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Tes huffed. “No wonder your father was upset. I’m sure he loved you both equally and hated that you felt like that. As I said before, you’re no one’s shadow. Would you want Speran to disparage himself so?”

“No, of course not. I—” Ber’s voice cracked, and the color drained from his face. “Gods, Tes. Speran. He’s…he’s here. I’m here. One summons, and I could…”

Her chest squeezed until her breath drew short.They can finally meet.She should call for the nursemaid to bring their child here. It would be safest if they intended to keep their presence a secret, though Speran might be more hesitant in this unfamiliar room. Could they sneak up to her chamber upstairs? Perhaps through the tunnels, if Toren would unseal them.

“Come on,” Tes sprang from the bed. “We’ll find a way to get upstairs unseen.”

Just as Ber followed, Ria’s mind brushed Tes’s.“If you’re awake, could you come to the nursery? We can’t settle either of the children.”

“What about Mae?”

“She…needed a break,”Ria said.“Please hurry. And don’t bother trying to sneak. Toren announced your presence at morning court.”

Tes nearly choked on her gasp, earning Ber’s immediate attention. “What’s wrong?” he demanded, his arm going around her waist.

“I just spoke mentally with Ria.” Tes clenched her hands to still their shaking. “Toren revealed that we’re here. At morning court. He told me he’d no longer hide, but…”

Ber’s muttered curses snapped through the room.

“Have you ever had two babies crying in your ear for almost two hours?”Ria sent.“Worry about the rest later.”

Tes grabbed her husband’s hand and started toward the door. “We’re needed in the nursery. Ria can’t get the babies to calm down.”

His steps slowed enough that she frowned over her shoulder at him. But her annoyance faded at the fear on his face. “I don’t know if I can do this,” Ber said. “What if he rejects me?”

She gave his hand a sharp tug. “There’s only one way to find out.”

And she prayed to the gods that all their hearts weren’t broken in the process.

From the momenthe’d first learned of Tes’s pregnancy, Ber had longed to meet their child. Yet with each step closer to the nursery, dread weighed his muscles down with increasing intensity. He might have turned into a statue in the middle of the corridor if not for his wife’s hand wrapped around his.

Muffled wails greeted them as they neared the nursery door, and Tes paused with her hand on the knob. “They really are upset to be so loud.”

Great. It was the perfect way to meet one’s child for the first time, wasn’t it? As Tes led the way into the room, Ber wiped his free hand against his tunic and resisted the urge to cover his ears. Gods above. He’d heard quieter torture sessions. Even the energy swirling around the room was a mess, and he barely had the ability to detect it.

A tired Ria swayed by the window with one crying baby, but his gaze only skimmed them as his focus arrowed toward Toren.Toren, who paced the room in a wrinkled tunic and pants, his usually immaculate hair currently tangled in the grip of the larger baby. Speran. It had to be. But his brother seemed unable to calm the crying child.

Toren wasted no time hurrying over to them. “Nothing helps,” he managed to say over the cacophony.

“Here.” Tes held out her hands. “Go help Ria.”

At her voice, the babe lifted his head from Toren’s shoulder with a little hiccup. The child wiggled, turning to stretch his hands toward Tes. Ber’s breath caught, and warmth flooded him, the wonder of it almost unbearably strong. The babe was such a mix of him and Tes.

So perfect.

“Speran,” he murmured.

The baby let out a gurgling cry—and launched himself unexpectedly at Ber. He scooped the child against his chest just in time, his heart pounding frantically in his ears as he struggled to situate Speran’s unexpected weight. He could have fallen. What if Ber hadn’t reacted in time? Shuddering, he resisted the urge to tighten his hold, though he did his best to ensure that the baby was well-supported.

As Speran snuggled against him, little hands gripping his tunic, Ber stared down at the dark whorls of hair on his son’s head. The exact same color as his. How else were they similar? Temperament? Appearance? Ber twisted his head until he could just manage to count the fingers wrapped around his shirt.

Five per hand, of course. No doubt, Speran had all of his toes, too. It wasn’t as though the child had been born moments ago—someone would have mentioned anything outside the norm. Not that it would matter, Ber thought fiercely. It wasn’t uncommon for a warrior to lose a finger. One could always account for such things.

“It seems he wanted you,” Toren said, an obnoxious amount of satisfaction in his tone. “I’d wondered if he sensed you, and this confirms it. Even his magic has calmed.”

Ber blinked in surprise at his brother. The odd energy in the roomhaddissipated, and Elnaril’s cries were now low sniffles. He’d been too occupied with his own emotions to notice that the energy had come from Speran. He hadn’t even processed how quiet it had become.

“I’ve been trying to soothe them myself for almost two hours.” Ria drifted closer, still swaying her own child in her arms. “Elna is sensitive to magic. When he’s upset enough, your son is strong enough to project it.”