Page 85 of Prince with a Chance of Darkness

“She will!” exclaimed Marcy. “She’s very excited. She wants to help paint. Oh, and Mina, she’s looking forward to the babies. Hurry up and get pregnant with them. Vlad, I’m assuming you don’t need me to tell you what you have to do to make that happen, right?”

He looked stunned and confused.

Yep.

That’s how most of us looked when dealing with Marcy.

Temperance made gagging noises again. “That is so disgusting. I don’t want to think about my mom and dad bumping bits.”

Hannah eased up alongside her father and Lucian. “Can we go now? I think I have demon guts on my shoe.”

Lucian cringed. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for them to splatter you when I killed him.”

She glanced up at him. “It’s okay. But can you try not to do it again.”

He nodded.

“Jonathan,” said Marcy, still on the phone. “Stop thinking about all the ways you can kill Lucian. He’s your daughter’s guardian. Accept that he’s part of your life.”

A line of very British-sounding curses came flooding out of Jonathan.

Hannah lowered her head, laughing at her father.

Lucian grinned from ear to ear. “I bring out the best in him.”

“Katarina,” said Marcy loudly. “You can come out. She really isn’t angry with you. Oh, no! Burgess put Daddy’s shoe down. I have to go! Bye, Honey-Bear. I love you.”

Bram didn’t look the least bit embarrassed to be called Honey-Bear.

Katarina picked that moment to appear next to me out of seemingly thin air.

I gasped.

She took a step back.

Memories from the night outside of the cave in Romania came to me, and I found myself moving toward her, closing the distance between us. I pulled her in for a hug. “Thank you.”

She locked her arms around me so tight I thought I’d break.

Vlad was suddenly there. “Katarina, careful.”

She nodded and hugged me tightly again.

I let her.

Temperance and Hannah were suddenly there, joining in the hug.

“Women,” said Dave.

Bram’s phone pinged. He checked it and held it out for Dave. “My wife wishes for me to tell you that your time is coming soon. Enjoy bachelorhood while it lasts.”

Dave’s eyes widened. “Shit.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Vlad

One month later...

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