Page 40 of Dark Rebel's Mystery

Parker shrugged, but she could see he was pleased. "That's what friends are for, but you shouldn't look so surprised."

"Well, you're just fourteen, so it is surprising that you are so smart."

He dipped his head. "Thank you."

26

KIAN

Kian smiled at the sight of his daughter sprawled on the couch. She'd fallen asleep while watching her favorite show, at first just closing her eyes and letting her head loll sideways, then sliding all the way down and continuing to sleep.

"You should put her in bed," he told Syssi.

"She needs to get a bath first." Syssi leaned over and picked up Allegra's little hand and kissed the back of it. "Is it just me, or is she growing too fast?"

"She is definitely growing too fast." He wrapped his arm around Syssi's shoulder. "We need another baby. Should we visit Merlin and ask for another course of potions?"

Syssi looked surprised and delighted at the same time. "There is nothing I would love more than having another child, but I doubt Merlin's potions were the reason we got pregnant with Allegra. It was just a lucky coincidence."

"I say that if it worked once, it might work again. I'm willing to go through the ordeal of drinking the nasty stuff if you are."

"Of course, I am." She shifted onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Do you want to start working on it right away?"

Kian felt his fangs start to elongate, along with another part of his anatomy. "I would be delighted, but didn't you just say that Allegra needs a bath?"

Syssi cast their daughter a loving look. "She can skip one night if it's for a good cause, but we need to put her in bed first."

He was about to move Syssi off his lap so he could take Allegra to bed when his phone buzzed in his pocket.

"People have the worst timing," he grumbled as he pulled it out. "It's Ell-rom."

Syssi tensed. "Maybe they have news about Kyra."

Nodding, he answered the call, and then both of them listened to Ell-rom's report about what Jasmine's father had revealed, and when he described how emotional Boris had gotten, Syssi wiped away tears.

"The poor man," she murmured. "It's hard to imagine that he's still grieving for Kyra even though he remarried."

Kian could understand that better than most. He no longer grieved for his first wife, but thinking about her always brought about a pang of sadness and regret.

When Ell-rom continued, saying that Boris blamed himself for not taking Kyra's warnings more seriously, Kian sympathized as well. There were enough what-ifs and should-haves in his life to fill several thick tomes.

"Thank you for letting us know," he told Ell-rom. "Have a safe flight back home, and we will talk tomorrow morning." He ended the call.

"I feel bad for Jasmine's father," Syssi said. "And for Jasmine. She must be so distraught after this visit."

"She's tough." Kian rubbed his wife's back. "She'll be back to her usual upbeat self by tomorrow morning."

Syssi nodded. "It's a gift to be able to do that. I find it much more difficult to change moods, especially after I learn something disturbing." She chuckled. "That's really not a good quality for a seer, but it is what it is, right?"

"The Fates are strange that way. Like them giving Ell-rom, one of the gentlest males I know, the ability to kill with a thought. He's better suited to be a priest."

"Wonder is another example," Syssi said. "She has the body and the strength of a warrior, but she can't tolerate violence."

"She chooses not to engage in it. Wonder is very capable of delivering it. She killed one of her attackers, and she handed Anandur and Brundar their asses."

Syssi chuckled. "I forgot about that. Anyway, I think I should summon a vision." She leaned away from him. "Would you mind if I do that while sitting in your lap?"

That was new. She'd never done that before, and usually, she didn't even want him in the same room.

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