"That's very kind, but I wouldn't want to intrude on a family event."
Kalugal waved a dismissive hand. "Nonsense. Your expertise would be valuable. Besides, Fenella is family now, isn't she? She's part of the in-laws, so to speak, and you are her companion."
It took Din a moment to process what Kalugal had meant by his comment. Fenella was loosely related to Jasmine, who was mated to Ell-rom, Annani's half-brother, but the connection was so distant that it was nearly irrelevant.
"We'd be honored," Fenella said before Din could formulate a response. "What time should we arrive?"
"Eleven," Kalugal said. "You can find the location on the village map."
"Are you certain we wouldn't be intruding?" Din tried again.
"Family is a fluid concept." Kalugal clapped him on his back. "Blood relations matter less than the bonds we choose to form. I'm inviting you because I believe your insights will be valuable and because of Fenella's newly discovered talent."
Din swallowed. There was something in Kalugal's tone that brooked no argument, and he wondered whether the guy was using compulsion on him.
He wouldn't do that in front of Kian, would he?
"What sort of artifacts did you find?" Din asked, changing tack.
Jacki's eyes lit up. "That's the surprise."
Kalugal turned to Fenella. "Your psychometric ability might become useful as well."
She glanced at Jacki. "That's your talent also, I've heard."
"Yes," Jacki confirmed. "Mine is unpredictable, though. Sometimes I touch an object and see the past, and sometimes I see the future. Most often, though, I get nothing."
Fenella's eyes widened. "It's the same for me, but I thought it was because I'm new to this. Kyra and Jasmine seem to amplify my ability, though. I don't think I can sense anything without them."
Kalugal regarded Fenella with curiosity in his smiling eyes. "Then I sure need to invite Kyra as well. She is with Max, correct?"
"Yes," Kian said. "Max is now in charge of the dungeon, so his security clearance has been bumped up. But Din and Fenella are civilians."
Kalugal didn't seem perturbed by what Kian was implying. "Don't worry about confidentiality, cousin. I can ensure that whatever needs to remain a secret stays a secret."
Obviously, the guy could compel anyone, including immortals, to keep a secret.
The exchange made Din even more curious about the artifact Kalugal was going to reveal.
"Tomorrow at eleven," Kalugal said before departing with his family and Kian.
"Well, that was interesting." Fenella watched them walk away. "It seems that I've been upgraded from Jasmine's distant relation to someone worthy of brunch invitations to the inner circle."
"It would seem so." Din rubbed his jaw. "I'm sorry if I seemed reluctant. I just wasn't expecting to be invited to a family gathering."
"It's a bit intimidating, I have to admit."
He nodded. "Kalugal is an interesting guy. Do you know that he's a three-quarter god?"
She frowned. "What do you mean?"
"His mother is a full-blooded goddess, Annani's half-sister, and his father is a half-god, half-human. That makes Kalugal and his brother Lokan three-quarter gods, which is more than Kian and his sisters, who are only half-god, half-human."
Fenella shook her head. "Does it matter? Does it change the clan hierarchy?"
"Not really. I just find it hard to believe. We didn't know all that before Kalugal and Lokan joined the clan. We also didn't know that Navuh's other sons are not really his. He just claims all the boys born to his immortal concubines, but he is entirely devoted to Areana, proof that even monsters can have a redeeming quality."
Fenella tilted her head. "How many sons does he claim to have?"
