When he had her as he wished, he whispered, “I am not a fanfare type of prince.”

“Well, that is good, for the Nadirii lack fanfare.”

“You are at ease here,” he noted.

“I’m home,” she replied.

“When all is said and done, lamb, if it is allowed for me to accompany you, we will find times to make certain you can be in your land where you feel home.”

He could tell what this meant to her when she breathed, “Cassius.”

“And even if I cannot accompany you. You will need to come home regardless, with Theodora, and if she wishes it, Aelia.”

Her expression softened, her hands came to his face, and he knew what that meant to her when she asked in a very low whisper, “Do you think we can have sex silently?”

“No.”

She frowned.

“Papa!” Aelia shouted from her fluffy pallet that was the level below, one Dora—apparently happily—shared that was Dora’s own. This shouting demonstrating why they could not have sex at all. “When you marry Elena, will Dora be a princess?”

“Yes!” Cass shouted in return.

“Yippee!” Aelia cried and went on loudly. “See, Dora! I told you!”

“She will?” Elena queried.

“Yes,” he repeated.

“Is that standard royal procedure?”

He raised his brows. “Do I care? I’ll be king. The only good thing I learned from my father, I can do what the fuck I want when I am king.”

She smiled up at him and through it said, “Are you absolutely certain we can’t have sex silently?”

He very much wished he could answer differently.

Alas, he could not.

“Yes.”

“Papa!” Aelia yelled.

“My darling girl!” Cass yelled back. “In fifteen minutes, if I go down there and I don’t find two sleeping beauties, I shall be most cross.”

A moment of silence before…

“We’re going to sleep right now!” Aelia assured.

“Is she going to go to sleep?” Elena whispered.

“Hell no,” Cassius muttered. “But she will stop shouting.”

Elena stifled a giggle.

Cass smiled at her as she did.

His smile faded, and his hand lifted so he could again stroke her cheek.

As he did this, his mind also wandered.

“Sweetheart,” Elena called gently, and when he focused on her again, he knew where his mind wandered could be read easily.

“I don’t wish to—” he started.

“I thought we learned about sharing.”

“We never had this,” he admitted. “She died giving birth. We never had—”

Ellie wrapped her hands around either side of his neck and stated firmly, “Her name was Liviana. She lived. She loved you. You loved her. She gave you a daughter. She is a part of our lives, a part of you, a part of your girl. Her name is Liviana, Cass. And it will not harm me at all if you speak it to me.”

They could not have sex.

But he could press a hard kiss on her lips.