Her joyous shriek made a mockery of her brothers’ and caused Jullien to visibly cringe from it. And like her brothers, she threw herself against him so unexpectedly that he barely caught her before they fell to the floor.
“Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!” she repeated fast and furiously. “Love you, Daddy!” She released Jullien, then jumped up to kiss Nykyrian before she dashed into her room to begin frantically pulling clothes from her closet and throwing them on the bed and floor.
Jullien scowled at her exuberant packing. “Should I tell her now or later that The Tavali have a strict dress code and everything she’s tossing about is futile?”
Nykyrian grimaced as he stroked his light whiskers. “You can try. She never listens to me.”
“Can I go, too, Uncle Basha?”
Smiling at the redundant terms, Jullien picked Taryn up and squeezed him gently. “I’d love to take you, Terry, but I don’t think your paka could handle letting go of two babies at once. Your mum, either.”
Nykyrian pulled Tiernan into his arms while his younger twin protested it. “Definitely not. Still not sure I won’t yet stun Thia and carry her back to her room when she starts to leave.”
“Daddy!” Tiernan fussed. “You’re crushing me!”
“Sorry.”
The tears in Nyk’s eyes made Jullien’s throat tighten.
“I felt the same way when we dropped Vasili off at university. Ushara cried for a week, and hugged the twins so hard that they’re still scarred from it.”
Nyk cupped his son’s head and kissed the dark curls before he set Tiernan down. “How did you deal with it?”
“Talked to him nine times a day—until he threatened to get a new line and not let us have the frequency.… You know I’ll bring her straight back if you need me to.”
Clearing his throat, Nykyrian wiped at his eyes, then took Taryn from Jullien. “Thank you for doing this. I owe you, little brother.”
“Not really.” Jullien winked at him. “Given our gruesome past, taking care of your daughter for you is the least I can do.”
Thia came running up to him. “Got everything packed. When do we leave?”
“As soon as your father can stand to let you go without shooting one of us.”
Nyk ground his teeth, then nodded. “She can go now if she wants.”
Taryn’s gaze shimmered from his tears. “Thia’s leaving?”
That finally shattered her happiness as she knelt down by his side. “I’m only a call away, Terry. Day or night. And I’ll be back every holiday and birthday. Okay?”
Sniffing, he nodded. “You better. I’ll miss you.”
“Me, too,” Tiernan said, wiping at his eyes with a chubby fist.
Jullien turned to find Kiara in the hallway with her youngest daughter asleep in her arms. Out of Nyk’s six kids, Zarina was the only one who looked Andarion. The rest could easily pass as fully human.
“Thia’s really leaving?” A tear slid down Kiara’s cheek.
Thia nodded bashfully. “I’ll be back.”
And still the tears fell down her face unchecked. Her gaze anguished, she stared up at Nykyrian. “That’s it, then. You’re right. We’re chaining the rest to their beds until after we die.”
Thia let out a tired sigh. “Great. My siblings will hate me forever … and speaking of—Let me go say good-bye to Adron and Jayce. I’ll be right back.”
Kiara’s gaze followed after her, then she turned to glare at Jullien. “Take her out of here and I’ll kill you myself.”
He choked at her uncharacteristic threat.
Nykyrian pulled her into his arms and kissed her cheek. “Now, now, Ki, don’t threaten him for doing something I asked him to do.”
She nodded, and glanced back to Jullien. “You will watch over her?”
“Like I do my own.”
Sniffing and laughing, she stepped away from Nyk to give Jullien a kiss. “If she needs anything, call us. We can get to her immediately.”
“I will. And don’t worry. Ushara’s already made a room for her. And Nadya’s looking forward to having an older sister-cousin. She was making a welcome banner for Thia with her sisters and my twins when I left.”
Thia came dancing out of her brothers’ room to grab Jullien’s hand. “I’m ready!”
God, how he envied her that enthusiasm that came from venturing into the world with a safety net that would cushion her should she stumble. It was something he’d never known.
Nyk either.
They’d been thrown to the wolves to fend for themselves when they’d barely been out of their nappies. No one had ever given a single shit what happened to either of them. It was what made the two of them so insanely protective of their children.
Jullien glanced between his brother and Kiara. “Are you two ready?”
“Not at all.” Nyk winced as he took Zarina from Kiara as if it was the only way he could trust himself to not grab or shoot Thia to keep her there.
“Me, either.”
Jullien well understood. “You two stay here and pretend she’s going off with friends. It’ll be easier.”
Kiara yanked Thia into her arms and wailed in the poor girl’s ear. “I love you, baby!”