"It was an adventure." Carol patted her curls, which were brown now instead of blond. "One I'd prefer never to repeat. And we couldn't have made it without these three." She motioned to the Guardians and then shifted her gaze to Kian. "Thank you for sending them to us."
As the reunion continued, Kian's attention was drawn to movement from Kalugal's plane. A figure emerged at the doorway, and even from a distance, there was no mistaking his flame-red hair.
Wonder made a sound—half gasp, half sob—and started forward. Anandur moved to follow, then stopped himself, fists clenched at his sides.
Esag froze at the top of the stairs, his eyes finding Wonder immediately despite the distance and the crowd and the five thousand years since they had last seen each other.
Wonder's long legs ate up the distance, and Esag met her halfway, the two colliding in an embrace that spoke of tremendous shared loss and the miracle of unexpected reunion.
"I thought you were dead," Esag's voice carried despite being muffled against Wonder's shoulder.
"We thought the same of you." Wonder pulled back to look at his face. "Esag, you haven't changed at all. Still the same red hair, the same freckles..."
"You've changed," he said wonderingly. "You look so strong, so confident. The Gulan I knew would never have run so fast in front of strangers."
"I'm Wonder Woman now, and I don't hide what I can do from my clan members." She turned, gesturing for Anandur to come over. "Esag, I want you to meet my husband, Anandur."
Esag grinned as he extended his hand. "Aren't you a handsome fellow. It's like looking in the mirror."
"Great," Brundar murmured. "Another clown."
Kian had a feeling that Brundar was right, and that Esag and Anandur were similar, not just in appearance.
Anandur shook the offered hand. "Wonder says that a lot. The same red hair, the same questionable sense of humor."
Esag laughed. "You're clearly a male of excellent qualities."
"Modest, too," Wonder added dryly. "You are practically like twins, born four thousand years apart."
Kian stepped forward. "Welcome to the clan. I'm Kian, Annani's son, and this is my wife, Syssi."
"The princess's son." Esag's eyes shone as he took his hand. "Kalugal has told me a lot about you."
"Good things, I hope."
"The best." Esag kept staring at him. "I know you are not Khiann's son, but I swear I can see him in you."
Kian just nodded, not wanting to dive into the long explanation about his mother choosing the fathers of her children according to qualities she recognized in them that resembled those of her lost husband.
"Annani is eager to see you all," Syssi said warmly.
What she didn't mention was that Amanda was currently transforming the village green into party central, but that was meant to be a surprise.
"Princess Annani lives." Esag shook his head. "And she's the mother of an entire clan. She was always a force of nature."
Lokan and Carol had made their way over, the various groups converging into one large gathering. The introductions were somewhat chaotic, the ancient immortals meeting younger ones, old friends discovering new connections.
"We brought with us many figurines," Esag said. "Is there enough room in this bus for all the passengers and the cargo?"
"Oh, yes, Master Esag." Okidu rushed to open the storage compartments.
Esag looked like he'd seen a ghost. "Okidu? Is that really you?"
"Yes." The butler bowed. "It is I."
Without waiting a moment longer, Esag rushed to the Odu and embraced him like a long-lost family member, which in a way he was.
"You survived." Esag took a step back. "What about your brothers?"
