Steal the Sun (Thieves #4)(31)

Dev laughed. “Our son will have much bigger problems than having two fathers. What happens when all the teachers at the school find themselves pregnant? Including the ones who have gone through menopause? That might cause a bit of concern. Or when he plays with the plants and they overrun the gymnasium?”

“Oh, I can see the parent teacher conference now.” I swallowed because I didn’t know if I was ready for a regular baby much less a magical one.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” he assured me with a laugh. “He won’t be going to public schools. There are enough strange creatures on our plane that we have schools to handle the more magically inclined children.”

“Nice,” Daniel said, his dimples making an appearance. “Our kid’s going to Hogwarts.”

“Something like that. Rest assured he won’t be made fun of for having two dads. The other children will be far too afraid that his vampire dad will defend his son,” Dev stated.

“And I will,” Daniel said with a nod. “And if it is a girl, I will make sure my beast is there to greet anyone brave enough to date her.”

“Oh, god, if it’s a girl, will she be a companion?” I had a new biggest fear. Some vampire was going to come after my daughter. They would try to sell her. They would put her up for auction and she would go to the highest bidder. I would die before that happened to my daughter.

Dev cuddled me close, his voice turning serious. “Zoey, we don’t know for sure that she would be a companion. We do know that she would be the daughter of the Nex Apparatus, and when we’re done she will be the daughter of the acknowledged King of all Vampire. I doubt they’ll be stealing her off the street.”

“I’ll take apart the first one who looks at her and then the others might learn something.” Daniel’s voice had gone guttural.

Dev leaned in and kissed me. “I love you, sweetheart. It’s going to be fine. Like I said, Daniel and I will take such sweet care of you and our children. Now, I have some fields to make green and lush. I see our vampire is back to his strength, so I leave you in his capable hands. Perhaps tonight we can go to the temple. It’s where our child will be born.”

Daniel laid back in bed. “God, Z, please eat soon. I don’t want to lose this energy. It feels too f*cking good.”

Dev laughed as he pulled back the bed curtains. “I’ll have Albert bring the tea in if he hasn’t already. Oh, hello, Bibi. Good morning to you.” His voice was amused as he glanced back through the curtains. “Sweetheart, your secretary has taken up residence on the chest at the end of our bed. I hope she doesn’t mind nudity.”

She didn’t. Bibi smiled shyly and toted her notebook that was far too large for her small hands. I poked my head out of the curtains and greeted my assistant.

“Good morning, mistress,” she said. “You seemed to be involved with your husbands. I did not want to interrupt you so I waited. Mara tried to dismiss me this morning, but I told her you wanted me and she should train me or you might be angry and take your vengeance out on her. She was scared. I have notes.”

“Excellent,” I said, happy that the troll was taking charge of her life. I just kind of wished she hadn’t been listening in to mine. “How about finding me a robe?”

“Of course,” she agreed. “And the large red person has drawn you a bath, though he says you will have to be satisfied with merely warm instead of scalding. I don’t know what that means but he said he didn’t want the baby to boil. I’m very excited about the baby.”

“So everyone knows?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about my private news being made so public. I wished I’d had some time to process it before everyone started planning the birth. It was inevitable. There wasn’t a lot of privacy in a court like this. It ran on rumors and innuendo. With the fertility problems of the Fae, my pregnancy was going to be big news.

Bibi nodded. “Prince Declan made an announcement last night at the banquet. All of Faery is excited. They believe it bodes well for Prince Dev’s fertility powers. Queen Miria cried. She wanted to see you, but Prince Declan said you needed time alone. There is a tray of tea and toast when you are ready.”

I stretched and decided to enjoy my role as a royal for once. “I’ll take my breakfast in the tub.”

I kissed Daniel, slipped on my robe and began the day.





“Daniel is obviously feeling better, Z,” Sarah said, walking into the opulent bathroom after going to check on her patient. “What’s this I hear about Bris helping out?”

I grinned up at her. “He can funnel his magic directly into Daniel’s body.”

Her eyes went wide. “Seriously?”

“Yep. That was a good couple of minutes.” I let the warm water heat up my skin. I was feeling damn good. Danny seemed to be all right with the fact that we were having a baby, so I was settling my mind around it. It also made me think about the fact that I was having a faery child. I should try to fit in. I made a vow to myself to attempt to get along with the court. No more hauling naked noblewomen around by their hair, I promised myself. I would try to be a lady.

“I’m just wondering how Z is going to make it through nine months without a martini,” Neil mused with a devilish grin from the other side of my overly large tub. It was more like a small pool complete with steps to get in. Neil grabbed the soap. He gestured for me to turn around and started soaping my back. “It could affect the entire Dallas bar scene. I wonder how many bars will go under without their best customer.”