Page 89 of Dark Witch Resurrection

"He is perfect." Annani agreed, carefully transferring Evander into his mother's waiting embrace. "Just like his mother." She kissed her daughter's forehead. "I am so proud of you, my Alena."

Her daughter just smiled, as she always did when she thought Annani was being overly dramatic or too much of a diva. That quiet acceptance was one of Alena's greatest strengths.

The baby settled against his mother's chest, yawned adorably, and fell asleep. "Such a good little boy," Amanda said. "So calm."

Alena stroked his little back. "All my babies were like that."

"That's because you are calm." Syssi leaned against Kian's arm. "You project it. By the way, did you tell Allegra what you were naming the baby?"

Alena shook her head. "We told no one. Why?"

"She insisted that the baby's name was going to be E.T."

"Like mother like daughter." Kian wrapped his arm around Syssi's shoulders. "Allegra is already predicting the future."

As Amanda and Alena murmured in agreement, Annani looked around at her family and noticed that Hildegard had left the room at some point. Still, that did not mean that she could talk freely because there was a camera in the room, and even though she doubted Merlin would pry intentionally, he might take a look to ensure that mother and baby were doing okay.

"I have news," she said quietly, not to disturb little Evander. "Bridget called this morning to tell us that the prince remembered his and his sister's names. That is a very good sign that his memory is coming back."

"What are the names?" Alena asked.

"The prince's name is Ell-rom, and his sister is Morelle."

Alena's face lit up. "That's wonderful news, Mother. I think it's symbolic that he recalled their names on the day Evander was born and named."

"Indeed." Annani nodded. "That is why I decided not to wait to tell my brother I am his sister."

As she had expected, Kian was not happy. "It's too early, Mother. Let's wait for him to regain more of his memories so we can assess his intentions."

Annani pinned her son with a hard look. "The more I tell him, the more I reveal, the faster he will regain his memories, and the quicker we will learn his true nature. I do not have patience, and I do not want to wait to make Ell-rom and Morelle part of my family. The only concession I am still willing to make for the sake of your insistence on security is to wear the earpieces, but once I am convinced that my brother does not harbor ill intentions toward me, I will remove them."

She leaned down to press a final, lingering kiss to Evander's forehead, breathing in the sweet, milky scent of him.

"It is a blessed day for our family as we welcome Evander, Ell-rom, and Morelle into our clan."

65

MARINA

The morning sun slanted through the kitchen windows, bathing everything in a warm, golden glow. Marina stood at the counter, her hands wrapped around a steaming mug of coffee, and tried to ignore the knot of tension that had taken residence in her gut.

Beside her, Peter moved with easy grace, cracking eggs into a bowl with one hand and whisking them with a fork with another. Thinly sliced onion and mushroom pieces were sizzling in a pan, waiting to be folded into the omelet he was working on.

"This one is going to be a masterpiece." Peter put another pan on the stovetop and turned on the burner.

"It sure smells like it." She leaned up and kissed the underside of his jaw. "You are spoiling me."

He grinned. "I love spoiling you, so stop complaining." He dropped a generous portion of butter into the pan.

"I'm not complaining. I'm just stating a fact. You didn't even let me make toast."

If she let him cook for her daily, she could kiss her slim figure goodbye. The guy loved his butter.

"Today is my turn to make breakfast." He poured the egg mixture into the pan. "Sit down and enjoy."

"Yes, sir."

She walked over to the dining table and sat down. Alfie had gone to the gym, so it was just the two of them, and Marina should have been enjoying the homey atmosphere. Still, she couldn't shake the memory of the previous day's confrontation with Borga and the cruel, taunting words that had dripped like venom from the Kra-ell female's lips.