Page 89 of Dark Rover's Luck

"That's incredible," Arezoo murmured. "Did you have a family? Did you try to find them?"

A shadow passed over Wonder's face. "At first, I didn't remember who I was. The Fates helped me find my way to the clan, and I got reunited with my childhood best friend, the Clan Mother. Seeing her revived my memories, and I learned that everyone back home was dead. Later, I discovered that my sister Tula lived."

Arezoo's head was spinning. Wonder was the Clan Mother's best friend? How?

She had so many questions she wanted to ask the woman, but didn't feel comfortable asking yet.

"I'm glad your sister survived. Are you two close?"

That was an innocent enough question that shouldn't be difficult to answer, but the shadow over Wonder's face grew darker.

"We were very close, but it's not possible now. Anyway, I found a new family, and my new home is here with my mate and my best friend."

There was one more question that was just burning in Arezoo's mind, and she couldn't help but ask it. "I guess that you weren't named Wonder at birth. Did you adopt the name because you couldn't remember your own?"

Wonder nodded. "Back in Egypt, a child called me Wonder Woman because I resemble the actress who played the character in the movie, and when it happened again, I decided it was a good name and adopted it."

"What's your real name?"

Wonder grimaced. "I was called Gulan, and I always hated it. It was a name that befitted a servant girl, and I no longer felt like it fit me."

Arezoo nodded, thinking that she would have liked to change her name as well. She wanted something that sounded American, like Judy, Sally, or Nancy.

Her mother would never agree to her actually using a different name, but perhaps when she went to college, she could tell everyone that she preferred to be called something else.

"The name Wonder fits you well," Arezoo finally said. "It gives me food for thought on the kind of name I will adopt one day."

"What's wrong with Arezoo?" Aliya asked. "I think it has a nice sound to it."

"I want a new beginning," Arezoo whispered. "A completely new beginning. And this name ties me to a country and people I don't want to belong to. People who allowed themselves to be conquered by an alien ideology that stripped them of their dignity. The ancient Persians and their proud empire are gone, and they shouldn't have gone down in history that way."

The two women looked at her with twin puzzled expressions, clearly having no clue what she was talking about. The truth was that she'd surprised herself with those words, which could have gotten her hanged in Iran.

"Well, enough about reinventing ourselves," Wonder said. "It's time for the next lesson. Let me show you how to make a proper cappuccino."

37

ANNANI

Annani held the delicate gold necklace in her hands, fingers tracing the ancient filigree with a tenderness born of five millennia of longing. Every curve and swirl of the precious metal was as familiar to her as her own heartbeat. Khiann had gotten it for her after they were married, one of many pieces of jewelry he had bought for her.

Over the years, she had been forced to sell many of those precious gifts to sustain her growing clan, but she had kept a few she wasn't willing to part with.

"Even the best craftsmanship in the world cannot produce beauty that does not pale beside yours, my love," he had whispered as he fastened it around her neck.

She wore the necklace only on special occasions, but over five thousand years, that had amounted to countless moments and memories for Fenella to access. The question was whether Fenella could access Khiann through it, and the answer was, probably not.

The necklace had been in his possession for only a short time before he had given it to Annani, so he could not have imparted too many memories onto it, and even if he had, those were memories from before the disaster that had claimed his body, but hopefully, not the spark of life retained within it.

"Will this suffice, Clan Mother?" Ogidu interrupted her reverie, standing beside the elegantly arranged tea service to await her approval.

Annani surveyed the spread with an appreciative smile. The delicate cucumber sandwiches, miniature pastries, and an assortment of teas were served in her favorite porcelain set. "It is perfect, Ogidu. Thank you."

"Shall I bring out a fruit platter as well?" he asked.

"Fruit is always a good idea," Annani said. "My guests might enjoy it."

When the doorbell rang a few moments later, and Oridu walked over to open the door to show her guests in, Annani carefully returned the necklace to its velvet-lined box and rose to greet the three ladies she had invited for a mid-morning tea.

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