Dragos didn’t quite sleep, but he rested and dozed as the sun came up. He knew the moment Tiago had stormed into the house, and one part of him took note of the intense rise and fall in Tiago and Niniane’s conversation. Eventually, two sets of quiet footsteps came up the stairs and traveled down the hall to one of the guest rooms.

Beside him, Pia finished nursing Niall. She eased the baby onto his back on the mattress between them, and her breathing grew deep and regular. Dragos allowed himself another hour of rest. Then he eased off the bed, showered, and pulled on a pair of jeans.

Skeeter waited and watched by the bathroom doorway. Dragos snapped his fingers at the dog and went downstairs. He fed Skeeter and let him out to do his business, made coffee, and texted the house staff to bring a large breakfast buffet, with a generous selection of fresh fruit, chocolate vegan muffins, a tofu scramble, and a large assortment of meat and eggs. Pia needed the vegan selections, and Tiago was very nearly the same size as Dragos, and his appetite was just as capacious.

While he waited for the house staff to bring breakfast, he drank coffee and watched the news on the flatscreen that occupied one corner of the spacious kitchen. He had propped the back door open, and fresh air and sunshine spilled into the room. They had left the old throw on the floor, and Skeeter grabbed it with his teeth and dragged it over to Dragos’s feet, then dug it into a pile, turned around three times, and settled down on top of it.

Tiago was first to enter the kitchen. A powerfully built man with dark brown skin, black hair, and harsh aquiline features reminiscent of American Indian ancestry, he had a typically impassive demeanor, but his Power cracked around him, filled with thunder and lightning. He was still dealing with some intense, tumultuous emotions.

Thank the gods it wasn’t one of the women, because then Dragos would have to talk about their feelings. And Pia was the only woman whose feelings he was truly interested in.

Tiago nodded to him on the way to the coffee. As he poured himself a mug, Dragos asked, “So, are you coming with us?”

“For now,” Tiago replied. “I sent word back to Aubrey in Adriyel that we’re going to take an extended vacation. Aubrey will handle the rest. We are having the baby. Nothing else has been decided.”

Dragos nodded. None of that surprised him.

And that was it. He and Tiago had just carried on a lengthy conversation, for them. Tiago took a seat at the kitchen table. They watched the news and drank coffee.

After ten minutes or so, Tiago said, “Aryal said you got a dog.”

Dragos opened his mouth to say, no I didn’t, but oh, why bother? He shrugged in disgust.