He’d taken on such responsibility. “It wasn’t your fault. You did what he wanted you to do, what we needed you to do. You were more than we could have hoped for.”
Albert tilted his head. “I am happy to have done this duty. I will stay and look forward to welcoming the next member of our family. Congratulations, Your Highness. I’m glad you and Master Daniel had a chance to grace our world with your child. And Eddie is over the moon at the thought of Mistress Kelsey having a baby. Our dark times…well, we’re not through them yet, but you bring light and life with you.”
“Thank you.” It still seemed surreal that I was pregnant. It reminded me of another pregnancy that had come at a bad time. That pregnancy and what happened to me in the catacombs of Paris had come full circle, and I had to face the choice I’d made that day. But I still had questions before I had to deal with what Daniel had told me the night before. “You said Gray was still there that morning. Is he all right? From what I heard last night he didn’t stick with you and Trent.”
“He could not,” Albert explained as we heard someone walking down the hall. “We decided it was easier for Gray to stay away. He couldn’t leave the inner planes. He must remain close to the Hell plane, and after he began his descents…well, Hell changes a person. I’m worried at what Mistress Kelsey might find.”
So was I, but the door opened and I had to let it go for now.
“Good morning, Mother. Albert, this looks lovely as always.” Evan walked in and picked up her plate.
Albert gave her a nod. “I wanted something special for your parents’ return. I’ll be helping Eddie prepare for your journey if you need anything else.”
“Thank you,” Evan said, turning to me when the door closed again. “I hope this family meeting doesn’t take too long. We’re due to head to Atlanta in thirty minutes. I don’t intend to hold Kelsey up.”
So she was still in a good mood. “Where’s Fen?”
There was a massive buffet laid out, and it couldn’t all be for us. Daniel didn’t eat, and I scarcely thought the platter of grilled meat was meant for my breakfast.
“I’m going to make him a plate.” Evan moved to the buffet. “Dad asked that we make this a family meeting. Fen isn’t blood.”
I snorted at the thought. If we didn’t understand our kids now that they were grown, they certainly didn’t understand us. “Daniel isn’t technically blood either, but I assure you he’s family.” I seriously doubted Danny had meant to leave Fenrir out. And if he had, then I was going over his head. I crossed the room and opened the door to the hallway. Sure enough, Fen was leaning against the wall, waiting. “Fenrir, there’s half a cow in here for you. Is your mother with you? She’s welcome as well.”
He was absolutely adorable when he smiled. “Thanks, Your Highness. Mom is taking breakfast in her room. I was going to join her, but she’s like super pregnant and apparently not enjoying it. Normally I can eat through anything, but that’s some hefty vomit going on there.”
“We’ll need to make sure to pack some snacks because her morning sickness won’t last, and I assure you she’ll want food.” I ushered him in, grateful this baby of mine didn’t seem to have the same effect on me. “Where are the boys? And has anyone seen Grandad?”
I probably should have asked if they’d seen Shy, but in this case it was specifically my father who should be here.
“Shy’s sleeping. She projected Grandad a lot yesterday. It takes something out of her. More recently, it’s really left her exhausted. She’ll sleep until afternoon at least. As for the boys, they slept out with the trolls. They have a little encampment on the other side of the mountain.” Evan passed Fen the plate she was holding and picked up a smaller one for herself. “The room we put you in was spelled to contain Fae sex magic, but Rhys wasn’t taking any chances. Which is funny because he’s the reason we had to spell the room. Did you know that Rhys doesn’t need to actually have sex to infect a whole area with lust?”
“Things got real bad when Rhys figured out how to...” Fen started to giggle and then seemed to realize who he was talking to. “Sorry, Your Highness. I meant…”
“You meant when Rhys masturbates, so does everyone else.” I sighed. “If his father had been around he would have taught him to control that.”
“I told you Momma isn’t a prude.” Evan placed a Danish on her plate.
Ah, the first bit of movement after yesterday’s debacle. “I’ve dealt with Rhys’s issues for a long time. You try getting called into a school meeting where you have to explain why every teacher in your son’s grade is suddenly pregnant. Including the one who’d gone through menopause.”