Page 73 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Somewhere past midnight she'd realized she was lying in the dark smiling at a ceiling, holding a rectangular piece of technology to her ear, and that this was the best part of her days.

There were questions she still hadn't asked, not on Wednesday and not on Thursday, about the venom and about the bite, and whether he had known about her ability to transition into immortality.

Perhaps she could ask him today during Lady Areana's welcome party. The mothers would be busy chatting with the harem ladies, and Tomek had a backpack full of toys and coloring books to keep him busy as well, so she and Yaaf might find a few moments alone.

As the van's windows cleared, the mountains rolled by, green and dry-patched, and then the city. This time the women looked on with a little less awe, only interest, and Sullha thought that awe was short-lived, but interest could endure longer.

At the clan's private underground parking garage, Bowen was once again waiting for them, and this time the elevator they entered was not the same one as before, and it wasn't big enough for everyone, so the former harem ladies and their companionswent first. When the elevator returned empty, Sullha and the others went in together with Bowen.

The ride up was much longer than before, and Bianca's ears must have popped causing her to whimper. When the doors opened, they did not open onto a corridor.

They opened into a vestibule that stopped every one of them at the threshold.

A round table of pale stone dominated the center of it, its polished surface throwing back a soft double image of the flowers piled on top of it, an enormous arrangement spilling color in every direction. Beneath it, the marble floor held its own pattern, small tiles set into an intricate design, so that the table seemed to float above a second, quieter bouquet made of stone. Two sets of doors faced each other across the space.

"This used to be the home of Amanda, the Clan Mother's youngest daughter," Bowen said, gesturing at the doors on the left. "The one across from it used to be Kian's. Both of them live in the village now, so the clan uses these to host guests."

Sullha stood a moment in the vestibule's cool, flower-scented air, between two doors that had once belonged to Annani's children, and thought that she was starting to get used to being confronted with one impossible thing after another.

"Welcome," a blindingly beautiful woman said from the doorway to the right. "I'm Areana. Your host."

She was tall, with pale gold hair that was almost white. Her eyes were a blue so clear they appeared lit from within, her skin so flawless that it made her look like she was carved from stone.

A goddess.

So, that was what a goddess looked like.

Sullha and the others hadn't met the Clan Mother yet, but she could not be more beautiful than her sister.

"Thank you for inviting us," Sullha managed.

"The pleasure is all mine." Areana's gaze moved past her, warm and unhurried, taking in Tomek, the mothers, the sisters, each in turn, as though she had been waiting all morning for them. "Please, come in." She stepped back and held the door open.

Holding Tomek's hand, Sullha was the first to walk through it so the others could follow.

The room she entered was large and bright, with the far wall made from glass. From floor to ceiling, it was one clean sheet, or so it looked from where she was standing. Beyond the glass was a terrace with trees, a long pool of water, and all kinds of chairs and tables. Beyond the terrace was the city, rooftops and streets and the silver threads of distant roads, and above it nothing but blue.

"Oh," Zohara said, behind her.

Tomek ran up to the glass before Sullha could stop him, and put both palms flat against it. "Mama! There is water on the roof!"

"I see it, sweetie. Please put your hands down. You are leaving finger smudges on the glass."

"It's okay," Areana said from beside her. "Let the boy enjoy the view."

"Can I go outside?" Tomek asked, emboldened by the goddess's forgiving reaction.

"Perhaps later." Areana walked up to him and offered him her hand. "Let's eat first."

Staring at the goddess's impossibly beautiful face, he hesitated for a moment, but then he placed his little hand in hers and let her lead him to the table that was laden with platters of food.

Esag joined them there, crouching to Tomek's level and asking whether he'd given the knight a name yet.

Sullha smiled and returned to her appraisal of the penthouse. After the plain concrete conference room, this was the first clan space Sullha had entered that looked the way she had always imagined the lord's mansion on the island must look.

Deep leather couches and chairs, soft rugs, and on the walls hung big colorful art that depicted nothing Sullha could make sense of.

Esag stood by the glass wall with Tula, holding a delicate glass with some red liquid in it. Tony was loading a plate with little sandwiches and Eluheed sat with Tamira on an armchair that was big enough for both of them.