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Aru's face fell, and his two companions looked even more despondent.
The god took a deep breath. "No one needs to know that. I assume that there are no witnesses left to attest to Your Highness's legitimacy. No one can prove that Your Highness's parents were not officially married when Your Highness was conceived."
Annani laughed. "Please stop referring to me as Your Highness. The cumbersome third-person address is a tongue-twister. You can call me Annani, or Clan Mother if you prefer a formal address."
Aru swallowed. "As you wish, Clan Mother."
Annani motioned for Kian to stand by her side. "Let us put an end to this charade. I want to sit down and do not wish for everyone else to remain standing. Please tell the Odus to bring chairs for everyone and then serve refreshments."
"Yes, Mother." He helped her get back to her chair.
Not wanting the Odus to leave his mother's side even for a moment, he motioned for the Guardians to bring the chairs. As soon as Annani realized what he was doing, she leaned over toward her Odu. "Can you please lift this armchair off the coffee table and put it on the floor?"
As two Odus grabbed the chair on both sides and lowered it to the floor, Annani turned to look at Aru and his companions, who were still on their knees. She took her place again on the chair. "My daughters thought it would look grand to make me a makeshift throne, but I do not need one to feel important." She moved her knees to the side and leaned forward. "To tell you the truth, I have never owned a throne."
A muffled chuckle from behind the gods reminded everyone that they had forgotten Annani's fourth guest.
"Gabriella." Annani waved her hand. "Please rise and approach me."
"Yes, Clan Mother." Gabi pushed to her feet and walked over to Annani's armchair. "I don't know what I'm supposed to say, so I'll go with what I know. It's an honor to meet the mother of this clan of immortals who have done so many wonderful things for humanity."
Annani smiled brightly. "Who told you about that?"
"My brothers and their mates. They visited me and Aru several times, full of stories about how your clan lifted humans from the Dark Ages and taught them what they should strive for as a society. But I don't think they know who you really are, or maybe they do and are not allowed to tell me because I'm with Aru." She cast him a sidelong glance. "Why are you still kneeling?"
"It's improper for me to tower over her Highness."
That got another laugh out of Annani. "That is a really silly custom. Given my height, everyone around me would have to walk on their knees not to tower over me. Please rise and take a seat."
"You are most gracious, Clan Mother." Instead of rising, Aru lowered his head nearly to the floor again.
Watching these gods acting so deferential to his mother eased the knot of stress in Kian's stomach. He hadn't expected any trouble from them, and his precautions were out of an abundance of caution. Still, it was difficult for him to relax when his mother put herself out there.
Regardless, it seemed that the only threat these gods represented was showing Annani too much deference and reverence and inflating her ego to dangerous proportions.
"Don't worry about towering over my mother." Kian chuckled. "If she can look down her nose at me even though I'm nearly a foot and a half taller than her, she can do the same to you."
The Guardians were still bringing chairs, but there were already enough seats for the gods and Gabi to take, and all the ladies were seated.
Looking as if he was chewing on lemons, Aru nodded and pushed up, but he didn't straighten to his full height. Instead, he backed into a chair so he wouldn't have to stand or turn his back on Annani.
Dagor
Dagor pushed to his feet with trembling knees. Discovering that an heir survived was a shock he was still reeling from, but it wasn't the only one he'd experienced upon entering her Highness's chambers.
Four Odus guarded the goddess, two on each side, and none of them was Kian's butler.
How many Odus did the clan have, and did they know how incredibly valuable these cyborgs were?
These Odus had been built before the manufacturing process moved to the solid-state model that was impervious to reverse engineering. The Odus had been only one of the reasons for the change. The big conglomerates did not want their technology stolen by small operators in the colonies, where it was more difficult to ensure compliance with Anumati's laws.
The Odus guarding the heir were relics, but some of their components were no doubt solid state as well. Still, the rest might lend itself to reverse engineering.
Dagor would have loved to take a look, but the truth was that without formal qualifications in engineering, he didn't know enough to do so safely.
Once everyone was seated and the Odus had served drinks and other refreshments, the heir reclined in her armchair and regarded Aru with a kind look. "Tell me about my grandmother and in what way I resemble her."
"With pleasure." Aru put his water bottle on the floor beside his chair. "I wish I had a picture to show you. You have her face, down to the most minute details, but her hair isn't red, and she's much taller."
