Page 8 of Dark Destiny: The Fates' Bargain

Sullha would go to the village, while Yaaf went to the keep, whatever that was.

She was the newest thing in his life and the most fragile, and she was being taken somewhere he could not follow, for a length of time Yamanu wouldn't name.

"The separation is not a permanent one," Yamanu continued as if reading their minds. "And it's not forever. While it lasts, the women and children will be allowed to visit you. The precautions are necessary, and they don't reflect what we think of you collectively or as individuals. You are just too powerful to be trusted automatically. I hope that after the evaluation is done, you will all be allowed in the village."

It took a few moments for Sullha to translate, and the mothers cast worried looks at their sons. They were their protectors, and they trusted them much more than a bunch of strangers, but there was little any of them could do about this.

Once again they were at the mercy of an organization, and they could only hope that it was more benevolent than the Brotherhood.

Rohilah made a small sound and pressed Bianca closer, and Karina's hand closed around Armos's arm.

The women were heading to a village and a new life and a real home, while the Eight who had bled to bring them there were heading to a secure location to be assessed and allowed visitations with supervision.

A new prison.

A new lab.

A new experiment.

And underneath it all, in the private place that belonged just to Yaaf, sat the plain fact that visits were not the new beginning he had envisioned with Sullha.

He wanted to be with her, to talk to her without walls and surveillance between them, to find out what the thing that hadbegun between them could become when given room and time. Instead, he would see her when the clan permitted it, across whatever divide the keep represented, their future on hold while a wary stranger cast his verdict.

Sullha turned to look at him, and her face was pale, panic breaking across it. "They're taking you somewhere else. Away from me."

"It's going to be okay," he said because there was nothing else he could tell her.

"We just—" Her voice caught. "After everything. And now they separate us?"

"Listen to me." He shifted closer to her and put his arm around her waist, drawing her in. "You heard what Yamanu said. It is not forever, and it is not a wall. It is an evaluation, and it will end, and while it lasts you can come visit me. It is not the island, Sullha. They are being careful, not cruel."

She pressed her face into his shoulder. "We don't know how long the evaluation will take. Yamanu doesn't know either."

"No. We don't." He bent his head over hers. "But you can visit, and Yamanu and the other Guardians will speak on our behalf. It's going to be all right."

She did not answer, but her grip on his arm tightened, and after a moment, the stiffness in her body loosened.

5

ANNANI

After a restless night, Annani decided to skip her morning stroll and have tea on the backyard porch instead.

"Your tea, mistress." Ogidu set the cup before her. "Shall I bring anything else?"

"No, thank you." She set her phone down on the side table and took the cup. "This is all for now."

As he inclined his head and withdrew, Annani took a sip of the wonderful tea while gazing at the sun cresting over the Malibu Mountains.

Khiann was coming home.

She could not yet let herself believe it fully because a belief of that magnitude was difficult to contain.

Her phone buzzed, and she knew it was Kian before she picked it up because she had been expecting his call.

"Good morning, my son," she answered. "Have you followed the advice you gave me and caught a few hours of sleep?"

"In fact, I did. I am calling you from home while waiting for Syssi to finish making me a cappuccino."