him down her nose. “I am the Clan Mother, and my wishes are obeyed, even by my children.”
It always amazed him how his tiny mother could look down on him when the top of her head barely reached his chest.
It was a gift.
This time, though, she’d done it for show, and her words had been meant for Steven.
Bridget had left to have dinner and pray for David’s successful transition, but Steven stayed behind, and the door to his office was open.
“Of course, Mother.” Kian bowed. “I will make sure that you have the privacy you require.”
She nodded. “Thank you.”
He turned around and motioned for Steven to come out.
The young doctor was clearly intimidated by Annani, and unless his presence was needed, he preferred not to hang around, which was fortunate. He would do as he was told without argument.
“I need you to turn off the camera in David’s room. The Clan Mother requires complete privacy for her blessing.”
Steven dipped his head. “I’ll do that right away.”
Kian watched him flick the switch, but it wasn’t enough to convince him that the device was really turned off. People’s curiosity sometimes overcame their better judgment and even fear of retribution by their superiors.
“Show me the application. I want to make sure that the camera is offline.”
Looking offended, Steven pulled out his phone, found the application and handed it to Kian. “It says that the camera is offline.”
The top of the screen was black, and it showed a camera icon that was crossed out, but the bottom still showed the various squiggly lines from the monitoring equipment.
Hopefully, there would be no alarming change in any of them that would have Steven running into David’s room.
But that was what Kian was there for. He was going to guard the door, and even if all hell broke loose, he would not let anyone pass until Annani was done.
“Thank you.” He handed the doctor his phone back.
Steven dipped his head. “Anything else I can do for you, Clan Mother?”
“No, that will be all, Steven. I only need ten minutes or so for the ritual. I will let you know when it is okay to turn the camera back on.”
He nodded. “I will be in my office.”
“Good luck.” Kian opened the door to David’s room for his mother.
Pulling her burgundy cloak around her, Annani glided inside. As he closed the door and leaned against it, Kian thought about her choice of attire.
Fortunately, it was getting chilly at night in the castle, so no one questioned Annani’s need for a warm coat. As a pure-blooded goddess, she was less sensitive to the cold than even other immortals, and usually, she only wore sleeveless floor-length gowns that were made from silk or some other light material. Her warm cloaks were reserved for her early-morning walks, particularly cold days, or her blessings, which required a syringe that she needed to hide somewhere. Except, it was small, and she could have put it in the pocket hidden by the folds of her gown. Perhaps she felt the need to be extra cautious this time, or maybe she was simply cold.
There was no reason to read too much into that, and there were better ways for him to spend the ten minutes he was stuck guarding the door.
Syssi probably expected him to join in the communal prayer for David.
Feeling awkward, he lifted his eyes toward the ceiling and offered a prayer. Dear merciful Fates, please help David transition successfully. Sari deserves a happy ending, and I will be very upset with you if that doesn’t happen.
Threatening the Fates was not the best strategy for helping David, but it was better than offering falsehoods and pretending to be humble when he was not. This was how Kian’s mind worked, and he was just being honest.
One minute gone and nine to go.
Perhaps he could use the time to check his emails and text messages. Pulling out his phone, Kian glanced at the two clocks display. It was eight in the evening in Scotland, and noon time in Los Angeles. There would be a fair amount of both.
Most of the emails weren’t urgent, and he forwarded them to Shai, only adding a sentence or two of instructions. One required his personal attention, but he could answer it later. There were two text messages, one from Onegus and one from Turner asking him to call them back. He’d already spoken with William and with Onegus about Eleanor’s phone, but the two messages had arrived after that.
Hopefully, they