race out?" Cosmo asked.
"I can be patient," I answered, and when he and Daniel shared a humored grin, I shrugged. "Fine. I'm too tired to race."
I didn't have long to wait. The door to our bedroom opened, and Wendell stepped inside with a sigh.
"There's a sight for sore eyes," he said, pausing.
"How was the council meeting?"
"Fine, uneventful, if you don't count Morgan calling one of the others a cotton-brained traditionalist. Which I don't at this point," he said with a shrug, not moving from the doorway.
I arched an eyebrow. "You're late."
Wendell grinned. "That's because I've brought you a surprise."
He stepped aside, and three achingly familiar figures moved into the room.
"Oh!" I didn't care how tired I was, now I was absolutely racing. Owen grunted as I accidentally kicked him aside, scrambling my way to the edge of the bed.
Aric and Thao met me halfway, arms snapping around me, their faces lowering at the same time to kiss me until we all ended up bumping our noses together. Aric caught a peck, and then Thao demanded more. I fought the urge to cry and simply let them bundle me tighter between them.
"How'd you manage to bring them both back at once?" Daniel asked.
"I helped," Cress said. "Met Aric halfway with a change of horses so we could make a rush of it."
"The ship caught a good wind this week," Thao said, easing up so Aric could take his fair share of kisses too.
I whimpered between them, fingers digging into their shoulders. Thao had been gone for nearly a month, finalizing the details of a new trade treatise with Mennary, and Aric had spent the past two weeks at the royal magician's college. Most of the council still thought my Chosen spent too much time out of my bed, meddling in the kingdom for me. I didn't agree, but there were times where I hated having them away from me. The past weeks with both Thao and Aric gone had been especially hard.
As if to remind me why, a soft cry rose from the bassinet, and Thao and Cosmo both hurried over. Aric stayed, his arm wrapped around my waist, fingers smoothing my hair back.
"You look tired, princess."
My lips twitched, he'd never given up the nickname.
"Managing Kimmery isn't half as challenging as your daughter," I said, arching an eyebrow at the bassinet.
Dahlia was burbling in Thao's arms, pressed to his chest and drooling onto the shoulder of his satin jacket.
"Mm, she takes after her mother then," Aric said, grinning, resisting me as I tried to playfully push him away. He kissed me once more and then hurried over, smoothing a hand over Dahlia's pale hair and kissing the back of her head, he and Thao both taking a deep whiff of her.
A moment later, like clockwork, she began to fuss.
"She wants you," Thao said, frowning with what I suspected was a little bit of offense. He was determined to be her favorite, if such a thing was possible at two months old.
I shook my head, crossing my arms over my chest. "Not me. Cosmo," I said nodding at the man who had already taken up position in the rocking chair. "She's not hungry, she just likes his voice as far as we can tell."
"How are the nurses taking it?" Aric asked, kissing Dahlia once more before sitting down on the bench and kicking off his boots.
"They think we're perverse for trying to do everything ourselves," Daniel said.
"You should see their faces when I nurse her," I huffed out, rolling my eyes.
Thao kept a greedy grip on Dahlia, trying to bounce her gently into submission, but eventually her cries rose higher and more desperate. I was immune by now, but he relented, passing her into Cosmo's arms.
I tiptoed closer, settling next to Aric on the soft bench and tugging on Thao's coat to pull him closer to my side. Fall was closing in, even in the south, and we'd be leaving the capital soon for the harvest festival and our stay in the Winter Palace. My mother and her Chosen would return south to keep an eye on things and to avoid the worst of the snow on the mountain. I was looking forward to the privacy of the north again, I wanted more moments like this one with my family.
"Hello, little love," Cosmo cooed as Dahlia settled, those great doll eyes of hers blinking up at him. I wasn't really sure which of my Chosen might've contributed to her making, she looked