Page 76 of Pregnant With Their Babes

Llyr moved a little closer. “Perhaps I’ve had you all wrong?”

Prawnsby lifted his noble chin. “Have no doubt—my duty is to my king.” A bit of a smile crossed his lips. “But perhaps I have a soft spot when it comes to you.” The seahorse shook his head, the smile fading. “I understand you’re in pain right now, Your Highness… but now, after reading the prophecy… you have to realize you’ve made the right choice to come back home. Alphonse might be a terrible child, but perhaps he can grow to be a better man with you at his side.”

Llyr nodded. He still refused to see himself at Alphonse’s side, but there was no point in arguing then and there. Not when he had another favor to ask of Prawnsby. “Speaking of Ryland… will you please tell me where he is?”

Prawnsby eyed him a moment. “The dungeons. He’s been jailed on charges of treason.”

“What!” The punishment for treason was death.

Death.

For helping him escape. “He was only trying to help me. Doing what he thought was right. He can’t die for my sin.” Llyr spun, ready to rush and beg his father for clemency.

Prawnsby jumped in front of him. “Let me bring it up with your father first… perhaps I could plant a seed. And allow you time to cool off before you push him into the wrong action with harsh words. It may take me a while… your father must be in good spirits, which is rarer and rarer these days.”

Llyr hovered there a moment, considering his options. His father was quick to anger every day. It could take weeks for Prawnsby to be able to speak on Ryland’s behalf. But it was better than nothing, he supposed. He finally nodded. “Agreed.”

As they swam down the corridor, he glanced at Prawnsby. “Can I at least see him? So I can apologize and beg his forgiveness?”

“I’ll see what I can do. Give me time to see what I can arrange.”

“Thank you,” Llyr whispered, a myriad of emotions running through him. He had to figure out a way to save his best friend… and forget about the two men above the water’s reach.

His hand drifted to his stomach, thinking of the prophecy a moment. If it was all true, there wasn’t just one babe growing inside him, but two. Twin alphas, one born from each of his mates.

As if there isn’t enough to worry about. What do I do about you two?

* * *

Oz slammed the book closed and banged his forehead on it. Why could he not find what he needed? Time passed far too quickly and what did he have to show for it? Nothing. Weeks and weeks of nothing.

“Going that well?”

With a start, he lifted his stare. Dagr strode into the castle library carrying a large tome under his arm and appearing much too at ease.

“Wherehave you been?”

Dagr lifted a brow at Oz’s tone. “YouknowI went to see my grandparents.”

“You were to be gone a day or two. It’s beena month, Dagr. With little word.” He shoved the book he’d been reading out of the way. “Leaving me alone in the search for the prophecy. Which I’ve found nothing, thanks for asking.”

“I sent a letter explaining I would be staying longer than anticipated.” Dagr dropped the old, large tome to the tabletop. “And I was also helping while I was away.”

“Helping? How?”

“The library at Clyffsyde is extensive. I spent some time there but found little. There was something of interest in this old volume.”

“What was it?” Oz asked, curiosity piqued.

Dagr sat down on the tabletop, just before Oz. “First you could say hello and kiss me like you mean it.”

Oz ran a hand down his face. “I’m sorry. I’ve spent every waking hour searching for answers and I’m exhausted.” He rose to his feet and captured Dagr’s face in his hands. “Hello, my love.”

The kiss they shared wasn’t enough to satisfy Oz, but it would have to do. They had work ahead of them.

“That’s better,” Dagr said, grinning. He turned his attention to the book he’d brought. Opening the creaking cover, he paged through until he reached an illustration. It showed two human men with a merman between them.

Oz sat down and took a closer look at it. One of the men had bronzed skin like Dagr. The other wore a shell about his neck—and seemed to have fins on his wrists and ankles. The merman was like Llyr, copper curls and pale skin. His shell birthmark was exactly where their merman’s was. “That’s us.”

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