Bryan stared at the surprisingly wan appearance of his father as he sat resting on a comfortable lounger close to Simon. There had been a time when his father had been larger than life, a powerful king who was considered a fair ruler by all his people. Now he just looked…melancholy and older. Bryan didn’t have the heart or the stomach to fight with his only parent. “I understand your motives, even if I don’t approve of them.” Their father cared about all of his sons, even though he had a strange way of showing it sometimes. The former king had suffered enough, seen the woman he’d loved and his chosen bride killed because of the Arcano. “But your actions have left me in a very uncomfortable position.”
“Marry her,” Xander demanded. “I don’t want to see any of you harmed. I’ve yet to meet my niece, but she’s my family now. The best solution is for you to wed. I don’t think you’d be unhappy, Bryan. I think you still care for this woman.”
“That’s not the point. She doesn’t know me or our country. Shea doesn’t want to marry me.” The statement both amused him and stung just a little at the same time. “She isn’t taking the Arcano seriously.”
There was no question that Bryan was going to marry Shea. The problem was going to be convincing her of the very real danger to her and Hayden. He’d spent years in America. He could imagine how difficult it was for her to truly believe she was in danger of being executed.
“Then convince her that she must,” Xander rumbled, his voice holding a hint of amusement. “The summer home is empty. Use it. Your castle would be too difficult to guard. The summer palace is quieter, more remote, and easier to guard because it borders the water. There is also only one road into the property, and the gates surrounding the palace are wired. I’ll make sure that you’re not disturbed. I can give you a week. But the situation is urgent, Bryan. You need to educate her in our ways, make her take the threats seriously. Your daughter’s life depends on it.”
“What progress are we making with the Arcano?” Bryan asked sharply.
“Not as much as I’d like. There are still too many of them out there yet to be captured.”
“Are we sharing this information with Christopher?”
Xander shook his head slowly. “No. I think not. The less he knows the better. He’s out of the country right now on business. I think there’s danger in knowledge of the Arcano. Better to leave him out of this for now. I was hoping I could have the situation under control before your birthday. I’m sorry that didn’t happen.”
Bryan looked at his brother, a king who currently seemed like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders. “I want to help you fight this battle.”
Xander moved to Bryan and put his hand on his shoulder. “And so you will…after you’re safe. Woo your female, and marry her. Then we will fight this together. Brothers first.”
“Brothers first,” Bryan growled, slapping his hand on top of Xander’s before they broke apart. He had to agree with Xander’s judgment to keep Christopher out of the Arcano mess until absolutely necessary. He was their baby brother, and they wanted him to be safe.
“Simon, ready the summer palace. I want trusted guards surrounding the perimeter of the residence and inside the castle for protection,” Xander commanded. “Make arrangements for Bryan’s wedding to take place in a week here at the main residence. Let Christopher know that Bryan is getting married so he can be back in time for the wedding.” He looked at Bryan again before adding, “It’s all the time I can safely give you. I know you’re still months from your thirtieth birthday, but the situation is too dangerous.”
Simon stood, bowing to all three of them before leaving the room to do Xander’s bidding.
“I’m well aware of the dangers to Shea and my daughter. I just wish neither one of them had been put in danger in the first place. I think it’s time for me to go and meet my daughter.” His options now were limited. He did need to convince Shea to marry him as soon as possible. He couldn’t change the actions of Simon or his father; he needed to make things right, keep them both safe.
He turned and left the room, eager to see his daughter for the first time.
After Bryan had left, Xander strolled over to the lounger and sat down next to his father. “I might have done the same thing to save his life,” he admitted in a low, quiet voice.
“I wasn’t certain if he’d ever forgive me, but I couldn’t watch him die,” the former king told his eldest son.
“Nor could I.” Xander placed a comforting hand on his father’s shoulder. “Shall we give them some time and then go meet this newly acquired Demande child? I’d like to meet my first niece.”
“I’ve met her. I spent most of the day with her yesterday. Delightful little girl. And fearless. I thought she might be afraid, but she’s already acclimating, and she seems to love Moira and Alex already,” the prince said with a genuine smile.
“She has good taste then,” Xander joked. “I think I’ll find my way to the nursery.”
“Are you anxious to see your niece, your son, or your wife?”
Xander grinned back at his father as he rose from the sofa and made his way to the door. “All of them. My life has certainly changed over the last year. The Arcano are a problem, but I have also had many new and precious gifts.” He shook his head like he was still in disbelief as he walked out the door.
Prince Francis remained seated with a thoughtful look. “So have I, my son. And I won’t be satisfied until all of my sons are happy,” he whispered to himself, sitting back against the sofa with a satisfied smile.
*****
Shea was teary-eyed as she watched her daughter cling to Bryan as though he’d been with her since birth. She’d prepared her daughter for a visit with her father, and Hayden had accepted him with the trust that only a child could instantly have with a dad she’d never met.
Bryan was on the floor of the nursery with Hayden and little Alex, looking much like a boy himself as he played with some of the many toys with his daughter. Bryan looked like he was talking earnestly to his child, and Hayden was smiling in a way that Shea hadn’t seen before.
She looked like a child should look: carefree, happy, with a bit of hero-worship for her newfound father. Hayden had never really been able to just be a child. With Shea needing two jobs, her young daughter had gotten used to being shuffled around to babysitters, never seeing much of her mother because Shea was always working. She tried to make every moment she spent with her daughter count, but she’d missed so many things by not being there for Hayden all the time: Hayden’s first crawl, her first steps, her first words…pretty much all of her daughter’s “firsts” had been related by babysitters or daycare.
“Thank you for keeping an eye on her, Your Majesty,” she said to the beautiful woman sitting next to her: Xander’s wife, Reanna. Hayden had been dressed in an adorable pink dress and black leather shoes, her dark hair arranged in two pigtails that were adorned with pink ribbon. She looked like a little…princess.
“Please
call me Reanna. I’m not used to formal stuff. I’m American just like you,” Reanna replied quietly.
“Were you kidnapped, too?” Shea had liked the woman immediately. Queen Reanna was beautiful, and she’d given Shea a warm smile of understanding when she’d entered the nursery, searching frantically for her daughter.
“Only after I’d already come here willingly,” Reanna answered with a smile.
After Shea gave her a questioning look, Reanna explained, telling her the whole story of how she had come to marry Xander, and the perils they’d experienced along the way.
When she finished the story, she commented gravely, “You’ll have to marry Bryan. The Arcano are a very real danger, and it’s the best way to keep you all safe now. I don’t like what Xander’s father and Simon did to you, but now that it’s happened, the word will get out about you and Hayden, which will put you all in danger.” She paused before asking hesitantly. “Do you care about Bryan? I’ve become very fond of him, and I’m hoping you can make each other happy.”
“I barely know him,” Shea admitted, her eyes still glued to Bryan and Hayden. “We only spent one night together before he left New York.”
“It must have been a special night if you conceived Hayden,” Reanna mused.
“It was. For me it was.”
Reanna was silent, observing the children and Bryan on the floor, and then looked at Moira sitting in a chair behind the three of them. Finally, she said softly, “Hayden looks so much like Bryan. I work in genetics research, and the similarities are remarkable. It’s strange, but Bryan actually shares a lot of characteristics with Moira, too, even though they aren’t related.”
Shea stared at the nanny, whose dark hair was pulled up in a bun, her eyes gently watching Hayden and Bryan play. They actually did look very much alike. Even the shape and color of their eyes were the same. “They do. Are you certain they aren’t related?” Now that Reanna had pointed out the similarities between Bryan and Moira, it was hard to ignore them.
