42. Morelle

42

MORELLE

T he delicious aromas wafting from the kitchen made Morelle's stomach rumble, but she was more focused on the warmth of Annani's hand in hers as they sat together on the couch. She wondered if her sister was getting tired of hosting dinner guests almost every evening.

The Odus did all the work, but it was still exhausting. At least for Morelle, but then she had spent her life in the temple in near isolation, and she wasn't used to being surrounded by people all the time.

Annani, on the other hand, loved company.

Over the last two days, Morelle had started to yearn for a little alone time. She loved having Brandon around, always ready to help her with whatever she needed, but she would have liked a little time away from him as well.

She just wanted to sit outside in Annani's backyard, close her eyes, lift her face to the sun, and enjoy the quiet.

"It must be tiring to have to entertain guests all day long," she told Annani.

Her sister squeezed her hand. "Not at all. I love having people over, especially close family. I entertain a lot wherever I am, whether it is here in the village, in my sanctuary in the snow, or at my daughter Sari's castle in Scotland. It is part of my job as the Clan Mother."

Annani had told her about her wondrous sanctuary, and the plan was for Morelle and Ell-rom and their mates to visit, but first, things needed to calm down, and the investigation of her and Ell-rom's special talents had to be completed.

It was important to find out the extent of their abilities and take appropriate precautions.

Across from them, Jasmine sat curled in an armchair, her forehead creased as she frowned at her laptop screen. Ell-rom, on Annani's other side, was equally absorbed in his own research about a place called Kurdistan, occasionally exchanging observations with Jasmine and sharing information.

They were both consumed with learning everything they could about the region where Syssi's vision had placed the woman they suspected was Jasmine's mother.

From the little tidbits of information Morelle had gathered listening to Jasmine and Ell-rom sharing what they were finding out, she felt sorry for the Kurdish people and empathized with their struggle. Multiple countries had conquered their lands long ago, and these invaders were still working to erase their culture and very existence.

Compared to their suffering, the ongoing conflict between gods and Kra-ell seemed almost civilized, which, given how offended any Kra-ell would be at being called anything other than savage, was quite a statement.

Brandon was also busy with his laptop, sitting in the other armchair, his fingers flying over his keyboard as he worked on something for his InstaTock project.

The sight of everyone absorbed in their screens made Morelle's fingers itch to explore her own new device. The English lessons William had installed were waiting for her, not to mention that intriguing Perfect Match questionnaire. If it weren't for Amanda's imminent arrival with more tests for her nullifying ability, she might have sneaked away to her room to start exploring the wonders stored inside the machine.

Another reason for her restlessness was the prospect of moving into Brandon's house. She still hadn't figured out how to tell Annani. The thought of leaving her sister made her chest tight with guilt, especially in moments like this when Annani's energy wrapped around her like the warm embrace of love.

As the doorbell's chime interrupted her thoughts, Ogidu emerged from the kitchen and rushed over to the front door.

Morelle heard him welcoming each guest by name: Amanda and Dalhu with little Evie and Syssi and Kian with Allegra, who immediately spotted Morelle and made a beeline for her with arms outstretched.

"Illy!" the little girl demanded, and Morelle gladly scooped her up, settling her between herself and Annani.

Two more couples entered behind them, and she rose to her feet to greet them.

Arwel she recognized from their previous testing session, but his mate Jin was new to her. She was a tall, striking woman with long dark hair and a mischievous smile. The other couple was no less impressive. Yamanu was a massive male with Kra- ell coloring and hair but with typical gorgeous immortal features and light eyes. His mate Mey, who was Jin's sister, was just as striking as Jin, if not more so.

There was something different about them, both in their looks and the energy they exuded.

"Jin and Mey are part Kra-ell and part immortal," Amanda explained. "They have some unique talents of their own, and they also run a clothing company specializing in fashion for tall women."

Something bloomed in Morelle's chest, and she felt an immediate kinship with the sisters. Two females who, like her, straddled two different worlds.

"I'm still learning about Earth fashion," Morelle said, grateful to see that both were wearing translation earpieces.

Jin's smile was warm. "We'd love to show you our designs sometime." She gave Morelle a thorough look-over. "Although you could make do with regular-sized clothing."

She chuckled. "Where I come from, clothing is still made to order. I mean on the Kra-ell side of the planet. The gods are big on mass production of goods like humans seem to be."

"Speaking of clothes," Amanda interjected, "do you have an evening dress for the wedding on Sunday?"

"I think so." Morelle tried to remember what Brandon had told her about each garment and what occasion it was appropriate for.

"Melinda got Morelle several options," Brandon said.

"Well, if you'd like to try something different, you're welcome to shop in my closet," Amanda offered with a wink. "We have a similar build, and I have quite a collection."

"That's very kind of you, Amanda, but I'm sure that what's hanging in my closet will do. Brandon's personal shopper did a great job picking out my clothing."

"Let's sort out dresses later," Syssi suggested. "First, we should see if Morelle can nullify Jin and Mey's abilities. Their talents are quite different from what we've tested before."

"What are your talents?" Morelle asked the sisters.

"I can tether a string of my consciousness to anyone I touch," Jin said. "And once I'm connected, I can see and hear everything they hear and see in real-time. I make the perfect spy."

Morelle's eyes were peeled wide. "That's probably the most amazing talent I've heard about so far. And here I thought that Cassandra's ability to blow things up was astonishing."

Jin chuckled. "Wait until you hear what Mey can do."

Mey waved a dismissive hand. "My talent is not nearly as unique or useful as my sister's. I can hear echoes of conversations embedded in walls. Usually, only emotionally charged events leave echoes, and the more charged they are, the stronger the echo."

"Fascinating," Morelle said, already wondering how her nullifying ability would interact with such different powers.

She turned to Amanda. "How do you want to test it?"

"Hold on." Amanda waved over Mey's impressive mate. "Yamanu also has a unique talent. He can shroud and thrall entire cities. The problem is that he can only affect humans, so we can't really test your ability on him. I just wanted to introduce him properly."

Morelle dipped her head. "I'm duly impressed."

He cast her a bright smile.

"Dinner is ready," Annani said. "We should eat first."