23. Kian

23

KIAN

T GIF , Kian thought as he rolled over and turned to look at Syssi, who was still asleep beside him. Or was it TTMFIF? 'Thank the merciful Fates it's Friday' didn't roll off the tongue as easily, though.

He leaned over and gently kissed Syssi's forehead before slipping out of bed and heading for the shower. He had a busy day ahead of him, with five phone meetings and a thousand and one details to attend to.

Nearly a month had passed since the cruise had ended, and he was still catching up.

As he stood under the hot spray, letting it sluice over his shoulders and down his back, he thought about the twins and the slow progress of their recovery. There had been some small improvements in their condition, but the road ahead of them was still long, and no one knew whether their minds would function properly once their bodies recovered.

Jasmine was keeping vigil at the prince's bedside, which was romantic given that all she had seen so far was a withered body. There was that one moment when the prince had opened his eyes and looked straight at her, but he hadn't done that since.

The poor woman was pining for what could be and not what was.

When Kian returned to the bedroom, Syssi wasn't in bed, and when he went looking for her, he found her as he had expected in Allegra's room.

"Good morning, my loves." He kissed Syssi's cheek and then his daughter's.

"Daddy!" She stretched her arms toward him.

"She is such a daddy's girl," Syssi murmured as she handed Allegra to him.

"Daddy." Allegra cupped his cheeks with her little hands and planted a kiss on the tip of his nose the way he liked to do to her.

"I love you, munchkin." He hugged her to him and turned to Syssi. "Do you want to get dressed while I get her ready?"

"Yes, please." She stretched on her toes and kissed him on the lips. "I'll be quick."

He knew she would be. Syssi's morning routine was no-fuss and efficient, with most of the time dedicated to breakfast rather than clothes, makeup, and hair. She had her priorities straight.

Their daughter, though, was a different story.

He went through eight different outfits until she settled on a frilly dress that was not practical for daycare in the university, where she would play in a sandbox that Amanda had recently added to the facility.

"You look very pretty," he said as he laced her pink sneakers.

Shoes were another quirk of hers. She abhorred Velcro. Allegra wore either laced sneakers or shiny Mary Janes.

He carried her to the kitchen and put her in her highchair.

Okidu placed a platter of his famous waffles on the table with all the toppings, and Kian handed Allegra a plain one. She didn't like anything mushy or gooey on her waffles.

Syssi smiled at him over her cappuccino machine. "What took you so long?"

"I think our daughter inherited her aunt's obsession with fashion. She's a very picky dresser."

"Tell me about it." Syssi rolled her eyes. "I think I'll start having her pick her outfits the night before to save time in the morning. And just so you know, I totally blame Amanda. She makes such a fuss over what Allegra is wearing that it is no wonder the child is striving to keep impressing her favorite auntie."

Kian pretended shock. "Just don't say Amanda is her favorite in front of Alena or Sari. They will be offended."

"Oh, they know." Syssi poured milk into their two cappuccinos. "She spends much more time with Amanda than with them, so it's natural."

Alena was due to deliver any day now, and although she was completely serene and unconcerned, Orion was going nuts. Not that it was a big surprise. This was his first child, while it was Alena's fourteenth.

The number was incomprehensible, especially for an immortal. "Have Alena and Orion chosen a name for their baby yet?"

Shaking her head, Syssi put the cappuccino cups on the table. "They are both superstitious and don't want to name the baby until it is born."

"Iti," Allegra said. It was her nickname for Bhathian and Eva's son.

Syssi smiled. "We already have an Ethan in the village, sweetie."

"Iti," Allegra insisted.

"Maybe there are other boy names that sound like Iti."

Syssi chuckled. "Yeah. E.T., the extraterrestrial who wants to go home. Does she think that her cousin is going to be an alien?"

"Or maybe she's talking about Nana's brother and sister." Kian grimaced. "I wonder if they will want to go home when they wake up."

He was just about to take a sip of his cappuccino when his phone buzzed, and when he lifted it to check whether he should answer it or ignore it, the name on the screen had him answering right away.

"Good morning, Mother," he said. "Were your ears burning? I was just talking about you."

She laughed, the sound raising goosebumps on his arms like it always did. "What were you saying about me?"

"Allegra insisted that Alena's baby should be named Iti, and Syssi said that it sounded like E.T. I responded that maybe Allegra had meant to name her Nana's siblings."

His mother didn't laugh. "That child of yours is definitely psychic. I called to tell you I want to see my brother and sister. Can you take me to the keep today?"

"There's nothing to see yet. They look a little better than they did when we brought them in, but they're still unconscious. They're barely more than dried-out corpses at this point, and I doubt you want to see that."

"Nevertheless, I feel like I need to see them." She was quiet for a moment. "I spoke with the queen last night through Aru and Aria, and the conversation made me worry."

Kian frowned. "What did she say?"

"I prefer not to discuss this on the phone. If you are not in a rush to get to the office, I would like to come over."

As if it was an option to refuse her. "I'm never in a rush when you need me."

"Excellent. I will be there in a few minutes." She ended the call.

"I'll start on the cappuccino," Syssi said, rising from her seat and moving towards the kitchen. "Okidu," she said, "can you make a few more waffles? The Clan Mother is on her way."

Allegra clapped her little hands, her face alight with excitement. "Waffles!" she cried, bouncing in her seat. "Nana!"

"Isn't it wonderful." Syssi turned to Kian with a smile, "to have your mother living just a short walk away?"

"You're probably the only daughter-in-law on the planet who feels that way about her husband's mother," he said, his voice teasing.

Syssi shrugged. "I love your mother," she said simply. "And your sisters, too."

Kian felt a rush of love and gratitude for his mate, for how she had embraced his family as her own. "I know, and it makes me the luckiest guy."