Page 112 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

When she surfaced some time later, the candles in the bathroom had gone out, Khiann was no longer inside of her, and he was cradling her against his chest.

"Welcome back," he said. "Did you have a nice time in the clouds?"

"The best. But I prefer it here, in your arms."

"You were gone a long time, my beautiful flower."

Annani froze. "That is what you used to call me back then. You remembered."

"I did not remember it," he said, and there was a note of sadness in his voice. "I just thought of it now. You are my beautiful flower."

39

KHIANN

Khiann stood in front of the full-length mirror in the master suite closet of the penthouse, suit jacket on and the shirt underneath unbuttoned, marveling at how it had been tailored to fit him so perfectly without him attending a single fitting.

Even Esag had not been aware of the technology that could scan a body with a beam of light, calculate the exact dimensions of everything that needed measuring, and translate those dimensions into a pattern for the tailor to use.

Did they have this kind of technology on the gods' home planet?

Probably.

A civilization that had conquered space could probably manufacture garments with a verbal command or even a thought, without a single godly hand involved. That begged the question of why so few of those wonders had been available to the exiled gods on Earth.

Had they been dropped off with next to nothing as punishment?

Or had all those technological marvels been lost over the thousands of years after contact with the home world had been severed?

Annani and Toven did not know, and neither did the three gods who had arrived from Anumati not too long ago. The story of the rebels and their exile to Earth had been expunged from the Anumatian historical records, and talk about them was forbidden.

The Eternal King must have fiercely feared the prophecy that his blood would end his rule.

Anger rose as Khiann was reminded of the threat posed to Annani by her own grandfather, but he shoved those intrusive thoughts aside because they did not belong on his wedding day while he was getting ready.

He ran a hand through his thick hair, which had grown significantly over the past three weeks. Annani had brought in Angelica to give him the slightest of trims, hovering over the recently transitioned immortal to make sure she did not cut too much.

Khiann smiled.

Annani liked his hair long, and whatever Annani liked, she got. She had also chosen his tuxedo style, fabric, and the midnight-blue color, and he approved of all her choices.

The cut emphasized the breadth of his shoulders and tapered his slim hips without being too tight or too loose, and the color suited his skin and hair shades much better than black would have, which was the other traditional choice for the formal garment.

It probably would not fit him in a couple of weeks, but he did not intend to wear it again. He would save it as a memento.

Outside the bedroom door, the penthouse was filling up.

He picked up the little midnight-blue bow tie and looked at it. He knew it was supposed to go around the collar of his shirt, but he did not know how to do that.

Annani was getting ready for the ceremony with her daughters and friends in the penthouse across the vestibule. He was not supposed to see her until she arrived at the altar, so he could not ask her to do it for him.

The living room was full of males who could probably handle a bow tie with their eyes closed, and he was about to walk out there when the bedroom door opened, and Esag put his head in.

"Need help?"

"Yes." Khiann turned around, the tie dangling from his fingers. "How do I put this on?"

Esag came in and shut the door behind him. He was in a black tuxedo, and he kept rolling his shoulders as if the jacket was armor.