75. Annani

75

ANNANI

A nnani observed Ell-rom's response and the warring emotions playing across his face.

"What Mortdh did was not your fault, and it was not even he who killed the gods, so you should not blame yourself. Navuh is not right in the head for blaming you even if he does not know about the Eternal King and his assassins."

Relief washed over Annani. She knew that Ell-rom was right and that the demise of the gods was not her fault, even if Mortdh had been the one to drop the bomb. It was survivor's guilt, and logically she rejected it, but in her heart, doubt lingered.

"Thank you. In my mind, I know that you are right, but my heart is harder to convince."

Beside her, Kian shifted uneasily, his jaw clenched and his eyes wary as he watched her brother with suspicion and concern.

Annani ignored him.

Ell-rom was not a threat. She felt it in her heart and her gut.

"Let us go back to why your mother feared for your lives and snuck you onto the settler ship."

Ell-rom frowned. "Wasn't it because Morelle and I are hybrids? If we had been discovered, we would have been killed, and so would she. That was what Jade told me."

"That is true, but there is more." She took a deep breath. "The Eternal King feared you. The belief was that a product of god and Kra-ell would be an abomination, which could mean a hideous creature or one so powerful that it could be a threat to the king. He wanted to eliminate you the same way he wanted to eliminate your father, just for different reasons."

"I don't have any special powers; I don't think I do."

Annani nodded. "You are still weak from the stasis, so we need to wait and see about that. It is also possible that Morelle is the more powerful of the two of you. Your Kra-ell genes might make her so."

He nodded. "It is possible, but I don't remember much about her. She was protective of me, that's the one memory I have of her." He sighed. "I guess our mother did not know that the Eternal King planned to kill our father. Otherwise, she wouldn't have sent us to him."

"I do not know for certain if that was her plan. But if I were in her place, that is what I would have done. I would have sent my children to the one person I knew would protect them. Ahn was progressive, and he did not believe in all that abomination nonsense. He was much more open to interracial relationships. After all, he allowed gods to take human partners. That is how immortals were born."

"Was it common practice to send Kra-ell settlers to other planets?" Ell-rom asked.

"Pressures were growing on Anumati about the Kra-ell multiplying much faster than the gods. After the rebellion ended and the King of the gods and the Queen of the Kra-ell negotiated a truce, an agreement was reached that the Kra-ell would start colonizing other planets. That was long before Earth was declared a forbidden planet and expunged from the records. A settler ship was sent to Earth, and the queen smuggled you on board, hoping your father would take you in and protect you. Then something happened, and the ship was lost in space, and communications with it were lost."

Annani couldn't tell Ell-rom who was responsible for the ship's sabotage.

Their grandmother's part in the plot still needed to remain a secret.

Next to her, Kian released a breath as if he feared that she would tell Ell-rom about her communications with the queen of Anumati.

She cast him a quick glance and shook her head at him. He should know that she would never do a thing like that. She would not betray Aru's trust and endanger his sister even if the risk was nearly nonexistent.

"By the time the ship arrived, your mother was long gone." Annani squeezed her brother's hand. "The Kra-ell are long-lived but not immortal. They have a lifespan of around a thousand Earth years."

Annani didn't add that the queen hadn't gotten to live to that old age. She had suffered an accident that was most likely also an assassination.

Ell-rom swallowed. "I wish I could remember her. I dreamt about her, but it was just a few snippets in time. I got the impression that she cared about us but also that she was remote."

"She was the queen." Annani gave him a reassuring smile. "According to Jade, the Kra-ell do not believe in coddling their children. Although observing them living in our village, I would say this is only partially true. They are affectionate with the little ones but also strict." She sighed. "On Anumati, where tribal wars used to claim the lives of many young males, mothers needed to distance themselves from their children, and those Kra-ell social norms persisted even after the tribal wars were outlawed. Here on Earth, where their offspring are most likely to live to old age, there is no need to adopt such strict practices."

Ell-rom nodded. "That's good to know. What about Ahn? What kind of a father was he?"

"He was the ruler of the gods and had to project a certain persona. He also needed to raise me to be strong so I could one day become a ruler. But he still showed me love even though he was not the type to hug or kiss freely. He was a good male. Brave, disciplined, and dedicated to his people."