AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"I will do no such thing. This is my family, my clan, and I will present myself to them how they are accustomed. I will not make compromises to accommodate the humans."
"Eating in your suite this first evening is not a bad idea," Amanda said. "Did you forget about the three gods you want to meet? If they see you at dinner, you will lose the element of surprise. Your options are to meet them before dinner, which leaves you little time, or eat in your suite tonight and schedule the meeting for tomorrow.
Annani did not want to stay in her suite while her family gathered in the dining hall. It was a shame she would have to cut short her tea time with her daughters, though.
"I will call Kian immediately and tell him to get the gods here as soon as possible. You are welcome to stay and witness the meeting."
Sari and Amanda exchanged glances with Alena and Syssi, and then all four nodded.
"We will stay," Amanda said. "Although it might get crowded here with our mates and all the Guardians Kian will bring to protect you."
"We will manage." Annani pulled out her phone.
Kian
"Everyone who is supposed to be on board is here already." Anandur looked up from his tablet. "We can set sail."
"Inform the captain," Kian said.
"Will do, boss."
As Anandur walked back inside, Orion leaned against the railing and tapped the ash from his cigar into the water. "This is your first time on the ship, right?"
Kian nodded. "I was supposed to be on her maiden voyage, but then the Kra-ell needed rescuing, and her first passengers included a flock of sheep and goats." He grimaced. "I was afraid they would never be able to get rid of the smell, but thankfully, the restoration contractor brought her back to her pristine condition. We changed her name, though, so you can say that it's her maiden voyage as the Silver Swan."
"It was the Aurora before." Anandur closed the balcony door behind him to prevent the smoke from entering the cabin. "I liked that name—the goddess of the dawn. The Silver Swan has a negative connotation."
Kian wasn't aware of it. The only comment he'd gotten so far about the name was that it was also the name of a soy sauce. "What's the connotation?"
Anandur lifted one bushy red brow. "Don't you ever read comics? The Silver Swan is Wonder Woman's adversary. Wonder got upset when she saw the name, but I told her that you probably didn't know when you renamed the ship."
"Of course, I didn't. I also didn't know that the two of you read comics."
The only thing that bothered him was that Wonder had gotten upset for no reason. When the new name for the ship had popped into his mind, Kian hadn't questioned it.
Anandur opened his mouth to say something, and closed it as Kian's phone chimed with the ringtone he'd assigned to his mother.
Pulling the device from his pocket, he answered, "Hello, Mother. How is the tea going?"
"We are enjoying a very pleasant afternoon, but your very clever mate made a most relevant suggestion about my meeting with the three gods. I cannot wait until tomorrow to meet them because they will see me tonight at dinner, and I will lose the element of surprise. If I want to see their response, it must happen today."
"That's less than two hours from now."
"I am well aware of the time constraints, but since you did not want me to meet them before the cruise, it will have to happen right now. You can invite them to my suite. Your mate and sisters want to witness the gods' reactions to me, and they asked me to let them stay. I suggest that you and my sons-in-law join us as well." She chuckled, and as always, the sound made the skin on his arms rise with goosebumps. "I will hold court in my suite, and you all can be my courtiers. The Guardians will be my royal guard."
"I see that you have given it a lot of thought."
His mother laughed. "Two minutes were enough to imagine a grand setting. It comes naturally to me."
"Yes, I know."
"We should also invite Toven. Aru and his teammates will immediately recognize him for who he is, so it would be better for him to attend the meeting as well."
"If Toven suppresses his glow, he could be mistaken for an immortal. He and Orion look practically the same."
Next to him, Orion made a face. "I'm not as perfectly made as my father. The differences are subtle, but they are there, and they are noticeable."
He had a point, but Kian needed to find out if Aru would notice. He'd said that Kian looked more like a god than an immortal, and combined with everything else he'd said, it was clear that not all gods were as perfect as Annani or even Toven.
