AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"You are right. Toven should be there, and therefore Mia. Where are we going to fit everyone in?"
"Amanda and Sari are shoving furniture into the other rooms, or rather directing my Odus where to take what. Their idea is to leave only one armchair in the living room and for everyone else to stand."
"Or kneel!" Amanda yelled. "I don't want anyone looming over our mother."
"We can put the armchair on top of the coffee table and drape it with the bed cover," Syssi suggested. "It will make it look like a real throne."
Kian shook his head. "I will leave the decorating details to you and your army. I need to call Aru."
"Yes, please do. I will await them at six o'clock sharp."
"Yes, Mother."
"Thank you." As she ended the call, Kian put the phone in his pocket and turned to his future brothers-in-law and the Guardians. "Well, you heard the Clan Mother. You will all meet the new gods sooner than you expected."
"I can't wait." David looked at his half-smoked cigar. "I should have saved this for after the meeting."
"I'm glad that we are heading out of the harbor." Anandur rubbed the back of his neck. "We have one more guest who doesn't know about gods and immortals yet, and when she finds out during dinner tonight, she won't be able to escape the ship."
"Who are you talking about?" Dalhu asked.
"Ms. Francesca Canal. Mia's best friend and a potential Dormant."
Dagor
"You look happy." Gabi regarded Dagor with a critical appraisal. "What did you find out on your exploration of the ship?"
Dagor couldn't wipe the smile off his face, but he didn't want to share Frankie with Gabi or with his friends. It was nice to have someone who was just his, even if it was for one night. He had gone on way too many double and triple dates with his teammates.
"I discovered a bar on the top deck, got a drink, and lounged in the sun."
Gabi looked skeptical. "That must have been a very good drink."
"It was. I even took a picture of the bottle to order it for us later, but the bartender was the most interesting part about the top deck bar. It's a very sophisticated robot—a far cry from an Odu, but superior to the simple robots they have on other cruise liners."
The truth was that he had yet to learn about robots serving drinks on other ships. He'd found out about them by searching the internet on his way back to the cabin.
Over on the couch, Negal chuckled. "Some males get excited over meeting an interesting female. Dagor gets excited about meeting an interesting piece of machinery."
"Bob is very exciting." Dagor sat next to Negal on the couch.
"Bob?" Gabi chuckled. "They named him Bob?"
Frankie had reacted similarly to the name, and Dagor wondered what was so funny about it. He'd met many humans named Bob.
"Why do you find the name amusing?" he asked.
Gabi laughed, and her cheeks reddened. "Bob, as a guy's name, is not funny. It's only amusing when it's given to a machine."
"You still didn't explain why."
Letting out a breath, Gabi lifted her eyes to the ceiling. "BOB is also an acronym for a battery-operated boyfriend."
Dagor's eyes widened. "I was not aware that humans had invented such sophisticated lifelike pleasure robots. Where can I get my hands on one?"
Gabi's shoulders started shaking, and a moment later, she was laughing so hard that Dagor and Negal couldn't help but join her even though they didn't understand what was so funny about the question.
When Aru entered the living room and saw the three of them laughing, he arched a brow. "What did I miss?"
