17
KYRA
"You're quiet," Max said, his hand warm on Kyra's back as they strolled the village paths. "Thinking about the figurine?"
"Among other things." Kyra sighed. "I'm just not looking forward to leaving on another adventure when my sisters need me here."
"They'll survive without you," Max said.
"I'm not sure. I would feel much better about leaving if Jasmine would be here to help them, but she is coming with us. They will have no one to turn to."
"Your sisters are fighters too, in their own way. They'll manage. Besides, Onegus might decide that he can't spare me, and I'll have to stay behind. If so, I'll help them as much as I can."
Kyra stopped in her tracks. "You have to come with us. I'm not leaving without you."
Smiling, he cupped her cheek and leaned in to plant a kiss on her lips. "My warrior queen. If you give Onegus the look you've just given me, he will insist on my going with you."
She chuckled. "You make me sound scary. I doubt your boss is impressed by a former rebel."
Every time she uttered the word 'rebel' it was accompanied by guilt. She'd abandoned her adopted ragtag family of rebels for her real family, and even though it was the right thing to do, she still felt horrible for doing it.
As they approached Soraya's house, the front door was open, and through it, Kyra could see all four of her sisters sitting in the living room.
"Looks like they're having a meeting," she murmured to Max.
"Without inviting you?"
"I'm inviting myself." Kyra knocked on the open door. "Hello there. Can Max and I come in?"
"Of course." Yasmin waved them over. "You're right on time."
She looked tired, grief still etched in the lines around her eyes, but there was also a new spark of determination in them that hadn't been there the day before.
Her sisters sat with cups of black coffee, all four looking excited. If Kyra didn't know better, she would have thought that one of them was expecting a child, but since they were all single at the moment, that wasn't an option.
Unless someone conceived before arriving and had just discovered it now.
"Who's pregnant?" She swept her gaze over her sisters.
Soraya snorted. "I hope it's you. None of us wants more children."
Kyra's hand instinctively went to her stomach. "I'm not, but the four of you look way too excited. What's going on?"
"Sit down first." Yasmin gestured toward the couch. "Can I get you both coffee?"
"Sure," Max said.
"Count me in." Kyra sat down. "Where are the children?"
"Arezoo took the little ones to the playground," Soraya said. "The older children are studying with Vrog's programs. They have a lot of catching up to do."
That explained the unusual quiet in the house.
Yasmin handed them each a cup of the strong, black brew that transported Kyra instantly back to the rebel camp and conversations over similar coffee while planning operations against the regime.
"How was the meeting at Kalugal's?" Rana asked, but there was an impatience in her voice that suggested she had other things on her mind.
Kyra took a sip of coffee. "Illuminating. Kalugal discovered a figurine in Egypt that was a stunning depiction of the Clan Mother. He wanted Fenella to do a reading of it. Jasmine and I were there to reinforce her ability. Long story short, it turns out that this figurine was modeled on an older and better one that had been created by Khiann's squire, who had apparently survived the destruction of the gods' city to carve the likeness of the goddess and inscribe its base."
