74. Annani

74

ANNANI

T he sight of Ell-rom and Jasmine exchanging loving glances and their hands intertwining beneath the table brought a bittersweet pang to Annani's heart. While she was overjoyed that her brother had found love and a chance at happiness so soon after waking up in this new world, it only served to highlight the absence of her beloved Khiann.

For millennia, Annani had believed Khiann was murdered by Mortdh, her former intended. The pain of that loss had never truly faded, even after she had moved on, even after she had named her son Kian in honor of Khiann's memory. But now, the doubt gnawing at her was growing stronger with every passing day. She was now convinced that the witnesses who had attested to the murder and incriminated Mortdh had been compelled by her father to do so.

It had served Ahn's interests perfectly. It was his way to get rid of an opponent who was gaining power and sowing division among the gods. The only thing that did not fit the new narrative she had created was what had happened to Khiann. Whether truly dead or in stasis, he had disappeared that fateful day. He could have been another victim of the massive earthquake that had buried Wonder, but then how had her father known about it?

Ahn would've had to be sure that Khiann was dead to come up with the scheme of incriminating Mortdh.

It was possible that he had gotten to the witnesses before they had testified in front of the big assembly and compelled them to change their story, but what was the real story that they had come to report?

Had it been to inform the council that Khiann's caravan had been swallowed by the desert?

If so, how had they escaped the same fate?

Things did not add up, and as hard as she tried, Annani could not complete the puzzle in a way that made sense because she was missing pieces. As for her gut, she could not trust it because it wanted Khiann to be alive so much that it could send her the wrong signals.

As the conversation hit a natural lull, Annani straightened in her chair. "Jasmine," her voice cut through the ambient chatter. "Once again, it seems that the fate of a lost prince is in your hands."

The room fell silent, all eyes turning to Annani and then to Jasmine, who looked nervous under the weight of expectation. "I don't know if I can."

Annani gave her a reassuring smile. "We can all just do our best and hope it is enough. I am forever grateful to you for saving my brother and sister in the nick of time, and I need your help again. My beloved Khiann, whom I thought I lost five thousand years ago, might be resting in stasis underneath the desert sands, and once again, Syssi's vision points to you as the one who can find him. Will you help me?"

Jasmine's eyes widened. "I will do whatever I can, but only after Ell-rom is fully recovered. I cannot leave him before that."

Her determined expression dared Annani to challenge her statement, but Annani had no intention of doing that. In fact, when the time came, she was sure that Ell-rom would insist on going with Jasmine.

The two were bonded mates or about to be bonded soon, and there was no way they could be separated for more than a day so early in their relationship.

"Naturally, I do not expect you to do this alone. You decide who you want on your team, and I will make sure that you are provided with all the support you need. I have been told about your methods, but I have to admit to possessing only a superficial knowledge of the Wicca traditions."

As Jasmine glanced around the table, seeming to gather her thoughts before speaking, Annani noticed the slight tremor in her hands and the way she unconsciously leaned closer to Ell-rom for support. But beneath the obvious anxiety, Annani could sense the core of steel that she had come to admire in Jasmine.

Her brother's mate might not see herself as brave or heroic, but Annani knew better. This unassuming young woman had faced dangers and challenges with uncommon courage and determination.

"I used the tarot cards to foretell my future," Jasmine said. "For many years, they always showed me a prince awaiting me. I didn't really believe that I would one day find a prince, marry him, and live happily ever after." She turned, casting a fond smile at Ell-rom. "I thought the tarot was showing me a prince to say that my man would be spectacular, a true prince of a man, but they were showing me both. Ell-rom is a real prince and an outstanding male."

Their love was so palpable that Annani felt a renewed surge of hope. If the Fates had brought these two together against all odds, surely, they could work their magic once more.

"So, the tarot prompted you to search for your prince?"

Jasmine chuckled. "Yeah, but I searched in all the wrong places. I thought Alberto was my promised prince. Boy, was I wrong."

"But the tarot cards were right," Annani pointed out. "It was your interpretation that was wrong. Not that it is your fault in any way. You did not have enough information."

The more they talked, the more Jasmine seemed to relax, which was Annani's intention. She wanted the girl to be at ease.

"Well, I'm not sure about that. If I hadn't gone with Alberto to Cabo, I wouldn't be here today, right? So maybe I was right after all, just not in the way I thought." She took a sip of water. "The scrying stick idea came to me in a moment of inspiration. I've never used one before. I'm still not sure how that worked, but it did. It's like I'm using the Wiccan tools of the trade as conduits for a power that is flowing through me."

Kian leaned forward. "We could try a similar approach this time. You could use the tarot cards to confirm Syssi's vision and perhaps even narrow down the location. Naturally, we will try to find where these ruins that Syssi saw are located because they seem to be a location marker. Then, if we can get close enough, you might be able to use your scrying abilities to pinpoint Khiann's exact location."

"The desert is vast," Aru interjected. "Even if we narrow it down to a specific region, we're still talking about an enormous area to search."

Annani felt a flicker of frustration with how doubtful everyone seemed to be. "We have to try. If there is even the slightest chance that Khiann is out there alive, we have to find him. It is our duty."

The thought of Khiann trapped in stasis for so long, waiting to be found, was almost too much to bear. Hopefully he was as unaware as Wonder had been, and when they found him and revived him, he would think that the earthquake had happened only days before, not thousands of years earlier.

Syssi reached out, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "My vision showed us the way once before. It will do so again."

"What do we need to do first?" Annani asked. "I want us to start planning." She cast a fond look at Ell-rom. "You are getting better by the day, and given the rate you are going, you will be ready for travel in a few weeks. You should start working on your English."