofty ideals, the queen will never accept a hybrid. That's also true of the twins, so she might be well aware of them being Ahn's, but she just doesn't care."

Kian might be right, but Annani refused to leave it at that. The queen was not an emotional female, and everything she did was for Anumati. She might really not care about any of Ahn's other children who were not his legitimate heirs.

Annani hoped that they were all wrong about that, and that her grandmother cared. "I told the queen that my father offered Areana to Mortdh as a substitute for me, and Ani knows that Mortdh would have never accepted an immortal. Only a full-blooded goddess could have been offered."

Kian nodded. "You are right, of course. Queen Ani is too shrewd to overlook such a detail, but her lack of interest in Areana is telling, and if she feels like that about a granddaughter who is a full-blooded goddess, just not a legit heir, I'm curious about the queen's feelings toward Ahn's half Kra-ell children. She might be conflicted about the twins and wish them ill as the king did, not because she's worried about them taking down the king, but because they might be a threat to you, the heir to the throne, the one in whom she places so much hope."

Kian was right. The queen's reaction to the news of Ahn's other children could be unpredictable. She might see them as a threat to be eliminated rather than a potential ally to be embraced, or she might simply ignore them and pretend that they did not exist.

"The queen might be right about the twins being a threat." Annani let out a breath. "I am not concerned about Areana posing a threat, and yet I am careful about what I tell her. I never reveal anything that can lead Navuh to us, and I hope that Lokan and Kalugal are just as vigilant when they talk to her. The twins are an enigma, though. If we give any credence to the Eternal King's suspicions, they are extremely powerful and, therefore, dangerous. Still, that does not mean that they mean me harm. They could become valuable allies."

"We need to prepare for both contingencies," Syssi said. "I will start summoning visions about the royal twins. We need to know if they pose a threat to the clan and if they are friend or foe."

Kian nodded, his jaw clenching, probably at the thought of Syssi summoning too many visions and draining herself. "Aru and the other two gods are physically a match for the Kra-ell. They were engineered that way. But they weren't given protection against the twins' rumored compulsion power. They will need to be equipped with the special earpieces we developed to filter out compulsion, to protect themselves in case the twins are malevolent. Whoever accompanies them on the search will need those as well."

Amanda leaned forward, her eyes shining with excitement. "They will need reinforced handcuffs and tranquilizer darts as well."

A rueful smile tugged at Kian's lips. "Aru's team did not arrive on Earth empty-handed. They have all kinds of sophisticated weapons that Aru refused to share with me. The one thing they don't have, though, is the means to protect themselves from compulsion, which is both surprising and it is not. A society as technologically advanced as the Anumatians should have developed the means to protect its soldiers from compulsion, but that would have eliminated the Eternal King's grip on them. He wants everyone susceptible to his power and under his control."

Breaking the king's grip and freeing Anumati from the chains of oppression and tyranny would be no easy feat. It might even be impossible.

"We need to discuss this with Aru before we approach Jasmine." Kian pulled out his phone. "There is no time to do so before the wedding, but we can meet tonight an hour before the scheduled meeting. Is that okay with you, Mother?"

Annani nodded.

"Can I come?" Amanda asked.

Kian turned to look at his sister. "I don't have any objection to that, but your sisters might not appreciate being left out, and I don't think Aru will appreciate having to conduct the telepathic conversation in front of a crowd. I'm surprised he can do that with just the three of us there. A fourth person might not be a big difference, but he might be uncomfortable with six people in the room, all watching him as he talks with his sister in his mind."

53

EDGAR

Taking a deep breath, Edgar tugged on the lapels of his tuxedo, raised his hand, and rapped his knuckles on Jasmine's door. Unlike the cabins on the upper decks, the staff quarters were equipped with standard insulation and soundproofing so Jasmine would hear his knock loud and clear.

"Just a moment!" Jasmine called out, and then the door swung open, revealing a vision that stole the breath from his lungs and sent his heart racing with a surge of pure, unadulterated lust.

"Well, hello there, handsome." Jasmine gave him a once-over before ushering him in. "You look spiffy." She put a hand on the lapel of his jacket, her lush lips curving in a coquettish smile.

Her hair and makeup were done to perfection, and she was breathtakingly beautiful, but it was what she was wearing, or rather what she wasn't wearing, that made his blood run hot and his body tighten with need.

The short, silky robe clung to her curves like a second skin, the fabric so thin it was nearly translucent and left little to the imagination. She had no bra on, and the creamy swell of her breasts and the shadowed valley between them were pure temptations. Below, the hem rode high on her thighs, exposing miles of smooth, golden skin that seemed to glow in the soft light of the cabin.

Edgar swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry and his tongue feeling thick and clumsy in his mouth. He wanted to reach out and touch her, to run his hands over those lush, inviting curves and feel the heat of her skin under his fingers, but if he allowed himself to succumb to the tide of desire, they would never make it to the wedding.

"You look beautiful, but you are not ready," he stated the obvious.

"I just need a few more moments." She gave him a slight push. "Take a seat,"

Edgar nodded, his jaw clenching with the effort of restraint as he lowered himself onto the edge of the bed, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. He could hear the swish of fabric as Jasmine moved around the tiny cabin, and he could feel the heat of her gaze on him, which made his skin prickle with awareness, but he refused to lift his gaze to her.

She chuckled. "You can look, you know. You've seen it all already."

"I did," he admitted, his voice rough with barely suppressed desire. "But if I see it again, we won't make it to the wedding."

Jasmine laughed, a throaty, sensual sound that sent shivers racing down his spine. "Well, in that case, don't look," she said in a mock-stern tone. "I really want to attend that wedding."

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