Page 46 of Dead Crown
Lumi swallowed at those words, and Tivar left the room. Lumi let out a slight sigh as he nestled his daughter against his chest. She was all his for a little longer.
The night passed with Jacqueline feeding a couple of times and sleeping. He figured being born was tiring, and he wanted nothing more than to sleep with her every night. Maybe Tivar would take a room elsewhere and stay there. Babies needed frequent feedings, and if he was awoken by her crying, he’d probably get pissy. He wanted the heir and not the work that came with babies.
Tivar returned in the morning. Lumi was awake, holding his daughter, and not looking forward to revealing the truth. With the light of day, he’d decided to get it over with. It wasn’t something he could hide forever, and if he tried, he could imagine Tivar’s rage.
“How’s my son?”
“It’s a girl,” Lumi said bluntly. “You have a perfect little daughter.”
Tivar paused by the foot of the bed as his mouth opened slightly, and his ears pulled back. “You didn’t think to tell me this last night?”
“I barely remember you being here. I was exhausted…”
“You were supposed to give me a son.” Tivar’s tail started lashing.
“I can’t control whether it’s a boy or a girl, and she’s still your child. We can try again for a son. A second child usually comes fast after the first. It should be no trouble to conceive again…”
Lumi trailed off as Tivar’s face turned red. Fuck. Lumi tried to shrink down on the bed before he spoke again.
“We’ll have another, and she’s your child. She has white hair just like you and little ears. She might be a girl, but she’s like a perfect copy of you. Nobody else was able to give me a child. You were, and a King should have a Princess too. When she has a little brother, he’ll already have a playmate, and they can look out for each other. Shouldn’t our son have an older sibling to protect him like you protected me when we were children?”
Tivar’s jaw tightened a bit as he looked at the baby. Jacqueline was still asleep, and Lumi hoped he never questioned her eye color if he later noticed. If he started thinking Jaki was the real Father, Lumi would lie his ass off and say the Prince hadn’t touched him in months before he left. There was no way he’d ever admit the truth.
“She’s cute. The next child better be a boy.”
If there was another. Lumi wasn’t sure how he’d get around the problem later if he didn’t get pregnant. At the moment, he had to worry about his daughter.
Tivar got him food and things he needed like water and cloth to clean her bottom plus more nappies. Tivar didn’t seem in a hurry to move back in, and Lumi realized he’d have a bit of real peace for a change.
With fresh sheets and blankets, he settled down to feed his daughter when she awoke. Somehow, things would be all right. He had time. Besides, Tivar would surely grow attached to his daughter as she grew older. Maybe he’d pass her off as an adopted child he’d saved from starvation or whatever. It’d make him look good, and people would think he was ever so kind.
At the moment, there was nothing else he could do besides care for his baby.
Time passed in a cycle of naps, feeding, talking to her, changing her nappies, and admiring her. Lumi was sure he’d never get tired of looking at her tiny ears with the tufts, her pink eyes, and the fine little nose she’d inherited from Jaki. Her ears twitched at noises, and her slitted pupils reacted to light.
When he removed her swaddling to check her nappy, her tiny tail would flick, and she’d make fists as if demanding to be wrapped up at once and held. Lumi was careful with the stump of the cord which would take a bit to fall off.
Tivar made sure he had necessities and took away the dirty nappies. He always brought more in, so he must have been buying them and throwing away or burning the old ones. The few remaining servants would wonder where the nappies came from if they ended up downstairs for washing.
Lumi was happy to be mostly alone with his precious little girl. Even though he was still worn out from birth and waking up a lot in the night, he didn’t see how he’d ever get tired of holding and looking at her.
The fact that Jaki would never know hurt. Then again, it was better. The last thing he’d want was a child with his half-brother even if lust and maybe something else had been there. He wouldn’t feel like Lumi did for her. She was an accident.
But she was Lumi’s whole world.
He had gone to sleep late one afternoon with her, and he awoke to hear her crying. It wasn’t the sound she made when she was hungry or needed a nappy change.
She also wasn’t next to him.
He sat up to see Tivar carrying her across the room toward the door. “What are you doing? Bring her back.”
Tivar huffed and turned around. Still crying, Jacqueline waved one of her fists at the strange person carrying her. “You’vehad a few days to recover, and we need to start working on another. The last thing I want is a baby around when I’m fucking you.”
Lumi’s mouth fell open. “My ass isn’t even fully back to normal! I can’t have sex, and I need Jacqueline.”
“We’re not keeping her. The servant-”
“What do you mean we’re not keeping her!? She’s our daughter.”
