Page 89 of Dark Destiny: A New Thread in the Tapestry

"We are aware," Onegus said. "Let Losham celebrate his victory for one day. Then we will talk to him about everything else."

"The Sacred Mothers are the top priority." Kian rose to his feet. "The cult needs to be dealt with, and the best way to go about that is to eliminate the head. This is the first order we will be giving Losham tomorrow."

Onegus pushed away from the table. "I'm calling it a night." He stood up. "Everything else can wait for tomorrow."

Kian nodded. "I still need to report the results of the operation to my mother. She asked to be notified." He pulled out his phone and texted to ask if she was still in the clinic.

Her return text came in a moment later.

Your sisters and I are in the café. Come join us.

The village café was closed for the night, the chairs stacked, but the moon shone brightly, providing ample light, especially for immortals who didn't need much to see. The vending machines emitted a gentle glow, lighting the back of the café, which was shaded by large trees and therefore darker than the front seating area.

His mother, Alena, Amanda, and Sari sat around a small table nestled against the hedge that marked the café's boundary.

They had paper cups of machine-made cappuccino in front of them and a scatter of cellophane pastry wrappers between them, evidence that they had enjoyed the other vending machine's offerings as well.

He took a moment to savor the sight of his family gathered in one place. It didn't happen often because Sari seldom made the trip from Scotland, and they seldom traveled to see her. It took a major event like a wedding or the resurrection of their mother's beloved to get them together.

"There he is." Amanda spotted him first. "Sit down, Kian. You look like you could use a cappuccino."

"I'm over-caffeinated as it is." He stepped next to each one of them, leaned, and kissed their cheeks.

"I got Mother out of the ward for a little bit and called Amanda and Sari to join us," Alena said. "Khiann's asleep, and Gertrude promised to call the second he stirs."

Sari got up and walked over to the vending machines. "I'm getting you a cappuccino. You can drink it if you want or not."

"Thank you."

Kian sat, and when Sari handed him a cup, he wrapped his hands around it. As he looked at the four faces turned toward him, his shoulders released their tension, and the heaviness in his chest eased.

"Good news?" Sari asked.

He nodded. "It's always good news when my family is all in one place."

Sari put her hand over her heart. "Was that sentimentality? Someone write down the date. But seriously. How did the mission go?"

"It was executed perfectly." Kian met Annani's eyes. "All eighteen are gone, Losham's rule is now unchallenged, and we control him. Good news for the clan." He took a sip of the cappuccino, which wasn't bad for something that had come out of a vending machine, but it didn't come close to Syssi's masterpieces. "The one who ran the enclosure was among the five junior brothers that Losham had marked for elimination. Whatever the Sacred Mothers thought they could get away with under his protection is less likely to happen now, but I'm not leaving that to luck. Tomorrow, we will contact Losham again and tell him to eliminate the head of the order."

His sisters stopped smiling, and Sari turned to look at their mother.

"I will not mourn them," she said. "They did monstrous things, and the world is safer without them in it. The children in that enclosure are safer tonight than they were this morning." She folded a piece of cellophane. "But those five junior brothers have mothers who do not yet know that their sons are gone, and I will mourn for them. I will mourn for what these males could have been if Navuh had not taken them away from their mothers and turned them into monsters." She looked at him. "It needed to be done, though, and you did it well, and doing a terrible thing well is a burden I wish I could carry for you."

Kian's throat tightened. "My job is to do all those terrible things you would rather not, and I'm honored to do them. So please, don't feel guilty for putting me in charge."

Annani nodded. "Thank you."

"There's one more thing," he said. "Navuh should be told that his sons are dead, or rather, the males he claimed as sons. We haven't told him about the seniors yet either, and I think it is time to deliver the news. I can do it by myself or with you, Mother. It's your choice."

"I have no interest in revenge." She reached across the table and covered his hand, over the paper cup and all. "In the past, I took great satisfaction in delivering bad news to Navuh, but even then I would not have wanted to deliver this kind of news. Do not be cruel when you tell him. Those were his sons, even if only in name, and no one should gloat over a father losing his children."

His mother was too merciful for her own good, and Kian would have had no problem delivering the news and gloating, but he would do as she requested.

"Now that I have Khiann back," Annani continued. "My place is beside him. This morning he said my name, and I intend to say it back to him until he remembers what it means. I have no time for Navuh."

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NAVUH