“Me, too,” Tiernan said, wiping at his eyes with a chubby fist.
Jullien turned to find Kiara in the hallway with her youngest daughter asleep in her arms. Out of Nyk’s six kids, Zarina was the only one who looked Andarion. The rest could easily pass as fully human.
“Thia’s really leaving?” A tear slid down Kiara’s cheek.
Thia nodded bashfully. “I’ll be back.”
And still the tears fell down her face unchecked. Her gaze anguished, she stared up at Nykyrian. “That’s it, then. You’re right. We’re chaining the rest to their beds until after we die.”
Thia let out a tired sigh. “Great. My siblings will hate me forever… and speaking of—Let me go say good-bye to Adron and Jayce. I’ll be right back.”
Kiara’s gaze followed after her, then she turned to glare at Jullien. “Take her out of here and I’ll kill you myself.”
He choked at her uncharacteristic threat.
Nykyrian pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Now, now, Ki, don’t threaten him for doing something I asked him to do.”
She nodded, and glanced back to Jullien. “You will watch over her?”
“Like I do my own.”
Sniffing and laughing, she stepped away from Nyk to give Jullien a kiss. “If she needs anything, call us. We can get to her immediately.”
“I will. And don’t worry. Ushara’s already made a room for her. And Nadya’s looking forward to having an older sister-cousin. She was making a welcome banner for Thia with her sisters and my twins when I left.”
Thia came dancing out of her brothers’ room to grab Jullien’s hand. “I’m ready!”
God, how he envied her that enthusiasm that came from venturing into the world with a safety net that would cushion her should she stumble. It was something he’d never known.
Nyk either.
They’d been thrown to the wolves to fend for themselves when they’d barely been out of their nappies. No one had ever given a single shit what happened to either of them. It was what made the two of them so insanely protective of their children.
Jullien glanced between his brother and Kiara. “Are you two ready?”
“Not at all.” Nyk winced as he took Zarina from Kiara as if it was the only way he could trust himself to not grab or shoot Thia to keep her there.
“Me, either.”
Jullien well understood. “You two stay here and pretend she’s going off with friends. It’ll be easier.”
Kiara yanked Thia into her arms and wailed in the poor girl’s ear. “I love you, baby!”
“Love you, too,” Thia choked out. For the first time, Jullien saw grief in her eyes and knew that Thia did love them.
But she was old enough now to try and find her own way in the world.
She released Thia to Nyk’s embrace. He lifted her completely off her feet with one arm. “Stay safe. Don’t make me kill my brother.”
“I will and I won’t.”
And with that, he released her to Jullien’s care.
Jullien said a quick good-bye, took Thia’s bags from her hands, and then he and Thia headed for the main entrance of the palace.
He hesitated as they descended the stairs. “You sure about this? You’re not going to try and kick open the door when we go to launch, right?”
She laughed. “I’m good. Thank you, Basha Jules.”
