“He is simply beautiful, Your Highnesses.”
“Thank you, Sin.” King Adrian smirked. “I will say, it is about time you came to see him. Ithasbeen seven months.”
“I do apologize. I would have come sooner, however, the cases I had been working on were not ones I could leave unfinished.”
Sin chuckled when Silas grabbed his finger and promptly shoved it into his mouth.
“I wouldn’t…” King Xavier started to say, but trailed off when Sin winced.
Prince Silas was apparently a biter, and one of his little fangs was currently piercing Sin’s finger.
“No, no, no. Bad Silas, don’t bite Uncle Sin,” Adrian admonished. Standing up from his throne, the man gently extracted Sin’s finger from the infant’s mouth and took him into his arms.
Prince Silas let out a small whimper. The little boy's bottom lip trembled and tears began to form in his eyes.
“Oh, my little snuggle bear, don’t cry,” Adrian cooed, cuddling his child as he sat back down. “I promise you can bite Uncle Dante the next time he visits.”
“Adrian…” Xavier growled.
The man ignored his husband and continued to offer up Dante to the infant. “Oh, yes you can. You can bite Uncle Dante all you want.” Silas softly gurgled when Adrian tapped his nose. “You can chomp, chomp, chomp, because Dante is a pain in your daddy’s butt.”
Xavier let out an exasperated sigh. “I am sorry about that. He’s teething.” The man chuckled. “Though, he also bites when he’s hungry.”
Sin laughed. “It’s quite alright, Your Highness. I assure you, I have suffered worse bites than that.”
“Haven’t we all.” Adrian grinned deviously, wiggling his eyebrows.
Xavier snorted.
A shift of air had Sin peering over the back of his chair at the throne room doors. One of them had opened just a bit, and a barefoot little girl of five slipped inside. She had wide crystal-blue eyes and hair the color of fire. That hair was currently pulled up haphazardly into pigtails that bounced as she ran up to them.
“Hi! Uncle Rian, Uncle Xavy.” The little girl giggled. “Can I play with the baby?”
“Of course, you can, sweetie. But remember, babies are fragile, so you have to be careful.” Adrian beamed.
The little girl nodded enthusiastically, her pigtails bopping. Adrian placed the baby into the six by six foot playpen that was set up next to the thrones.
Sin couldn’t help but smile. Baylin and Kellin Ambrus’s little girl, Ava, was simply precious. And easily as hyperactive as her birth father, Kellin. However, Sin did wonder where her counterpart, Caleb, was—not to mention why she was wandering around alone.
“Sweetie, where is your brother and Uncle Kaiden?” Xavier asked, the tone of his voice slightly admonishing. “I believe you should be with them.”
Ava waved dismissively, her gaze remaining on the baby. “They’re coming. They’re just slow.”
Someone had been spending too much time with Adrian, Sinthought. Though Ava’s bare feet were more of a giveaway than anything else.
The door was pushed open wider and Councilman Kaiden Voltair and Caleb entered. Unlike Ava, their approach was unhurried. They stopped side by side in front of the two kings. Kaiden’s stance was relaxed, while Caleb’s hands were clasped behind his back.
Caleb truly took after Baylin. Sin could honestly not recall having ever met such a calm little boy.
“I apologize for the interruption, Your Highnesses.” Kaiden’s eyes narrowed on the little girl, who was peering back innocently. “Ava has a tendency to run off.”
“I’m quite aware, Kaiden. No harm was done.” Adrian smirked.
Sin’s gaze roamed over the councilman. Kaiden had become quite dower after the death of his son almost six years ago. The year following Dorian’s murder, the man had collapsed into himself. However, with the birth of the twins, and no doubt the efforts of King Adrian, Kaiden had been pulled from his despair.
Still, it had only been a year since the vampire had returned to his position on the council. It was a testament to how much the people in his district cared for him that Kaiden hadn’t been replaced despite his absence. Councilwoman Sabriel Argent’s willingness to watch over the man’s district no doubt helped. Sin felt an overwhelming sense of pride that the councilwoman presiding over his territory was of such high morals. Though, the other council members were of equal caliber.
Having known Kaiden for many years, Sin was relieved to see the man’s condition improving.
