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"That's a problem." Syssi chewed on her lower lip. "We shouldn't keep this from the immediate family. It's too big of a deal, and eventually, it will have to come out. If we can trust your sisters and their mates with our lives, we can trust them with Aru and Aria's secret as well."
"I know." Kian groaned. "But even Aru's teammates don't know about his unique ability, so how am I going to convince him that it's okay to reveal it to my sisters and their mates?"
"Easy." Syssi grinned. "Tell him that I've seen the queen, the Oracle, and his sister in a vision, and I told everyone about it."
"But you didn't."
"Not yet."
"Please, don't tell anyone." He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "It was very difficult for him to tell me about his sister. We need to respect his wishes and keep it on a need-to-know basis."
"Fine." She leaned into him and hugged his waist. "I won't tell anyone."
"I need to run." He kissed the top of her head. "They are waiting for me."
Letting go of him, Syssi nodded. "I'll collect Allegra from Alena's cabin."
He hesitated at the door. "Do you want to come to the meeting?"
"Fates, no." She waved a dismissive hand. "I'm very happy to leave all the strategizing to you. Although, I want to remind you that the best people to consult are Dalhu, Lokan, and Kalugal. They know how Navuh operates, and they could guess how many people he would send for an operation like this."
Dagor
Once Kian had explained his wife's vision and its repercussions, Dagor pulled out his phone and texted Frankie to let her know what was going on as he had promised.
The truth was that he was excited about a chance to finally meet the clan's enemies face to face, and casting a sidelong glance at Negal, he saw a similar spark in his friend's eyes.
Not that the Doomers would have time to socialize. Given the vehemence in Kian's voice, their life expectancy was very short.
"We have two options," Kian said. "If we get to the bodies before the Doomers discover them, we can burn the evidence and continue our journey without having to go out of our way to find the Doomers and do away with them. Or we can seek them out and eliminate them. Killing them won't solve the local cartel problem because the Brotherhood will just send replacements, and I'm not sure that we should get involved in a fight we cannot ultimately win. On the other hand, the next team might not be as monstrous as this one, and until the replacements arrive, the local population will enjoy a short breather. That being said, ifthe Doomers have discovered the bodies already, though, the first option is out, and we have to find them and eliminate them."
Dagor was fascinated by how the members of the Brotherhood were so different from the good people sitting in the dining hall with him. Genetically, they were the same people, so how had they turned out so wrong?
Their leader must be extremely powerful to corrupt their minds like that, but it was also possible that they were born defective. As a god, he was more familiar with the power of genetics than his new immortal friends, and to some extent, sycophantic traits could be bred in or out at the whim of the scientist.
Still, free will was not to be dismissed. People could channel their negative tendencies into doing good for society, and at the same time, it was possible to channel positive tendencies into evil deeds. It all depended on the ideology adopted by the individual or the expectations of their culture.
In a way, it was like the amulet. Its innate power was neither good nor bad, but it could be used for doing good or evil.
Thankfully, Anumati had outgrown that stage in its evolution, and not even the Eternal King could convince an entire population that murdering members of a different ideology was a righteous thing to do.
Even the Kra-ell, who were savages compared to the gods, had not wished to kill all gods out of hatred or some other deep-rooted resentment. They had just wanted to be granted equal rights.
What ideology could the Doomers' leader come up with that would justify the annihilation of Annani's clan?
Would William be able to explain that?
Dagor wasn't close to Kian like Aru had become, and so far, William was the only clan insider he had befriended.
As questions flew at Kian and were answered, Dagor wondered if he and his teammates should get involved. If they wanted to keep their association with the clan a secret, it wasn't a good idea for them to fight the Doomers alongside the immortals. If any of the enemy survived and managed to escape, the information leak could be catastrophic.
On the other hand, however, he and his fellow gods could provide valuable assistance.
The clan could easily handle the two Doomers that Kian's mate had seen in her vision, but what if there were many more of them? There could be thousands for all they knew. It wasn't likely, but it was possible.
Ultimately, it would be Aru's decision as the leader of their team, and Dagor had a feeling he would want to assist the clan.
"So, what's the plan?" Anandur asked. "Is it going to be a quick in-and-out mission, or should Wonder and I postpone our wedding?"
