65. Annani

65

ANNANI

" A pologies, Clan Mother." Oridu bowed from the open door to her room. "Master Kian, Mistress Syssi, and Mistress Allegra are here."

Annani turned and smiled. "Tell them that I will be there in a moment."

As he bowed again and turned on his heel, she let out a long breath.

The call from Kian earlier that morning had set her nerves on edge. He had mentioned good news, but the fact that he and Syssi had Allegra could suggest otherwise. In Annani's experience, children were often brought along to soften the blow of difficult news.

It also could mean that they wanted to please her.

Annani loved spending time with her grandchildren, especially when they were still so young. There was nothing like holding a baby in her arms, kissing their soft cheeks, hearing their babbling, and watching their shenanigans.

Life did not make much sense without those experiences.

Without love, everything seemed pointless.

Annani sighed. She was not in a great mood today, and some of it had to do with her conversation of the previous night with her own grandmother and her friend the Supreme Oracle.

Their words of caution about visions and the unpredictable nature of precognition echoed in her mind. If the Supreme Oracle herself warned her against putting too much faith in foresight, she should heed that advice.

"Visions can be confusing," the queen had said.

"They can be misleading and are rarely helpful," the Oracle had added.

Annani had countered with Syssi's previous vision that had led to finding the pod, but the Oracle had not been impressed. "On rare occasions, foresight can be useful, which is why I have a role and receive lavish accommodations and privileges for performing it, but I know from experience that the instances of visions providing a clear path are few and far between."

The entire conversation had left Annani unsettled. If even the Supreme Oracle of Anumati could not provide clear guidance on interpreting visions, what hope did they have of finding Khiann through Syssi's foresight?

Then again, the discovery of the pod had not been Syssi's first or only successful vision. She had found David's mother and stepfather as well. It had been too late for the poor man, but David's mother had been rescued and was now living in the village, happily mated to Merlin.

Refusing to succumb to negativity, Annani put the hairbrush down, pushed to her feet, and exited her room.

"My dears," she said as she entered the dining room. "How wonderful it is to share a midweek meal with my family."

Kian rose to his feet and embraced her. "Hello, Mother," he said, his voice warm but with an undercurrent of tension that Annani immediately picked up on.

Syssi's hug was equally warm, but Annani could feel the strain in her shoulders. Whatever news they had brought, it was clearly weighing heavily on both of them.

Allegra, though, seemed oblivious to the undercurrents of adult tension and let out a happy squeal at the sight of her grandmother. Given that the baby had her own foresight, that was an encouraging sign.

Annani smiled, reached for her granddaughter, and pulled her out of the highchair, the simple joy of the child momentarily pushing aside her worries.

"How is my little princess today?" she cooed, planting a soft kiss on Allegra's cheek.

"Nana." Allegra cupped both her cheeks with her chubby hands and kissed her back with lips full of baby slobber.

"She's been excited all morning about seeing her Nana," Syssi said.

Annani walked over to the head of the table and sat down with Allegra in her lap.

"Let me put her back in her highchair." Kian reached for his daughter.

Annani was hesitant to let go of her shield, the bundle of joy that would keep her warm no matter how cold the news Syssi delivered, but she let her son take the child away because she was not a coward. Whatever news they brought, she could handle it.

When Allegra was securely fastened in her highchair, Annani rearranged the folds of her gown and lifted her chin. "You said you had news."

"I summoned a vision last night," Syssi said, her voice stronger than Annani had expected. "I thought about Khiann and hoped to see something that could lead us to him, and I think that the universe answered, but as is usually the case with my visions, what it showed me was just a hint that leaves more questions than answers."

Annani nearly sagged in relief. A hint was good. A hint meant that there was a reason to search, and hopefully, not just to bring Khiann to a proper burial.

"Tell me everything," she commanded.

"Of course." Syssi launched into a detailed description of her vision.

Annani listened intently, absorbing every word. The vast desert landscape, the mysterious woman with golden-flecked eyes, the ancient ruins half-buried in the sand—each detail painted a vivid picture in Annani's mind.

"The vision didn't show Khiann directly," Syssi said. "But I have a strong feeling that he's out there, buried somewhere in that desert, in stasis. And I think that Jasmine is supposed to help us find him."

Despite the warnings from her grandmother and the Oracle, Annani felt a spark of hope ignite in her chest. "You said that the face was partially covered with a scarf and that you could only see the eyes. The person was dressed in what is customary for men in that region. Are you making the assumption that it was Jasmine just because of the golden-flecked eyes?"

Syssi nodded. "It makes sense since she was able to scry for the pod. Otherwise, it wouldn't have occurred to me that it might be her."

Annani nodded. "Then we must act on this hint. What is the next step? Are we going to talk to Jasmine? Perhaps she could be given a map of the area and use her scrying abilities."

Kian looked hesitant. "I am planning to talk to her, but we probably need more clues to narrow the search. I don't want you to get your hopes up only to be disappointed."

Annani felt a flash of irritation. "My hopes are already up, Kian. I choose to believe that this vision suggests Khiann is alive." She took a deep breath, calming herself. "I want to visit Ell-rom today. We can go together, and I can talk to Jasmine directly."

Kian and Syssi exchanged another look, one that Annani could not quite decipher.

"Alright," Kian agreed. "We can go visit him after lunch."

That was easy. Usually, Kian required more prodding to fulfill her wishes. He probably felt bad for her and wished to please her.

"I need to change my plans with Amanda," Syssi said. "We were supposed to meet in the playground later."

Kian cast her a sidelong glance. "Allegra shouldn't miss her playdate. I'm sure Amanda will be happy to babysit her while we visit Ell-rom and Jasmine." He leaned toward his wife and smiled. "We haven't had an adults-only dinner in a while."

"True." She pulled out her phone. "I'll text Amanda."

As they began to eat, the conversation flowed more easily, but Annani's mind was still in turmoil over Syssi's vision despite Kian's entertaining stories about the humorous comments left on the clan's bulletin board.

"Mother?" Kian's voice broke through her thoughts. "Have you heard anything I said?"

"Yes, some. I am sorry for not paying attention. My mind is still on Syssi's vision." She looked at her daughter-in-law. "When we go to see Jasmine, we should bring a map of the region. And perhaps some photographs of ancient ruins in the area. It might help jog her intuition."

Syssi winced. "Shai searched the internet for ruins and artifacts matching my vision and didn't find any."

Annani smiled. "Contrary to popular belief, not everything can be found on the internet. Those ruins might have been discovered many years ago before anyone even dreamt about the internet. The archeologists could have recorded the finding in some obscure research paper or book, and they were later forgotten."

Kian nodded slowly. "That's true. I will have to hire someone to do some research. Maybe David can recommend one of his professor buddies from Stanford." He frowned. "Do they even have a history or archeology department at that university?"

Syssi shrugged. "I don't know, but that's something that can be found on the internet."

As Syssi pulled out her phone to do the search, Annani felt a sense of purpose settling over her. For the first time in years, they had a tangible lead, however tenuous, on Khiann's whereabouts. It might come to nothing, but the mere act of searching, of doing something, filled her with renewed energy.

Allegra's happy babbling drew Annani's attention, and as she turned to her granddaughter, her mood was immediately lifted by the child's smiling face, which was smeared with the remains of her lunch.

To someone who did not know Allegra well, she would have appeared blissfully unaware of the weighty matters being discussed around her. But Allegra was not a regular child, and Annani took her smile as an encouraging sign.