Page 150 of Mercy & Her Devils

“Dragon sad?” Millie raises hand to stroke Lark’s cheek, and he appears startled. “Knight mean. Said bad. Dragon bad.”

Lark and I exchange a glance.

We’ve been piecing together what happened in the Companion wing of the Institute.

Millie didn’t appear to have been hurt. In fact, on a basic level, she was better looked after than she’d been in the Brok Cell because she’d been treated as a Reject Companion and not a Brok.

Yet we knew that she’d heard others talking about her dad.

She’s too young to understand everything, but at the same time, kids understand more than you think.

“Do you think he’s sad?” I ask, carefully.

Millie cocks her head to the side, sucking her thumb for a moment.

Then she turns her stuffie to face Lark like he’s the dragon and makes the peacock say, “Sorry. People mean. Hate them. Love you. We be friends?”

She’s gone off script but that’s good.

Because I don’t think that this is about the peacock and dragon anymore.

There are tears in Lark’s eyes, which he’s struggling not to let fall. So, I know that he doesn’t think so either.

Instead, he presses a soft kiss to his daughter’s head, before meeting her eye, solemnly. “Always, honey.”

I rest my hand on Lark’s shoulder, reassuringly.

When I look up, Kai pours a glass of milk and slips a muffin onto a plate like he knows exactly the right thing to break the tension.

He’s rubbing his head to ease the migraines that still plague him.

To be fair, our enthusiastic glitter play may not have helped…or Lark’s dragon impression.

Kai slides the plate and glass across the counter to Millie, whose eyes light up. “The muffin’s still warm. Eat up, then bed. I think three bedtime stories is enough.”

“My savior.” I smile at Kai.

It may be his head that he’s saving, which is understandable.

Millie snatches up the muffin and stuffs it in her mouth like it’s going to be taken away from her.

Was that a danger with food, when Millie was alone in Companion House?

The chocolate smears around her mouth.

“Can you get me a cloth?” Lark asks.

Kai waves his hand. “In a moment. Let her enjoy it.”

“You spoil her.” Lark’s eyes dance with amusement.

What he means is: She has you wrapped around her little finger.

See, Omega power.

Kai crosses his arms. “Aye, I do. She’s our pack’s wee Omega. She should be cherished, and I swear, she will be. I’m going to bring her up with everything that she wants and needs.”

Millie perks up, preening.

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