6
DIN
Din held on to Fenella's hand as they both watched couples twirling on the dance floor.
His mind kept circling back to the two small words that carried so much uncertainty.
"For now."
"You are brooding again," Fenella said. "You've got that professor face—all furrowed brow and distant eyes."
"Sorry." He shifted to face her. "Do you want to dance?"
"Sure." She started to rise when Kian walked over to their table with Kalugal and his wife and son.
Din had seen Kalugal and Jacki during their visit to Scotland when they'd stayed at the castle, again when he'd visited the village for special occasions, and once again during the wedding cruise, but they'd never been formally introduced.
He still found it difficult to wrap his head around Kalugal being Navuh's son—the offspring of the Brotherhood's founder and leader, the big bad wolf himself, and at the same time beingAnnani's nephew and Kian's cousin. It had been bizarre, to say the least, to find out that Navuh was mated to Annani's sister Areana, and that she had given him two sons.
All the other sons Navuh claimed as his own were not related to him by blood.
Kalugal and Lokan were part of the clan now, but Lokan was still straddling the fence, pretending to work for his father while feeding the clan information about the Brotherhood.
"Din, Fenella," Kian greeted them as he reached their table. "I'd like you to meet Kalugal and Jacki and their son, Darius."
Din rose to his feet, Fenella following suit.
"Kalugal, this is Professor Din MacDougal," Kian said. "He is visiting us from Scotland. And this is Fenella, a new member of our community with a long history connecting her to the clan."
Kalugal extended a hand to Fenella first. "Enchanted. I've heard about your performance at the Hobbit Bar. I can't wait to see you in action."
"I'm there tonight." She shook his hand. "Bring an object for me to read and I promise to embarrass you in front of everyone."
Kalugal laughed. "Perhaps I shouldn't come then."
Jacki smiled as she took Fenella's hand. "We'll come together, and you can embarrass me if Kalugal refuses to play along."
"I'll play." Kalugal turned to Din. "Professor, it's a pleasure to meet a fellow archaeologist, although I have to admit that my academic title is fake. I'm self-taught."
Din accepted the handshake. "Your collection of artifacts is quite impressive."
Kalugal looked delighted at the praise. "What portion of it have you seen?"
"Only the pieces displayed in the pavilion," Din said. "But they're extraordinary. The predynastic figurines, in particular, are fascinating."
"Predynastic Egypt is one of Kalugal's particular interests." Jacki took the squirming baby from her husband's arms. "Kian mentioned you specialize in that era?"
"Among others," Din said. "Naturally, my particular interest is evidence of advanced civilizations predating our conventional historical timeline, but those are hard to come by."
"Evidence of gods." Kalugal's lips curled in a knowing smirk. "That's why I entered the field as well." He chuckled. "In academic circles, admission of such interest would be career suicide. But here, there is no need for scholarly euphemisms."
"We've just returned from Egypt," Jacki said. "The political situation is tense, and it's not safe, but it was still worth it. We managed to acquire several remarkable artifacts."
"Which brings me to why I wanted to meet you," Kalugal added. "We're hosting a brunch tomorrow at our home to show the family what we've brought back, and since you're an archaeologist, I'd like to invite you and Fenella to join us."
Din blinked in surprise. A family gathering at Kalugal's home was not how he imagined spending his Sunday morning, and he was sure he would be acutely uncomfortable with the clan's royalty present.
When he glanced at Fenella, she looked equally taken aback.
