1. Syssi

1

SYSSI

T he sounds of the cappuccino machine thumping and hissing were even more soothing to Syssi than her favorite Mozart piano concerto because they signaled the start of her evening with just her mate.

Given Kian's frown, though, they weren't having the same effect on him.

His expression as he looked at his phone indicated that clan business was once again intruding on their family time, and on a Sunday evening, that was worrisome.

It must be an urgent matter for anyone to bother him now.

When the cappuccinos were ready, she carried them to the couch. "Bad news?"

Kian set his phone aside as he took the cup she handed him. "It was just a text from Onegus about a matter I asked him to investigate." He took a sip and sighed. "Superb as always, my love. Thank you."

"You are welcome." She sat next to him, cradling her cup in her hands and hoping he would share with her what Onegus had reported so she would know whether she needed to worry about it or not.

Not knowing made her overactive imagination go places that were probably much worse than what Onegus had found out.

"It took a long time for Allegra to fall asleep tonight," Kian said as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Was it because of my bath-time story?"

She cast him a reproachful look. "You need to tame your Captain Grouchy Face stories and make them more age appropriate. Allegra was overexcited and only relaxed after I read Puss in Boots to her again."

The illustrations in the book never failed to make Allegra smile.

"I'm sorry," Kian said, but judging by his sheepish smile, he wasn't sorry at all.

Her husband was on a mission to prepare their baby girl for a future as the clan leader, and he used his bath-time stories to convey complicated issues and teach her cause and effect. The problem was that Allegra was much too young to understand the cautionary messages in these tales, and her father was much too stubborn to accept that he needed to wait a few years before their daughter was ready for them.

"Bad guys snatching children is not age-appropriate for Allegra, even if Captain Grouchy Face saves the day, beats up the snatchers, and returns the children to their parents."

"Noted." Kian took another sip of his cappuccino. "How would you tell the story? Should the bad guys snatch a favorite pet instead?"

He was incorrigible. "Stick to Captain Grouchy Face saving cats stuck up trees and helping find lost pets."

"Boring."

Syssi laughed. "I like boring. Boring means that nothing bad is happening. Give me boring all day, any day." She glanced at his phone and decided that she wasn't going to wait for Kian to volunteer what was so troubling about the text. "So, what was so urgent that Onegus was messaging you on a Sunday evening?"

"I told you about what Roni's discovered. Onegus has been working on the organizational chart through the weekend. We've been brainstorming ideas for how to restructure our operations to deal with the pedophilia ring while maintaining our fight against trafficking without reducing the number of rescue missions. At least not significantly. We are also undecided about who should lead the new operations. Onegus suggested Peter, but I'd rather it was led by a Head Guardian. I told him to speak to Bhathian."

"Bhathian is in charge of the training programs," Syssi pointed out. "He can't do both."

Kian nodded. "We can put Kri in charge of training and move Bhathian to lead the new effort. I'm also deliberating whether we should put another Head Guardian in charge of the trafficking operations. That will free Onegus from the day-to-day scheduling and organization and allow him to focus on the big picture for both divisions."

"You should do that." Syssi took another sip of her cappuccino and put the cup on the wood saucer, which was a permanent decor piece on the coffee table. "I also think that the two divisions need separate names, and they shouldn't be the trafficking division and the pedophilia division. That just sounds nasty."

"They deal with nasty stuff."

"I know." She leaned her head on his shoulder. "But the people who are doing the fighting are not nasty, and they need their divisions to have names that they are proud of and are motivated by."

Kian snorted. "These are not high school football teams. Our Guardians don't need any of that to do their jobs. Their motivation is their sense of purpose."

"Symbolism matters, my love." She lifted her head and turned to face him. "I would even go a step further and commission two different styles of uniforms. When soldiers go into battle, they rally under a banner and wear specific insignia. It builds unit cohesion and strengthens resolve. You might be right about our Guardians not needing it, but since you are including the new Kra-ell recruits, it might help them integrate better and reinforce their loyalty. They are proud people, and titles matter to them."

"You make a valid point, my wise mate." Kian kissed the top of her head. "So, what names would you suggest?"

"Frankly, I hadn't given it any thought before. It just occurred to me now that you started talking about organizational charts." Syssi thought of borrowing names from famous football teams, but nothing really resonated with her. "We can keep it simple. How about Saviors for the teams saving victims of trafficking, and Avengers for the teams taking out pedophiles?"

"I like it." Kian finished the last drops of his cappuccino and set the empty cup down. "As for the uniforms, right now everyone is wearing the same black fatigues, and I wouldn't change that for the new division because we need to maintain anonymity, but maybe we can issue pins or patches to denote the two branches."

"That's probably good enough." Syssi lifted her legs onto the couch and tucked them under her. "If you're thinking of putting Bhathian in charge of the Avengers, who do you have in mind for the Saviors?"

"Arwel, if he's up to it. If he's not, I might have to put Peter in charge of the Avengers and Bhathian in charge of the Saviors. Onegus will have to promote Peter to Head Guardian, though, which I don't think he will have a problem with, but some of the other Guardians might. Several have been waiting for a promotion."

"That reminds me." Syssi leaned away slightly. "Do you know when Arwel is going to induce Rob?"

Kian's lips lifted in a knowing smile. "I don't think they have decided on the date yet, but I have another piece of information that you might find even more exciting. Rob and Gertrude have a thing going on."

"What?" Syssi sat up straighter. "How come I didn't know about this, or better yet, how come your mother and Amanda didn't find out? Is the village rumor mill broken?"

Kian chuckled. "I think they are just in the initial stages of their relationship. I saw them together at the clinic when I went to check on Jasmine and Ell-rom, and the looks and smiles Rob and the nurse were exchanging over their shared lunch were telling."

"That's wonderful news. It makes me happy that Rob has already found someone. Gertrude is so perfect for him that it's surprising Amanda hasn't thought of matching them. I guess she thought it was too early." She frowned. "Now that I've said it, I realize that it might be indeed too soon after Rob's horrible breakup with his fiancée just days before their wedding. I hope it's not just a rebound romance for him. Gertrude deserves better."

Kian shrugged. "Looked like they were into each other, but I'm not an authority on the subject of romance."

"Oh, but you are." Syssi leaned in and planted a kiss on his lips. "You are the best at it because you are real, and you are all in."

"I am." He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her onto his lap. "And so are you."

"True." She kissed his cheek. "As impossible as it seems, our love grows stronger over time." She leaned her head on Kian's chest.

For some reason, her thoughts wandered to Ell-rom and Jasmine and their nascent relationship. They probably couldn't imagine loving each other more, but they would. "I hope Jasmine wakes up soon. I'm glad that at least Morelle is awake. It would have been much more difficult for Ell-rom if she was also still in a coma. Nevertheless, he is freaking out over Jasmine, and that's understandable. It is taking her a very long time to transition."

"Yes and no." Kian rubbed his hand over her arm. "Some have taken even longer, so I'm not worried, but my mother is impatient for Jasmine to wake up. Morelle encouraged her to investigate what happened to Jasmine's mother after Ell-rom suggested that your vision might have been about finding her and not Khiann, but we can't send Guardians to peek into her father's mind to find out what happened to her because Jasmine wants to do it herself and we need to ask her permission first."

"Why would my vision show Jasmine's mother? I mean, it's possible that she has the same eyes as her daughter, but I didn't ask to be shown where she is. I asked to be shown where Khiann was."

"It's just a loose hypothesis, and Ell-rom suggested it as a reach. His reasoning was that when you asked whether Khiann was dead or in stasis, the vision might have revealed something about Jasmine's mother, who might somehow be important to finding Khiann. Jasmine's father never talked about her mother and never took her to see her mother's grave. She doesn't even know where her mother is buried or how she died."

It was a far-fetched idea, but maybe Ell-rom's hunch had been inspired. They still didn't know the extent of his talents, and Amanda was eager to test him as well as Morelle, but since he was glued to Jasmine's side, he couldn't accompany his sister to the university tomorrow.

Amanda was well aware of Ell-rom's death-ray talent, so she wasn't going to examine that or anything that might trigger it, but she wanted to find out whether he had any precognition or telepathic ability in addition to that.

Initially, Morelle used her recuperating as an excuse not to go, but Amanda figured out that she was simply afraid and convinced her to come by explaining what was involved and that it wasn't a big deal. What had finally convinced Morelle, though, was a promise to show her the nursery she had created for Evie and Allegra that now cared for twelve more little ones, with four full-time nannies and a large group of part-time students. It was such a lovely initiative, and Syssi was proud to have played a big part in making it happen.

"Perhaps you should ask for another vision about Khiann or directly about Jasmine's mother," Kian said, surprising her. Usually, he tried to talk her out of seeking visions.

"I can do it right now." She pulled out of his arms and sat beside him.

His eyebrows rose. "Here? Won't I affect your concentration?"

"You might," she admitted. "But I want to try. I've become too dependent on using Allegra to enhance my power. I need to go back to basics and do this on my own." She touched his hand. "If it doesn't work, I can always try again another time with Allegra next to me."

Again, he surprised her by nodding his approval. "Should I move to give you more space?"

"No." She put her hand on his thigh. "You can stay right where you are. Just try not to distract me with your handsomeness."

He laughed. "I'll do my best to tame my magnetism."

Syssi closed her eyes, letting her awareness of the room fade away.

She could feel Kian's solid presence beside her, but instead of distracting her, his warmth was a steadying anchor as she reached for that ethereal space where visions dwelled.

When the familiar sensation of floating began to overtake her, Syssi asked to be shown who the woman in the desert was and how she would help them find Khiann.

Having learned a long time ago not to force visions or direct them too specifically, she opened herself to whatever images might come, trusting that what she needed to see would be revealed in its own time and way.

As the familiar scene from her previous vision materialized, the woman appeared as before, wrapped in traditional male desert clothing, the fabric billowing in the hot wind, with only her striking eyes visible—brown with swirling flecks of gold that seemed to catch the sunlight.

This time, however, new details emerged. Behind the woman, mountains rose against the horizon, but not the barren peaks Syssi had seen when she'd followed the woman's gaze. Green slopes were dotted with oak trees, and in the valley below, she saw stone houses with flat roofs. Some of them were half-ruined, but others were livable, and people were milling around, men and women in ragtag fatigues. As their voices carried on the wind, she tried to discern the language they were speaking. She'd heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where and what it was.

Listening intently, Syssi tried to catch familiar words, and the vision obliged, isolating a conversation between two women who were standing next to a jeep and bringing it closer to her as if she was standing right next to them. When she heard one of the women mention Azerbaijan, things clicked into place, and when, a moment later, the other woman mentioned Kermanshah, Syssi's suspicion was confirmed.

She had read about those places recently enough to remember the names.

The two places the women were talking about were in Kurdistan, specifically the part controlled by Iran, and Jasmine's mother was Iranian.

As the vision began to fade, it zoomed back to the golden-eyed woman, and Syssi caught one final detail—a distinctive pendant that was partially hidden by her scarf. It looked like it was carved from amber or some similar golden stone.

Opening her eyes, Syssi let out a breath. "I saw the same woman, the same place, but this time I got more clues. I'm pretty sure it was Kurdistan, but I'm not sure whether the woman was Jasmine's mother, and I was being shown the past, or it was Jasmine in the future, looking for her mother in the area of Azerbaijan and Kermanshah, which were both mentioned quite clearly. There was another clue—a pendant that the woman wore, which I didn't see in the previous image, but it was partially hidden under her scarf, and I couldn't see the design. I think it was made from amber, and it looked old."

Kian nodded. "Kurdistan spans parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria, and Turkey, so Jasmine's mother, Kyra, might have been originally from the area controlled by Iran. We have to talk to Jasmine's father, but Ell-rom was very clear that Jasmine wanted to handle that herself. Perhaps we can start investigating the Kurdish angle without directly involving her father just yet. I would love to get Roni digging deeper into Kyra's past and maybe focusing on that region, but he is too busy to tackle it right now. I will have to ask Shai to sift through what he can find online and prepare a summary for me."

"That's a good idea." Syssi winced as her head started to throb. "The vision felt different without Allegra's boost. It was just as clear as the ones I had with her help, maybe even clearer because I felt more in charge and found it easier to steer it where I wanted it to go, but it's taken more out of me. It was draining." She gave Kian a smile. "Next vision, I'm definitely summoning with Allegra in the room. It doesn't affect her, but it boosts my energy."