Page 291 of The Wild Prince's Favorite
“And it’ll keep the kids busy,” Darsan added with a grin.
“Yeah, the four of us and Tievin’s legendary notes can handle the rest,” Kiera said, half-sighing, half-smirking. “Go rest, sister. We’ve got this.”
Alezya smiled at Kiera; now that they could communicate, she and Kiera had gotten closer, and she found that they bothloved to banter any chance they got. Though she and Lorey had left shortly after their parents had, the two of them came back so often that they now had a bedroom permanently waiting for them at the Onyx Castle.
“Come on,” Kassein said gently, nudging her toward the castle. “Let’s get some rest.”
Alezya nodded, smiling shyly as everyone around them bid her goodnight.
Kassein escorted her inside, and helped her lie in their bed; it was a brand new bed Darsan had gifted them after their wedding ceremony. It was ridiculously large, but she loved it, and she loved the idea that someday they’d sleep there together with more of their children.
“How’s baby?” he asked, softly caressing her bump.
“He’s been moving a lot,” Alezya chuckled. “I think he’s excited to see the family too.”
“Good,” Kassein kissed her belly. “We can’t wait to meet him.”
Tears welled in her eyes. That had become ridiculously common lately, and she wasn’t sure if she had always been emotional, if she should blame the pregnancy, or just how happy she had been in the past six months. Kassein was used to it by now. He didn’t panic like he used to, especially back when he was still learning how to understand her.
Now, he simply held her. He leaned over, pulling her gently into his arms, and kissed her deeply, his hand never leaving her stomach. When he pulled back, his green eyes stayed locked on hers.
“Get some rest, my moonlight,” he whispered.
Alezya nodded sleepily, eyes fluttering shut as she curled into him. The baby gave one last soft kick beneath his palm, and Kassein smiled.
From the windows, she could hear the faint laughter of their family, the evening breeze, and the faraway growls of dragons small and large. Tomorrow would bring even more noise and dragons and laughter and chaos, and she would love that. But tonight, there was only the two of them, and love, and that wonderful bliss of that future that was waiting for them.
Epilogue
“Lumie?” Alezya called, glancing around. “Lumie!”
A flash of white darted behind her, and she sighed, turning around.
“I know it’s you, Oshu,” she said. “If you try to scare me again, you’re going to be in trou–”
A high-pitched growl cut off her sentence, and a mass of black and white scales rolled in a scuffle around her feet. Then, Niiru got the upper hand, pinning the smaller white dragon to the dark stone floor. Alezya sighed.
“Niiru,” she said. “Where’s Lumie?”
But Niiru ignored her, busy chewing its dragon sibling’s tail. Oshu was smaller, half Niiru’s size, and as white as Niiru was black. The two dragons were perfect opposites, except that they shared the same bright amber-colored eyes.
“Niiru,” she called again. “Let your baby brother go.”
Niiru growled but eventually moved aside, letting Oshu run behind Alezya’s leg with a sulky grunt. She sighed but kept walking down the corridor with both dragons at her feet, glancing around. Eventually, she reached the gardens of the Onyx Castle and let out another sigh. Oshu and Niiru ran ahead to Kein, who was napping in the high grass. The dragon was curled around a new egg, its snout against it. Alezya walked up to the tall dragon, who barely opened an eye as she caressed its head.
Then, on the other side of the mountain of bronze scales, she found the three of them. Lying on the grass with his backresting against his dragon, Kassein had their son sleeping on his bare torso. His hand was under the baby’s bum, and Shuryo’s tiny fist was clutched under his chin. Lumie was cradled between his legs. The two of them were busy with their favorite activity together: watching the stars.
“There you are,” Alezya said.
“Good evening, Mama!” Lumie beamed as Alezya came to sit next to them, her back immediately warmed up by Kein’s scales.
Kassein smiled, pressing a kiss to her lips as his free hand gently caressed the small curve of her belly. His mother had warned them, but it had not taken long for Alezya to get pregnant again after Shuryo was born. Their son was barely six months old, and she was already carrying their next child. Not that she minded. Cassandra had given her a contraceptive medicine in case she needed it, but the truth was that this second pregnancy had only made her love Kassein even more. She had never realized how much of a difference it made to have a partner who truly cared, one who was more nervous about the pregnancy than she was.
Even when she had been much sicker while carrying Shuryo, it had felt easier with Kassein at her side. He had been there for every step, waiting on her hand and foot at all hours, never letting her feel alone in it. He had stayed with her during the birth, and afterward, he had been even more helpful, making sure she could focus on both children without feeling overwhelmed. He was patient, reliable, and endlessly caring. Knowing he would always be there gave her so much confidence in growing their family. Maybe not eight children like his mother or nine like his older brother, but she definitely wanted at least one or two more.
Any lingering doubt that Kassein would be a good father had disappeared the moment Shuryo was born.
What had moved her most wasn’t how naturally he had taken to caring for a newborn, but how nothing had changed with Lumie. Alezya had been worried, even if she hadn’t dared to voice it aloud. Worried that a new baby might shift something, even just a little. That Lumie might feel left out, or that Kassein’s love for her might somehow dim. She had known plenty of men who wouldn’t have spared a second glance at an adoptive daughter after a son of their blood was born. Kassein wasn’t one of those men. He had loved Lumie from the second he’d met her, and that love had never wavered. If anything, he’d made sure to cater to the little girl even more while Alezya had been busy nursing her baby brother. He could have let his family take care of Lumie, as they’d come to help, but no. Kassein had been the one to make sure Lumie was cared for while everyone was focused on their newborn. If anything, Lumie had probably felt more loved than ever during her baby brother’s first months, with everyone coming to see them.
