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"Kian." Kalugal waved a hand in front of his face. "Whatever you are thinking about right now, think about something else. The waves of aggression you're emitting are unhealthy for our children."
"You are right." Kian took a deep, centering breath and glanced at Allegra's worried little face. "It's okay, sweetie. Daddy is not angry."
Fates, one day the responsibility for all this crap would fall on her shoulders, and he wanted better for her. He wanted the utopian world his mother imagined, but he knew that it would never come.
Wishing it wouldn't make it so, nor would all the effort his mother and his clan had put into changing things for the better.
The best he could do was keep his people safe and hope his efforts would do.
"I'm not going to warn the Brotherhood about the Eternal King's threat." He reached for a piece of toast. "Navuh would not help us. If anything, he and his minions would try to sabotage our efforts."
Kalugal took Darius from Jacki and cradled the baby to his chest. "Regrettably, I have to agree. I just want to save my mother."
"People," Amanda said in an exasperated tone. "We are here to celebrate, and you are depressing everyone."
"Sorry about that." Kian cast her an apologetic look.
Kalugal, being Kalugal, plastered a smile on his face. "I haven't been introduced to the new gods yet, and I'm offended that Jacki and I weren't invited to the meeting with them yesterday."
"I can introduce you right now." Kian pushed away from the table.
The disturbing thoughts had ruined his appetite.
Kalugal handed the baby back to Jacki. "Do you want to come with me to meet them?"
His tone indicated he wasn't in favor, and Jacki must have picked up on it.
She shook her head. "Perhaps later."
As he and Kalugal headed toward the gods' table, Kian wondered whether Aru had contacted his leaders on Anumati. If what he suspected was accurate and the god could communicate telepathically with someone on his home planet, he could do that from anywhere and could have done it already.
Aru and his teammates had met Annani and figured out who she was. Now, the question was what he would do with the information. Kian needed to get Aru alone and ask him point blank how he communicated with his leaders.
Stressed couldn't begin to describe how Kian felt.
Perhaps that was why he had been inundated by thoughts of the past that he thought he had suppressed. The past never stayed in the past, and the cycle of horrors was always repeated. People just never learned.
As they got to the gods' table, Kalugal offered his hand to Gabi first.
"I'm Kalugal, Kian's much better-looking and more charming cousin. I'm also a council member."
"Hi." She gave him her hand and rose to her feet. "I'm Gabi. It's nice to meet you."
After hearing that Kalugal was a council member, the three gods rose to their feet as well.
"No need to stand." He smiled. "I just came to introduce myself."
He shook hands with the three gods, who remained standing, exchanging names and pleasantries.
"Please, join us." Aru brought over a chair from the next table for Kian, and Negal did the same for Kalugal.
"By the way, congratulations." Kalugal turned to Gabi. "On your transition as well as on finding your mate. You must have done a lot of good in your short life to deserve such a boon."
She shook her head. "I have no idea what I have done to deserve a god for a mate, but I'm thankful to the universe and the Fates for blessing me so."
"Indeed." Kalugal nodded.
"By the way," Kian said. "We are having an impromptu bachelor party for my future brother-in-law in my suite. Would you like to join us for whiskey and cigars?"
