AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He'd forgotten to suppress his glow, and his skin was still luminous.
Mia sighed. "You don't have to fall asleep for Tom to make you forget this conversation ever happened. But there is a reason we dumped all of this on you now instead of doing it gradually."
Frankie opened her eyes and turned her head toward Mia. "And the reason is?"
Mia took Toven's hand. "Tom is not the only glowing god attending the welcome dinner tonight, and we didn't want you to freak out when you saw the Clan Mother enter the dining hall in all of her luminous glory. Besides, most people on this cruise are immortal and are here to celebrate several weddings. They don't want to have to be mindful of the one human who doesn't know about them and hide who they are."
"They don't all glow, though, right? Otherwise, you would be glowing too."
That was an astute observation, which Toven hoped meant that Frankie was over her initial shock.
As the girl licked her lips, Mia turned to him. "Can you bring a bottle of water for Frankie?"
Toven was glad to have something to do instead of standing beside the couch with his hands in his pockets.
"So, your boyfriend is a god?" Frankie whispered, unaware of his exceptional hearing.
"He is, and he can hear you, no matter how quietly you whisper. That's one of the perks of being a god or an immortal. Enhanced hearing, eyesight, physical strength, speed, stamina, and most importantly, the ability to heal almost anything, including re-growing amputated limbs."
Toven uncapped one of the bottles of water he'd brought and handed it to Frankie. He gave the other to Mia. "By the way, most people on board call me Toven. I go by Tom and Toven, so you can keep calling me Tom."
"Okay." Frankie lowered her feet to the floor and sat up. "I must have drunk a bit too much today."
"How much did you have?" Mia asked.
"Actually, not that much. Earlier, I had two mojitos at the bar, and I made myself one gin and tonic before you came and another one after, but I didn't even take a sip from it yet."
Mia leaned closer to her friend. "Are you wearing Spanx?"
"No." Frankie glowered at Mia. "That's not why I fainted, and if Tom, aka Toven, can hear your whispers, why do you bother?"
"Habit, I guess." Mia smoothed her hand over her short hair. "I was human most of my life and an immortal for about half a year. It takes time to get used to all the peculiarities of that world."
Mia hadn't complained to him about it. Still, he could imagine that the transition was about more than the physical changes and was more challenging than Mia made it seem.
"You will have to save the rest of your questions for later," he said. "We should get moving if we don't want to be late for dinner."
Frankie looked panicked. "Will I be the only human there?"
"No." Mia smiled. "All the serving staff are human, and several clan members are either too young to transition or can't for other reasons." When Frankie still looked like a deer caught in the headlights, Mia put a hand on her knee. "Gods, immortals, and humans are all people. The same things make them happy or sad, make them laugh or cry. As long as you remember that, you'll be fine."
As Frankie shifted her gaze to Toven, he nodded. "I put my pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. You've known me a long time yet never noticed that I was different."
A snort escaped Frankie's mouth. "Oh, I noticed, but it never occurred to me that you didn't just look like a god and talk like a king, but that you were indeed a god, and probably at some point in the past also a king."
Kian
After the gods left with Gabi, Toven departed with Mia, and the Guardians returned to their stations; the Odus restored Annani's living room to its previous condition.
Before dinner, there wasn't much time left to reflect on the meeting, but Kian wanted to hear her impression of the three gods.
Usually, his mother was a better judge of character than he was.
"So, what do you think?" He sat on the armchair facing the couch where his mother sat down with Amanda on one side and Sari on the other.
Syssi joined him in the large armchair, sitting in his lap and leaning against his chest.
"To see them drop to their knees and hear them call me Your Highness was startling." Annani's lips lifted in a sly smile. "It was quite refreshing to garner such reverence. Perhaps you all should start calling me Your Majesty."
