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Alena laughed. "I'm over two thousand years old. I don't remember ever being a young girl."
"I am much older, and I remember." Annani smoothed the folds of her gown. "I remember every lesson my mother taught me even though I did not want to follow her instructions. It took me long years to realize the wisdom of her lessons." She sighed. "I still miss her, and I miss my father. That never goes away." Her eyes misted with tears. "But most of all, I miss Khiann. Not a day goes by that I do not think of him."
Following her mother's words, a sad hush fell over the room, but it didn't last long.
"This is a time to celebrate." Amanda glared at their mother. "I don't know what has gotten into all of you. No negative thoughts are allowed in here." She waved at Onidu. "I need another margarita."
"Yes, mistress. Another margarita is coming right up."
"Where is Evie?" Annani asked.
"Napping in her stroller. I put her in the bedroom with a baby monitor." Amanda tapped her ear. "If she wakes up, I'll hear her."
"I hope she wakes up soon," Carol said. "I want to see her."
"Careful," Syssi said. "Babies are known to be contagious."
Carol laughed. "I'm immune. There are no babies for me as long as Lokan is playing the double agent role. It's too dangerous."
As everyone nodded and another hush fell over the room, Amanda shook her head. "What did I say about bringing up depressing topics? Only happy thoughts are allowed in here."
Annani
The truth was that Annani was trying to appear cheerful for Alena's sake, but at times like this, she missed Khiann more than ever.
He should have been there with her, celebrating the weddings of his children, but the Fates had been cruel to her and robbed her of a life with him.
The children born to her had been fathered by humans, good, intelligent, courageous men whom she had picked carefully. They all resembled her Khiann in one way or another, so she could pretend that he had been their real father, and maybe in spirit he was.
The prophecy she had been given had said so, and it had promised her two more children.
Except, that would be a tough act to pull off, given how rarely she got intimate with humans lately. It was not like her to abstain, and it worried her that, as of late, she had no desire for the pleasures of the flesh.
Was she getting to the age when some gods were starting to lose their minds?
Was she depressed?
Having Vanessa assess her mental state was out of the question because Annani had an image to uphold. Her clan looked up to her, and she needed to appear strong at all times. Her only option was to seek out a human psychologist in the city and shroud herself while going to sessions.
It could be fun to get out of the village a couple times a week and spend an hour talking to someone who did not know who and what she was.
Annani chuckled to herself. The therapist would probably think that she suffered from delusions of grandeur and had a god complex.
The other problem was that she would have to tell Kian, and he would get worried. Oh well, she could always blame her melancholy on loneliness. Since losing Alena as her companion, Annani had been lonelier than ever.
"I have been thinking about the Fates lately," Syssi said, pulling Annani out of her somber thoughts. "Are there only three for the entire universe, or does each planet get its own trio? Maybe even each continent?"
Jacki chuckled. "I think there should be a trio of Fates for each zip code. Just think how much work they have to do."
"That's an interesting concept." Amanda tapped her margarita glass with the tip of her fingernail. "They may be known as the three Fates because they always work in teams of three. Kind of like the gods. Perhaps it's not a coincidence that Aru's team has three members."
Alena put her teacup down. "One thing is for sure. The Fates did not take over the bodies of these three gods to send us a message. Those three are just too male to house the energy of female entities."
The same thought had occurred to Annani, and checking her hunch that the Fates had guided the gods to the clan had been one of the reasons she had wanted to meet them in person. Regrettably, she had dismissed the idea for the same reason Alena had. There was nothing even remotely feminine in the way those gods conducted themselves. If the Fates had been involved, they had done it through other means. They had not taken over the gods' bodies.
"I think I met the Fates," Syssi said quietly. "My grandmother, may her soul rest in peace, had three dear friends in the retirement home she lived in until she died. I used to visit her and read to them, and after she had passed, I continued to do so. They were always pushing my buttons for the fun of it, making me read racy stories to them just to see me blush. Still, when I met Kian and brought him with me to my reading session, they really went overboard, pushing me to overcome my shyness and show Kian that I was interested. Then, after Kian and I became a couple, the three of them suddenly decided to move to Florida, and I lost track of them. I think that's very suspicious."
With a groan, Alena pushed to her feet. "As fascinating as the subject of the Fates is, I should start getting ready. I will run a bath and soak in it until I feel relaxed." She turned to Amanda. "After that, I'm all yours to do with as you please."
