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"Apart from your god trying to drown me, I'm fine. Just…hold onto me for a moment." Fen pressed her face into his neck and breathed him in. He rubbed her back slowly until her breathing evened out. "You know, Ea is a bit of a dick."
"You met him? What am I saying? Of course, you did," Khan said, drawing back a little so he could look at her properly. "You know, most people might get a few whispered words or some symbols or signs when they drink. You want to tell me what happened?"
"I do, but not here." Fen needed to get out of the temple and away from the god's influence. It was all around her, battering against her energy and dragging her back to the watery cavern.
Khan helped her to her feet and took her hand. "Let's find you something to eat to help you settle."
"Probably a good idea." Fen followed Khan out of the darkness and back into the land of the living.
Outside the temple, the sun had set, and the streets were still full of people enjoying the festival. There was laughter, colored lanterns burning, processions, musicians… Fen's mind swirled at the overstimulation. Khan glanced back at her and somehow knew what was wrong without her saying a word.
"We are going home," he said, using his prince voice that ended any argument before it started. He got her out of the crowded main thoroughfares and into the back laneways, where there were fewer people to jostle her.
Fen thought over her conversation with Ea, replaying it in her mind so she could get it straight and hold onto the already slipping details.
Back at Sargon's villa, Khan took Fen into the kitchen, sat her down at a table, and began to brew tea.
"This is what Sargon always used to make me drink when I was learning divination and trance work. It'll help," he said, stirring pinches of leaves into the steaming water.
"My teachers would give me a mug of something very strong and alcoholic and tell me to deal with it."
Khan clicked his tongue. "I'm not surprised. If you drink the tea and still want something alcoholic, I'll find it for you. Are you hungry?"
"Not really."
Khan still put together a plate of fruit, cheese, and bread for her and placed it on the table with her steaming tea. He was fussing over her, and Fen didn't think she would ever get used to it or how it made her feel fluttery in her belly.
"Here, just have a little something. And then tell me what happened before I die of curiosity."
Fen sipped the herbal tea, and almost instantly, her stomach settled. She smiled a little and had another mouthful. "I wanted to know what ran in my veins…and Ea answered."
Between small bites of fruit and sips of tea, Fen let the entire vision spill from her, everything she could remember, from the watery grotto to how Ea drank her blood.
By the time Fen had finished, her tea was gone, and Khan hadn't said a word the entire time.
"Please say something," Fen whispered, unable to look at him.
"You having been fathered by a god is something I already knew, Fen. Is that what troubles you?" he asked. She risked looking up at him and saw only concern on his face.
"You don't understand. All of Loki's children are monsters. What if…" she began.
"Don't even think it. You're no monster, Fen. You are blessed with magic and are beautiful and stubborn and rather terrifying when you want to be…but you are no monster," Khan replied, a small smile tugging at his lips.
"If I'm not, then why would Odin abandon me? Why would the gods pay any attention to me at all? I can hardly be the only bastard god child walking Midgard."
"Maybe they were watching because you do have the power to change things like Ea said."
"It doesn't worry you?"
Khan shook his head. "Not in the slightest. I knew you were different when I first saw you with that serving jug. Knowing that a god sired you and you might have inherited some abilities because of that doesn't change anything. You are still my Fen."
"Am I? Yours, I mean?" she asked, her heart beating too hard again.
"Only you can answer that," Khan replied, his voice dropping. "But for my part, I've been yours since you almost assassinated me."
Fen's breath caught at his confession, her own words too jumbled on her tongue like they always were when it came to him.
Take what you want, Ea reminded her. She didn't need a god to tell her what that was. She had felt it every single day for weeks.
