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“Mother or Annani will suffice, dear. I have told you so many times.”
Syssi smiled sheepishly. “I know, and I apologize for having difficulty addressing you informally, but can you blame me? No human or immortal can be in your presence and treat you casually.”
“Is it the glow?” Annani lifted her arm and looked at her luminous skin. “I can do away with it.” The glow disappeared before the last word had left her mouth.
“It's not just the glow. Your power is palpable whether your skin is luminous or not, and you are the second most important person in the galaxy.” Syssi smiled. “Possibly, the most important.”
Annani
Unmoved by Syssi's declaration, Annani put her hand on her daughter-in-law's thigh. “Semantics, dear. I am just as important today as I was yesterday or a month ago.” She smiled. “I admit to having a big ego, but not so big as to think of myself as the most important person in the galaxy.”
“But you are,” Syssi insisted. “You're the Eternal King's only legitimate heir.”
“So what? That only puts a target on my back. Besides, even if my grandfather did not want me dead, I would not want to be in the position of one day having to step into his shoes. They are too big for my tiny feet.”
Annani had always been embarrassed by her child-like feet, but since the idiom fit so aptly, she lifted her leg and let the skirt of her floor-length gown slide up and reveal her foot.
Kian chuckled. “Your feet might be small, but they leave big impressions.”
Syssi laughed. “That was a good answer, Kian.”
He looked very satisfied with himself. “The thing is, we don't know the size of the Eternal King's shoes. Perhaps he has tiny feet as well. But the size of the impressions they leave, now those are awe-inspiring. I have to keep reminding myself that he's a despicable person who had no qualms about killing his own children, and to stop admiring him.”
“Can we change the subject, please?” Annani lifted the teapot and poured tea into the three cups Ogidu had prepared. “I would rather hear about Syssi's visions than talk about my grandfather and his shoes.” She handed a teacup to her daughter-in-law.
Syssi glanced at Kian. “Should I start with the first one?”
He nodded. “It's relevant to the second one.”
After taking a sip of the tea, Syssi put the cup down. “In the first vision, I saw a goddess of such brilliant glow that I couldn't discern her features. Still, I knew she was exquisitely beautiful in the way dreams tell us things that we don't actually see. She was tall and had long white hair that shimmered like diamonds. Her gown was silver with some delicate pattern on it. Another female entered the room, who was also a stunning goddess, but since she bowed, I figured she was a servant or an underling. She told the other goddess something that I couldn't understand, but the impression I got was that she was delivering exciting news. They were both smiling. I thought she might have been your mother, but Kian told me she was petite, so it couldn't have been her.”
And while her mother had also been luminous like the other gods in their community, her glow had not been blinding.
Was it possible that instead of receiving a vision, Syssi had been remote viewing someone on Anumati?
That could be even more valuable than the visions.
“Did you see any details of the room?” Annani asked.
Syssi nodded. “It wasn't large.” She waved a hand around the living room. “About this size, and it was decorated in a soft, feminine style. At first glance, I thought I was seeing the past, but then I noticed a gold vase or piece of artwork with an abstract, modern shape. Later, when I thought back on the vision, I also realized that there had been no windows in the room and no torches, but it was well-illuminated and not just because of the glowing goddess. There was overhead lighting, with a spotlight directly over the modern art piece.”
“You must have viewed Anumati,” Annani said. “If the vision was in real-time, you were remote viewing rather than seeing into the future or the past.”
“That has occurred to me.” Syssi leaned down and picked up her teacup. “I've never remote viewed before, so I don't know how it differs from a vision.”
Annani smiled. “I have never had a vision, so I cannot tell the difference either. I can only describe my experience while remote viewing. It feels like spying—a camera-view lens that allows me to peek. My remote viewing is not strong and usually only allows me to see people I care about. Other remote viewers can see locations and spy on their enemies, but that is not my talent.”
Syssi frowned. “Do you get impressions? Like you know what is happening even if it is not part of what you are seeing?”
Annani shook her head. “It is no different than seeing someone through a video call.”
“That's the difference.” Syssi put her empty cup down. “You see things as they are. I see things as my mind makes them seem. It's kind of like the difference between watching a movie and reading a book. My mind fills in the blanks.”
Syssi
It felt awkward to have a talent that seemed superior to Annani's, and Syssi had to remind herself that the goddess had many talents that were more powerful and useful than her vague visions.
Annani could thrall, shroud, and compel immortals, which only gods could do in varying degrees of power. Compulsion was a rare ability, though, even for gods, and Annani's dislike for it meant that she hadn't tested her full powers yet and had probably utilized only a fraction of what she could do.
