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Fifteen
The moon spilled silver onto Fen's bed when she roused again. Someone had placed a soft blanket over her, and the whole world was quiet with the hush of night.
Fen stretched and used the bathing chamber to freshen up. Something niggled at her, a slight pulling in her chest that drew her out of the room.
She wandered down the hallways to Khan's study and looked in. He was sitting in front of Inanna's statue with a small cone of incense burning. The room's warm lights turned his dark skin golden, making the rings in his ears gleam. He didn't move or acknowledge her presence.
He's in a trance, Fen realized. She didn't want to disturb him, so she sat on one of the room's soft couches to wait him out.
She took a moment to let her own power awaken, and she sketched theKenazrune in the air. It was a revealing rune, and instantly, colors flooded the air around Khan's aura. She could see pulsing threads of fate and magic around him, their brightness making her gasp softly.
I'm not the only one touched by the gods, it would seem, she thought, watching them pulse with light. She looked down and saw tiny threads of his aura touching hers. She recognized them as the beginnings of a bond, a friendship.
Already?It shouldn't have surprised her. She had feltsomethingbetween them, a spark of energy and recognition, the first time she saw him at the dinner. She had been so hungry and scared and angry that she hadn't had a moment to recognize the connection for what it was.
Maybe Khan had been right when he'd said that the gods had brought them together.
Did you not abandon me, All-Father?she prayed. She felt nothing, just like she had felt nothing since the night she was taken. That answered her question. Odin was gone.
Damn him.
He might have been her more constant god in the last few years, but Freya had always been her first. The seiðr in her belonged to the goddess, not Odin. Fen had forgotten that it was Freya who had to teach Odin about the runes and seiðr to begin with because, as a man, he didn't have the power. Hot shame flooded her cheeks.
Freya, I'm sorry I forgot to honor you more in the past years as I should have.
"I thought I felt your magic," Khan said, making Fen startle.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," Fen apologized, closing off her rune magic so she couldn't see the swirl of color around him. He looked soul-tired. Fen hesitated before asking, "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. It has been a long day, that's all." Khan turned on the cushion he was sitting on so he could face her. "How did you sleep?"
"Good. Better than I have in a month. I felt…" Fen cut herself off, wondering if he would be upset that she had come into his rooms without him being there. The bright flower was still sitting at Inanna's feet, so he must've known anyway.
"Felt what?" Khan prompted, a black brow rising.
"I thought it was Freya, but it was different. I was drawn to your statue, and then it was like whatever energy was sustaining me was gone, and I needed to sleep. It was like your goddessputme to sleep." Fen toyed with the end of her braid. "I didn't mean to come in here without your permission, and I wouldn't have, except I felt compelled to."
"I don't mind, Fen. Really," Khan assured her. "Despite what people think, I don't have secrets. I'm curious about Inanna reaching out to you. I wonder why."
Fen didn't like the frown on his face. It bothered her for reasons she didn't quite understand.
"Maybe she knew I'm a raging bitch when I'm tired and thought to save you from it," she joked. Well, half-joked; she was a terror when she didn't sleep enough. She was rewarded with a soft laugh from Khan.
"I can imagine. You look less like you want to stab something," he said.
"For the moment," Fen replied with a grin. "I don't know why your goddess's power touched me, but whatever happened, it worked. What is she the goddess of?"
"Inanna is the goddess of war, justice, sex, and beauty. The lions at her feet are sacred to her." Khan's smile turned sly. "It is said that she delights in sex as much as she does in bloodshed."
"Like all women," Fen said, making him laugh again. "She is so much like Freya. No wonder their power felt similar; they govern the same things. Cats are sacred to her as well. I've never seen that kind before. Did she make the world?"
"No, that was long before Inanna." Khan pulled on his earring, a tic she had noticed whenever he was nervous or thinking. "Would you like to hear our creation myth?"
"Of course I would," Fen replied, tucking her legs under her and getting comfortable on the couch.
"Like I said earlier, our creation stories started with chaos, darkness, and water," Khan began, his voice changing to a soft storyteller's timbre. "The waters divided into two gods, Apsu, the god of fresh water, and Tiamat, the goddess of salt waters. When they combined, gods sprang forth. But the gods, like all children, were loud and boisterous. They disrupted Apsu from working during the day and made his sleep restless at night. He consulted his advisor Mummu, and they made a plan to kill the young gods.
"Fortunately, Tiamat overheard their scheming and went to her eldest son, Ea, for help. To protect his brothers and sisters, Ea waited until Apsu was sleeping and then slew him. From his body, Ea made himself a home."
