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“Hours?” I whimpered.

“Mmm. How wet are you right now?” He tugged my bodice lower.

“Laurent,” I breathed. “You shouldn’t…”

“I know. But I’m not very well-behaved, my lady. You knew that when you married me.”

Commotion exploded near the double doors—and then an explosion in the form of a six-year-old skidded into the hall.

Laurent yanked my bodice up and straightened. Instantly, his expression went from wicked to proud—with a hint of exasperation.

The six-year-old explosion bounced between the tables and landed before us. Bright silver eyes gave us a hopeful look. “Can I have a tart before bed?”

“May I,” Laurent corrected, “and not when you neglect to greet your lady mother when you approach her table.”

My son’s gaze fixed on me. He flashed a grin he’d inherited from his father and dipped a courtly bow. “Sorry, Mother.” He rose, grin in place. “May I have a tart?”

“No,” Laurent said firmly. “I have it on good authority you’ve had twelve today.”

Sorin’s eyebrows lifted. “Who slanders me this way?”

“Me,” his father said. “I overheard you boasting about it when you were supposed to be doing your lessons.”

Sorin’s face fell. “Are you sure I said twelve?”

Laurent snorted and pointed to the doors. “Go to bed.”

My son looked at me. “You look beautiful tonight, Mama.”

I shook my head, a smile pulling at my lips. “It won’t work.”

He grinned, offered another bow, then made his way back through the tables. Halfway to the door, he stopped at Varick’s side.

Without pausing his conversation, Varick shifted one of the babies to his other arm, reached behind him, and plucked a tart from a serving platter. He handed it to Sorin and tousled the prince’s hair.

“That devious little shit,” Laurent murmured.

I put a hand over my mouth to muffle my laughter. “He’s exactly like you.”

“He’s rotten.”

“That’s what I just said.”

Laurent shook his head, but he smiled as he watched his heir skip from the Hall. Surprisingly, he was the disciplinarian when it came to parenting. Firm but loving, he was no-nonsense about things like baths and bedtime.

Varick was an absolute pushover. If Sorin slept late, it was almost certainly because Varick let him stay up and stuff himself with sweets.

Violeta chose that moment to let out a disgruntled wail. Without missing a beat, Varick handed Viktor to Captain Radu and cuddled Violeta in both arms. He brought her close to his face and cooed at her, the tips of his fangs showing as he said nonsense words. A second later, the baby let out a happy gurgle.

“I’ll take this one, thank you very much,” Igrith said, striding up to Radu and extending her arms. Lidia was behind her, and she peeked over Igrith’s shoulder and made a funny face at the baby.

Radu surrendered Viktor like he couldn’t believe his good fortune, then shot from the Hall at an impressive rate of speed.

Laurent chuckled. “Radu would rather fight an entire regiment with his hands tied behind his back than change a diaper.”

Baby in hand, Igrith strolled to us with Lidia at her side. They’d wed on the first day of spring in Aberwas five years prior, Laurent and a mage co-officiating. And Laurent had been right: Lidia drove Igrith crazy.

But in the best way possible.