Page 62 of Dark Destiny: The Turning Of The Loom

"You have already met half of them, so there is no reason to fret."

"I am not fretting. I just want to know whom to address by which name. I know Kian, Syssi, and Allegra. Amanda, Dalhu, and Evie. Alena and Orion, with the little birthday boy. Toven and Mia, and your brother and sister and their mates. I have not met Toven's side of the family or Alena's other children yet, and I do not remember who is who."

"Only four of Alena's children will be there. The others are in Scotland and in the sanctuary. As for Toven's side of the family, it is a tangled web, and I did not even tell you how they found each other and their way to the clan because that will only confuse you."

"Thank you. For now, the names will suffice."

"Very well. Alena's children who will attend the party are Sorcha, Tavish, Una, and Innis. None of them is mated, so they will come alone. Geraldine is Toven's daughter, and she is mated to Shai, who is Kian's assistant. She is petite, dark-haired, and very pretty. She has two daughters, Darlene, who is mated to Eric, and Cassandra, who is mated to Onegus, the chief of the Guardians. Darlene looks a lot like Geraldine, just a little bigger, and Cassandra looks nothing like either of them because she takes after her father. She is tall and intense, and she can make things explode with just her thoughts. Roni is Darlene's son, and he is mated to Sylvia. Roni is a talented decipherer, and Sylvia can disable devices with her mind. That is eight new people."

There was no word for hacker in the old tongue, or maybe there was, but it had never been used because so few of the gods had anything hackable.

She had not yet told him what Ell-rom and Morelle's talents were, and she would not do so today. Ell-rom's was terrifying, and Khiann might not be ready to hear about it.

"The names sound foreign to me," Khiann said. "That is why they are so difficult to remember. But I will not forget that one can cause things to explode and the other can make things stop working."

"They will introduce themselves." She looked over her shoulder at the box walking behind them. "Ogidu, please stay close to Master Khiann and whisper the names of people he is talking to into his ear if he seems to have trouble remembering who they are."

"Of course, Clan Mother."

Khiann shook his head. "This will be too embarrassing."

"It should not be. My father had a servant whisper the names of visitors into his ear so he could greet everyone as if he knew them. It worked flawlessly."

He was silent for a moment. "Have you always been like this?"

"Like what?"

"Decisive."

She laughed. "Yes, and you used to say it was one of my most charming qualities."

"I doubt I used that word."

"You used a different one, but you meant charming."

Orion opened the door before they reached it, and he was not alone. Evander Tellesious sat on his shoulders, both fists buried in Orion's hair, wearing a paper crown that read BIRTHDAY BOY in gold letters. He was bouncing hard enough that the crown had slipped over one eye.

"Look who is here," Orion said in the overly cheerful singsong voice parents of small children used. "It is Annani and Khiann, and look, Ogidu is carrying a very big box. Is it for you? I think it is."

E.T. regarded the box with grave suspicion, then grabbed a fresh fistful of his father's hair and bounced. "Be box. Be box."

"Yes," Orion said. "Big box. Please, come in. Everyone is already here."

Khiann turned to her. "Are we late?"

"No." She patted his shoulder. "We are right on time."

Syssi was in the living room with Allegra, who sat beside her on the couch, wearing a pink dress that looked like frosting on a cake and matching pink sandals with rhinestones.

"Good morning." Syssi rose to her feet and gave Annani a hug. "You look lovely, as always." She turned to Khiann and bent to embrace him as well. "I know it must be overwhelming to meet so many people at once, but it's nice to have a big, loud family." She straightened. "The house is full of warmth."

Annani turned as Orion passed by with the baby on his shoulders, the paper crown bouncing with each step. "I have a theory about your vision, Syssi."

"Let's hear it."

"The crown." Annani pointed at E.T., whose crown was now pushed all the way back and resting on his curls like a halo. "It floats."

Syssi laughed. "Maybe. I would happily take that explanation."