Page 8 of Dark Witch: Twin Destinies

Leaning over, Kian pressed a kiss to her temple. "Sometimes, I fantasize about moving the entire clan permanently to a cruise ship. But we would need a much larger one for that." He smiled. "Perhaps we can purchase a decommissioned aircraft carrier. Those things are the size of a city. We could remodel it to include gardens and all the other amenities we have in the village."

Syssi chuckled. "As if you don't have enough on your plate already. Besides, I don't want to live in a floating city, and the Kra-ell even less so. Just try mentioning another sea voyage to them and see their reaction. I think they would be less horrified about boarding a spaceship bound for Mars."

Kian didn't laugh. "I wouldn't mind settling on Mars. No Brotherhood and no threat from the Eternal King. Just our people finally living in peace."

Across from him, his mother smiled knowingly. "Without adversity, you would not know what to do with yourself, my son."

"Not true. I might finally have time to read all the books on my wish list."

Syssi cast him a skeptical look. "I love reading, but I can't imagine doing only that for the rest of our never-ending lives. Let's talk about sunnier topics, though. Jin and Arwel's wedding was a great finale to the cruise. For some reason, it was more boisterous than all the other weddings."

"The reason is obvious." Kian chuckled. "Everyone was overjoyed that it was the last one. Don't get me wrong, I love weddings, but this was like overdosing on too much of a good thing. After the marathon of ceremonies, I need a break."

Syssi patted his arm. "There's a long list of couples eager to tie the knot on the next cruise, so your respite is not going to last."

Kian groaned. "I need at least a year before we go on another sea voyage, and my new rule will be no more than two weddings per cruise."

Annani nodded, her eyes sparkling with mirth. "We will have to convince the other couples to have their parties in the village square, Sari's castle, or in my sanctuary. I think that my sanctuary is the most beautiful venue, and all future weddings should be held there."

Kian arched a brow. "And where will you house everyone? You don't have enough room to host the entire clan."

Annani shrugged. "We can always build an annex to the existing structure."

It was more challenging than she made it sound, but it was doable, and Kian liked the idea of having a well-hidden escape location that could house all of their people.

He wouldn't want to live there full-time, but having the option appealed to him, especially since the keep had been compromised. They were still using it and would probably continue until it became clear that it was too risky.Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that because moving the crypt would be a nightmare.

The gods and their mates were heading to his old penthouse in the keep, and Okidu was with them to open up Amanda's. There were only three bedrooms in each, and he needed rooms for four couples as Jasmine and Edgar were with them. They wouldn't be staying there long, but they needed a few days to organize everything for the Tibet trip.

Tomorrow, Kian planned to meet with Aru to discuss the expedition's logistics. The possible retrieval of the Kra-ell royal twins was a mission of paramount importance. If they were as powerful as the Eternal King feared, having them as allies could tip the balance of power in the clan's struggle against the Doomers and later against the king.

The bewildering part was that, somehow, the key to it all was Jasmine. Kian still had doubts about relying so heavily on divination and visions to guide the gods on their quest. His pragmatic nature rebelled against having so much faith in the intangible and unquantifiable, but he implicitly trusted his mate's visions.

Syssi's gift had proven invaluable and infallible time and again. If she believed that Jasmine was the linchpin to unlocking the secrets of the royal twins' whereabouts, then Kian would follow that path without hesitation.

5

MARINA

Marina felt drowsy as the bus rumbled down the highway towards Safe Haven. Leaning into Peter's embrace, she savored the warmth of his body and the comforting feel of his arm around her shoulders.

About an hour and a half had passed since they had boarded the bus at the port, which meant twelve more on the road, but with Peter right there with her, she didn't mind the long ride. Besides, a luxury bus with all the amenities on board was a good way to travel.

Onegus had approved Peter's request to accompany her to Safe Haven and be part of a team of Guardians who would be on duty there for the next two weeks.

Regrettably, Jay was not one of those Guardians, and Larissa hadn't taken the separation well. She'd been sniffling softly from the moment she and Jay had said their goodbyes, and since she was sitting in the row behind them, Marina couldn't help but hear the pitiful sounds, and her heart was twisting with sympathy for her friend.

Jay had promised to visit Larissa in Safe Haven, but Marina knew the likelihood of that happening was slim. Jay's promise had been meant to offer temporary comfort but held little weight. He wasn't coming, and Larissa knew it.

Guilt nibbled at the edges of Marina's happiness, a nagging sense that her joy was somehow an affront to Larissa's pain. She knew it was irrational and that her friend would not begrudge her the love she'd found with Peter, but the feeling persisted nonetheless.

Peter tightened his hold around her and drew her closer to his side. "What's on your mind, love?" he murmured, his breath warm against her ear.

Marina sighed. "I was just thinking about Larissa," she whispered to avoid being overheard. "She's hurting, and I feel guilty for being so happy when she's not."

"It's not your fault that things didn't work out as well for them as they did for us." He kissed the top of her head. "It just wasn't meant to be."

She and Peter weren't destined for each other either, but Marina wouldn't say that out loud. They were both pretending they didn't care about the future, and as long as Marina maintained that conviction, she was happy. The problem was that it was difficult to cling to a fallacy.

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