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He’s nothing like I thought he’d be.

Although he looks like the perfect combination of Wicker and Verity, sometimes these little peeks of mine and Lex’s personality will already show through in him. Like how he wakesup in a furious tizzy, or when his curious eyes scan around each room I take him to.

There’s nothing more soothing than walking him around the palace, watching him explore how big the world is. Some nights, when he’s fussy, I’ll walk for hours, showing him the place where Effie first got out of her cage, or the sitting room we used to play Iceberg in, or the huge oak out front where I used to take my laptop during our weekends home.

I try to show him the good memories.

Unfortunately, the smell hits me before I even pick him up, and I turn, finding Wicker lingering in the doorway. “He needs a change.” I grimace, and even from where he’s standing, Wicker looks like he may hurl. “I’ll do it if you’ll get his stuff together and take it to the car.”

Wick holds up his hands. “No argument here.”

Verity makes fun of me for how precise I am with setting up for changing Justice’s diapers, but I’ve learned it’s a lot like torturing a mark down in the dungeon. It’s smelly and super gross, and if you’re not careful, you may get fluids on you, but everything goes smoothly if you’re well prepared. Before I pick up the baby, I’ve already got the changing pad arranged on the bed and the packet of wipes ready. A diaper and fresh pajamas wait nearby.

“Okay, little guy, let’s do this,” I whisper, picking him up. I kiss his perfect little button nose before setting him on the pad, and start the process of undressing him.

“Dude, what did mommy eat before she fed you?” Definitely not almonds. Justice gurgles, not quite smiling yet, but energetically waving his fists around. “I’ll make this fast if you promise not to pee on me, deal?”

I get to work, glancing over my shoulder when I sense someone behind me. Verity’s mother stands in the doorway, a glass of red wine in her hand. “Sy kept Saul’s collection, and Icouldn’t resist breaking into it,” she explains, watching me and Justice with a soft grin. I wipe all of his crevices—there are so many—getting him squeaky clean. “You’re good with him.”

I toss her a smile. “Is that a surprise?”

It still is to me, sometimes.

“A little,” she confesses, stepping into the room. She sits on the bed next to the baby, leaning over to kiss his forehead. “When I found out about Verity becoming Princess, I hated you. All three of you. Although, maybe hate isn’t a strong enough word. Murder,” she dryly adds, “wasn’t off the table.”

My smile hardens into a scowl. “Gee, thanks.”

She shakes her head, looking rueful. “The only thing I knew about any of you was that your father was a monster. Maybe that was unfair.”

I don’t tell her how fair that actually might have been.

We did things to her daughter that I’d absolutely kill someone over if they were done to Justice. Even though Verity’s forgiven us for those things, the thought still sits bitterly in the back of my throat.

Mama B goes on, “Even though I understand a little better now, I can’t say I haven’t been worried about my daughter and grandson this whole time. And I’ll admit, I wasn’t sure how you and Lex would feel about a baby that isn’t biologically yours once he got here.”

This makes me snort. “Family isn’t about blood. It’s about the people you love,” I tell her. “You should know that. You see DKS as your family, don’t you?” I grab the tiny diaper and slip it under Justice’s body, giving his belly a little tickle. “Lex and Wicker are my brothers, and Justice is my son.”

Her head cocks as she assesses me. “And Rufus?”

Freezing, I swallow back a lump in my throat at his name, head shaking. “He was never a father to us. He was a controlling prick who collected us for his own scheme to create a legacy.”I fasten the tabs on the diaper, and Justice’s little legs wiggle around, kicking against me. “A real father could never hurt his son. I understand that now.” I stroke the bottom of his tiny foot, smiling when he squawks. Slowly, the smile falls, hardening. “He took my biological family away from me before I even understood what it meant, and Danner chose to take the secret of my father’s identity to the grave.”

When I glance over, she’s watching me intently, an odd sadness swimming in her eyes. “I didn’t know he was hurting the three of you. If I’d known…” She sighs, long and hard, slipping her finger into Justice’s grasping hand. “Sometimes I feel responsible.”

My face twists. “Why the fuck would you feel responsible? Because you kept Verity away from him?” Snorting, I tell her, “That was probably the best decision you ever made.”

But she shakes her head, a heaviness to the gesture. “If you spoke to Danner, then I’m sure you know about what Rufus was doing to those Princesses.” She shifts, grimacing. “You realize he was infertile.”

I shrug. “Yeah, he was shooting blanks. Danner told us.”

“But he wasn’t always,” she says, the words slow and full of significance. “Not before I conceived Verity.”

I do a double take at the glint in her eyes, realization dawning on me. “You mean…”

“The night he raped me, I got my revenge.” She sniffs, the sound full of contempt. “The tip of my steel-toed boot, slamming right into his rotten testicles. I can’t know for certain if that’s what caused it, of course. But after, I know he was…” Her eyes sparkle menacingly. “Let’s just say he was out of the game for a while.”

I look at this woman in a new light, imagining her burying her boot into Father’s nutsack, right after he made his final useful deposit.

Speak now a prayer for the fruitless…