Black Knight (Royal Elite 4)

Kirian’s pout appears as he watches her with puppy eyes, fidgeting, waiting for a smidge of her attention. It looks so much like me when I was a child.

You mean, even now.

I continue tickling him to divert his focus from her. As soon as the deliverymen leave and she closes her studio – that’s soundproof – we go back to dancing until we collapse.

It’s his bedtime anyway, so I usher him to his room.

“Can Xan come over?” Kir asks me once he’s put on his pyjamas and I’m tucking him in his bed.

“No,” I snap, then smile to camouflage it.

“But why not? It would be fun to dance with him.”

“I don’t like dancing in front of others. Only you, my little monkey.”

“And Dad!”

“And Dad.”

He FaceTimed us earlier and we spoke to him for thirty minutes. Kir didn’t shut up about school and his friends and how he’s the most popular one.

He is. Girls are starting to give him letters.

At least one of us isn’t a complete loser.

I told Dad I miss him and resisted the urge to ask him when he’s coming home this time. It’ll only make him feel guilty and I don’t want to ever do that to him.

“Are all the tickets really gone?” He narrows his eyes.

Okay, so I might have lied about Elites’ game tickets. It’s the only way to keep him from bugging me, sort of.

He’s a Xander fan through and through.

“Yeah, promise.”

“I’ll ask him for tickets next time.”

Of course he will. This is just a temporary solution. Kir is smarter than I give him credit for.

“Don’t bother him.”

“He said I don’t.”

I pause. “He did?”

He nods frantically. “He always asks his cook to make me brownies and lets Ahmed play with me. Xan says I can call him when you can’t pick me up.”

“Don’t tell me you did.”

He looks away.

“Kir!”

“Don’t worry, Kimmy.” Kir grins. “Xan will lie and say you dance better than me.”

I make my hands into claws. “Well, is he going to lie and say you’re not ticklish?”

“No, stop it.”