Page 19 of Dark Princess Ascending

"Oh dear," Syssi said, reaching for the baby wipes in her bag. "I think someone needs a bath."

"Two someones," Amanda agreed, watching as Allegra also became covered in sand through her helpful efforts. "But look how happy they are."

Syssi had to smile at the pure joy on the girls' faces. "I love seeing them together." She glanced in the direction of the café. "Kian is supposed to come over here when he finishes his meeting with Eleanor and Emmett. I want him to see the girls like this."

Amanda tilted her head. "Do you know what the meeting is about?"

Syssi shrugged. "They are here for the weekend to attend Peter's wedding, so I assume they thought it was a good opportunity for a face-to-face meeting with Kian. Probably something to do with the management of Safe Haven."

10

KIAN

As Kian walked over to the playground, the sound of children's laughter made him smile.

Was there a better sound?

But then he saw Allegra and Evie covered in sand and laughed. "What happened? Did they decide to swim in the sand?"

"Something like that." Syssi patted the spot next to her on the bench. "Allegra was building castles, and Evie was watching, but then she decided to put her hands on her head."

"They're going to need hosing down before you even get them into the bathtub." He settled beside Syssi.

"Noted," she said, leaning into him. "Maybe that's why Evie did that. She loves taking baths with Allegra."

"They are so cute together." Amanda looked atthe girls with a smile tugging on her lips. "I'm thankful to the Fates for granting us such an incredible boon as daughters who are close in age and will get to grow up together." She chuckled. "I can just imagine all the mischief they will get themselves into, with Allegra being the ringleader, of course. Evie is too sweet for her own good."

Kian couldn't argue with that. He loved Allegra's spunk and her strong personality, but he didn't look forward to her turning into a rebellious teenager who'd taken a page from her grandmother's book.

He wouldn't be able to sleep at all.

"What did Eleanor and Emmett want?" Amanda asked. "I bet they didn't request a meeting just to chat."

"No, they didn't." He smiled at Allegra, who'd just noticed that he was there, and pointed at her castle.

"Daddy, look!"

"It's beautiful, sweetheart. Daddy is so proud of you."

She beamed happily and went back to work.

"The government is terminating the paranormal program at Safe Haven," he said.

Amanda's head snapped up. "Are they moving it somewhere else?"

"No, they are terminating it. They are paying the participants part of their contract as severance pay and sending them home."

"Did they specify a reason?" Syssi asked.

"Budget cuts."

To his surprise, Syssi relaxed against him. "That's actually good news."

"How do you figure?"

"The less interest the government has in paranormal abilities, the better," she said. "Besides, these people deserve more out of their lives than spending them in near isolation and participating in experiments."

There was truth to that. He didn't think about the paranormal program often, but when he did, he felt sorry for the small group of people who were living in limbo. "What do you think we should do with them?"