Morkarai let out a sigh of relief beyond the estate, leaning ba his chair. He reached up to his eyes, rubbing around them gently, massaging away the stress. ‘Kazadin will poke fun at me if I return with so many wrinkles.’

  ‘Is he that relieved for someone else’s child?’ Jasmihought, eyeing up the Prince. ‘He said he felt guilty about a mistake he had made, but even so…’

  Iate, Vonda offered Adam to hold his daughter.

  “How I?” Adam said, though his hands had already betrayed him, and he held the girl, supp her neck with a hand. Just like Jirot and Jarot had been, she was so tiny. So light. Sile.

  The girl squirmed slightly, hag lightly. He held her as though she were made of the most brittle the world. He almost shook, feeling the sudden swirl of emotions, the burning within his eyes, the rush within his heart, the fshes of warmth and joy within his body.

  “Oh,” Adam whispered. “My girl. Look at you. Oh how cute you are. Why do you have to be born so cute? This is all your mother’s fault, how she do this to me?” Adam wao crush her in his affe, but he restrained himself. His eyes fell to Jurot, who stared at his little boy.

  ‘Small. Ugly.’ Jurot remained silent, lost within his thoughts, the boy within his mother’s arms. ‘…’

  “What an adorable little boy,” Adam said. “What’s his name?”

  “Damrot.”

  “Dam, son of Pam,” Adam joked. “How cute.”

  “Virot is a good name,” Jurot said. “Virot, who fought back…” Jurot thought deeply, but he could barely recall the story. ‘Virot…’

  “Virot, because her mother is Vonda, and her sisters are simir,” Adam said, before pausing. “Hold on, Vonarot is pretty good too.”

  Vonda smiled. “Virot is a good name.”

  “Yeah, Virot is the best name.” Adam stared down at his tiny girl again, whose eyes were shut tight, refusing to even aowledge the world. “They were both born on the same day. Tenth of the tenth.”

  “Yes…” Jurot remaiaring at his boy.

  “Doesn’t that mean they’re twins? How cute. How cute, these little children of ours. How they do this? I love them so much already. How they do this?”

  Jurot uood that Adam was holding himself back, but his thoughts remained focused on the babies. ‘They look just like Lanarot.’ He remembered when Lanarot was born, she was so small, sile, so ugly too. “Cutest In The Whole World.”

  “That’s right!” Adam almost excimed.

  “Cirot, Sirot, watch over them,” Sonarot said, the young Iyrmen standing proudly, at the ready to assist watg over them that day. “You should rest tonight, my daughters.”

  Pam raised her brows in surprise at the woman’s words, gng aside to Jurot, who didn’t seem to react. ‘It’s an Iyrman thing, but…’

  Vonda remained silent, her eyes fshing with surprise for a moment, having not expected the woman to call her daughter so ht. That was when her eyes snapped aside to Adam, who seemed to be ign the embarrassing phrase, but also menting on the fact he had to give up his daughter so soon.

  “Thank you,” Pam said, still uo call the woman mother.

  “Yes. Thank you.” Vonda let out a sigh.

  Adam held his wife’s hand, brushing it gently, while hearing Jirot threaten her aunts.

  “Is my kaka and my kaza!” Jirot said, holding out her finger. “You are looking after good, okay?”

  “Okay,” the twins replied.

  “Okay,” Jirot said, leaving it at that, though she followed the women.

  “You must stay behind.”

  “No! I am kaka!”

  “You must stay behind because you are the kaka.”

  Jirot blinked. “I stay behind. I am kaka.” The girl stepped after them for a moment, but she stopped. ‘I stay behind. I am kaka.’ The girl looked aside. ‘Hmph. I am kaka.’ She crossed her hands behind her bad walked, deep in thought. ‘I am kaka.’

  ‘Eh?’ Adam thought. ‘Isn’t this bad? Aren’t my kids too cute? What am I saying? They have to be this cute, since I’m so stupid.’

  As Adam made the joke for the umpteenth time that year, the old one armed Iyrman remained sitting outside, havihe children as they had left the estate. ‘They were borhy. Good.’

  The children gathered around Adam, even Jirot, who had long fotten what she was pting so deeply.

  “You! You all uand, right? You ot bully them, sihey’re so young, your little sister and cousin. You have to love them as much as you , you uand?”

  “Yes!” the children replied excitedly.

  “No bully!” Jirot firmed.

  “Jirot, do you uand?”

  “I uand,” the girl replied, puffing out her chest.

  “Konarot…” Adam brushed the girl’s hair. “You’re the eldest.” Adam picked her up and kissed her cheek. “You o watch over her too.”

  “Okay…” The girl’s tail swayed gently.

  “Daddy, Virot is not green?”

  “No.”

  “Is okay. I love Virot even if she is not green. I love her so much, daddy, so much.” The girl let out a sigh, as though she were burdened by the love she held.

  “Virot is… she’s our daughter. She’s the daughter of… mummy and daddy, just like you, Jirot, just like you, Kirot, and just like you, Konarot.”

  “Yes!” the children replied, all but Konarot, who remained silent.

  “Lanarot, e here,” Adam called, the girl rushing up to her brother’s side. “Damrot is your nephew, just like Karot, Jarot, and Larot, do you uand?”

  “Yes! Damrot is papa’s son! Virot is papa’s daughter!”

  “Right.” Adam held her. “You o watch over them as their kako, yeah?”

  “Yes.” Lanarot reached up to pat her brother’s shoulder. “I give them bread.”

  “Exactly.” Adam poked her nose. “Nht now, though, sihey are too young.”

  “Too young?”

  “Too small. When they are bigger, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Vonda and Pam remained within their makeshift beds, pletely drained.

  “ I heal you both with magic?” Adam asked, realising that they probably were harmed through the process.

  “You may,” Vonda said, holding out her hand.

  Lay on Hands: 35 -> 25

  The warmth filled through him into his wife as their iwined fingers. He smiled towards his wife, before ing back to reality. He held out his hand to Pam, who reached out to allow him to hold her hand, sending warmth through her.

  Lay on Hands: 25 -> 15

  It was already te in the evening ohe women had given birth, and they were taken aside to sleep by themselves to plete a full rest. Adam helped his children with their nightly routine, and he waited for them to sleep, before stepping out into the night sky. He could feel the tihrough his entire body as he walked, until he found another fellow walking in the dark.

  “Is Lanababy asleep?”

  “Yes.”

  “Yeah…” Adam sat down beside his brother.

  “I have a strange feeling. “Jurot remaiaring at the sky. “He is my son, but I hold… a vagueness within my heart. I… do not feel the same way you do about your children. I do not feel the same way about my own son that I do for my own sister.”

  “There will e a day, Jurot. A day where you’ll gain this dread, eternal dread, about your children. You’ll gain it and you’ll realise, ah, if it came to it, you would go against even the Divine.”

  “Would you face even Baktu?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I do not know.”

  “You don’t have to worry, I know your retionship with Baktu.” Adam reached up to pat Jurot’s arm. “If it es down to it, I’ll go for our little Damrot.”

  Though Adam was obviously joking, Jurot could feel the burning in his eyes, the shame in his throat, and the relief within his heart. “Thank you, Adam.”

  “Any time,” Adam replied, staring up at the night sky. He go the side, noting how hard Jurot was thinking. “Jurot?”

  “Yes?”

  “You don’t have to worry. Be the dad you want to be. I’m sure, if it’s you, he’ll be just fine. I’ll spoil your kid for you.” Adam smiled wider.

  “I worry. I will not be a good father.”

  “You’ll be the best.”

  Jurot gowards Adam, uo hide the doubt in his eyes. “How do you know?”

  “If you’re even half the father that you are a brother, you’ll be a great father,” Adam assured.

  Jurot wondered if he was a good brother. There was a time when he felt he wasn’t. There was a time when he felt he was. “Thank you, Adam.”

  “Any time.”

  The m, it began.

  “Make sure you all greet the Little Bosses today,” Adam said, having takehe m, with the newborn children within their mother’s arms. “One day they’ll be a part of the business, as Executives. You might be thinking that it’s ism, and you’d be absolutely right! However, I’ll make sure they’re good enough, so don’t you worry.”

  The air was light, the business relieved to see Adam in such high spirits after how long he had been swallowed by darkness.

  “No, what am I saying? They’ll stay small and cute forever.”

  Though Adam’s ge was heavy upon the air, they fave him, just this once.

  ‘Seven children,’ Adam thought. ‘Seven…’ Adam remained beside Vonda, who put their youo sleep, and allowed Cirot to watch over her. “You o take the month off, same with Pam. It’s required by the business, the same as Amira, and the others. Uand?”

  “I uand,” Vonda replied, holding his hand. “I will o train once I am rested. I feel I have grown weaker.” ‘And…’ Vonda didn’t want to admit it, but the heavihat had taken her body, which had once been rather lean, had worn her spirits down.

  Adam tio hold her hand, rubbing her knuckles. “What do you want for our baby girl? What do you wao bee?”

  “I wish for her to bee a Priest.”

  “If she wants to, she . If she doesn’t?”

  “I will not restrict her.”

  Adam leaned in, nuzzling against her neck, before ed an arm around his wife. “If there’s anything you need, don’t be afraid to ask, alright?”

  “I know.”

  Adam smiled. “Damrot is so cute too, isn’t he?”

  “He is.”

  “Ranya. Merry…” Adam tutted. “These kids, they think because they’re so cute, I’ll spoil them. They’re right, but still, they should show me mercy, shouldn’t they?”

  Vonda smiled, squeezing his hand, allowing Adam to rant to her, while she rested against her husband.

  Lord Morkarai met with Adam, p him a drink. “gratutions.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I’m gd she is born with such great health,” Morkarai said, smiling, the guilt a shadow upon his face.

  “Yeah,” Adam replied. The half elf smiled, reag over to pat the Prince’s knee, before the pair drank together. “Are you heading back soon?”

  “Soon,” Morkarai firmed. “I should begin my journey before the month passes.”

  “Stay until the end of the month at least! You o see how adorable my kids are, and I know you guys take a while to gather information!”

  Morkarai smiled, letting out a soft sigh. “I will do just that. I will journey home, and within a few years, I shall send an appropriate gift for your daughter. For…” For a moment, Morkarai wondered if he was allowed to say her name. “For Virot.”

  “A gift?” Adam asked, also noting how he hesitated for saying Virot’s name, but he poured the giant another drink.

  Morkarai smirked, not allowing his guilt to slip him up in that regard, sihey were different matters.

  “Are you keeping me in suspense?” Adam asked, gring at the Prince pyfully.

  “I am certain it will not displease you.”

  “I’m sure,” Adam replied, chug. He sipped his wine, narrowing his eyes. “It ’t be too good, though. You ’t outshine me, since I’m her father.”

  “How I outshine you? It will be great, but it will be just one gift, when you will spoil her many times, aainly with greater gifts.”

  “What slick words… you really are a Prince!” Adam poured the fire giant another drink, ughing.

  Morkarai chuckled, the pair versing for some time, before Morkarai finally asked. “Will you watch over Jasmine?”

  “Are you askio do it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright.”

  “Do you wish to know more?”

  “Is it dangerous?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then don’t tell me. I want the pusible deniability, just in case.”

  “I will inform her of the good news.”

  While the Prind Adam chat away, Jaygak y on the wall, staring up at the sky. ‘She has such lovely ears, but shouldn’t she have horns?’

  “Jaygak…” Kitool said from the shadows.

  “I’m allowed to, since my niece was just born!”

  Kitool allowed her to thiupid thoughts.

  Double chapter today courtesy of a new patron!