Page 71 of Pregnant With Their Babes

“I told her no because I was angry that she’d called you a muddle-blood! Obviously, you neglected to stay and listen as I cut her down after that remark.”

“Oh? You never let me come down for another party after that one. You hid me.”

His grandmother shook her head. “Not because of you! Because ofthem.” She sighed. “Many attended our fetes and balls simply to observe you—as if you were an exhibit at some museum. They’d whisper behind their fans… so crass. I wastryingto protect you.” Her hands fisted on a handkerchief in her lap. She gazed down at it before spreading it out. When she lifted her face to him, she appeared to be barely holding on to her emotions. “I made mistakes, Dagr. I know. I loved you, and I wanted what was best for you in my heart. I was never very good at showing it.”

Words failed Dagr. Their relationship had always been distant. Seeing her now like this… it seemed unsteady in some way. His antipathy was the bedrock of his whole world view. Having that whipped away made his footing shaky, at best.

Everything would crumble beneath his feet, at worst.

In that moment, he craved Oz by his side.

His rock.

Llyr’s words whispered in his mind. How he never took a moment to see the other side. “I never realized.”

The duchess pressed the handkerchief to the corner of her eyes. She seemed to pull her emotions back into the firm mask he was more accustomed to. “From the very day you arrived, you havealwaysbeen the heir apparent. Nothing has changed. Someday soon you’ll be the Grand Duke of Clyffsyde. If you desire it.”

He remained silent. His life had changed so much in the last two decades.

“You havenothingto say? You’re to be a rich, powerful man soon. Although, from the stories I’ve heard from your exploits with Prince Oswald, you’ve already become quite the swashbuckling hero.”

Dagr swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

“Some stories made it to the local papers,” she said before crossing the room to the bookcase. She pulled down one of her many scrapbooks and opened it. His grandmother came back to sit beside him, showing clippings detailing his and Oz’s journeys. Page after page was cut and pressed into her book.

“My grandson, theinfamousCommander Dagr von Burgstaller—a dashing conqueror traveling the globe. What stories you must be able to tell now.”

Dagr spun his gaze toward his grandmother, seeing her in a wholly new light. “I should’ve answered your letters.”

She never lifted her regard—only continued to contemplate her clippings. But he saw the duchess purse her lips, as if she held back emotion. “Yes. Youshouldhave.”

“I’ve recently been told I’m unyielding. Unable to bend. That I don’t see other sides to the story… and that I miss out on so much because of that,” he murmured.

“I’d say that whomever expressed that was an astute judge of character,” she answered before lifting her shining stare. “Had you answered any one of those letters… or ever returned home… we could’ve had this talk long, long ago.” She smiled wanly. “Though, I will admit that my increasing age has allowed me to look back on my life with new perspective in recent years. Had you come back sooner, I’m unsure if I’d have been as willing to admit my failings as a parent.” She chuckled. “Maybe I see who taught you to be so unyielding, hmm?”

He smiled. “Perhaps.”

“I’d like a chance to leave a little more of a legacy than that. If you’ll stay… and give me and your grandfather an opportunity to learn about the man you’ve now become? And to teach you about this place you’ll someday inherit?”

Dagr nodded, attempting to keep a stiff upper lip. His plans to sail away swirled in his mind, calling to him. Yet he couldn’t turn away from this opportunity to know the family he always assumed never wanted him. “I would love that.”

His grandmother laid down the scrapbook. She rose, wobbling on her feet at first, and held out her arms. “I’ve waited so long to do this.”

Dagr climbed to his feet and wrapped his arms around her. He hugged her frail body tight. “I’ve waited my whole life.”

His mind again drifted to Llyr as she held him…

Would he have been so accepting had it not been for his merman? He had considered not visiting and simply returning to sea—but something Llyr had said outside the witch’s cottage had stuck with him.

And Llyr had been right.

His heart stuttered in his chest, the loss of Llyr somehow more profound now. How he could feel so strongly after only a few days spent with their merman… he struggled to understand. Dagr closed his eyes. There was no doubt in his mind. Now he’d not only mourn the loss of Oz… but Llyr, too.

At least he had something to focus his attentions on—a family welcoming him with open arms. A new beginning. He drew away from his grandmother and smiled down at her. “So what can you tell me about my mother, the enchantress extraordinaire?”

“I don’t know much, but I’m equally curious howyoufound out.”

“How about I tell you—once I’ve had a chance to see grandfather?”

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