Page 21 of Dark Princess Ascending
"Special is good," he said, watching his daughter laugh as she played. "A special girl deserves a special party."
Syssi squeezed his hand. "Amanda thinks weshould throw a grand party and invite Sari and David and anyone else from Scotland and the Sanctuary who wants to share in the celebration."
"Of course we should," he agreed eagerly. "The more excuses I have for dragging our stubborn sister to come visit, the better."
"That's what I said!" Amanda looked triumphant.
Syssi rolled her eyes. "I knew you'd both gang up on me about this."
"Because we're right," Amanda said. "Right, Kian?"
"Always," he agreed solemnly, then laughed when Syssi elbowed him in the ribs.
Their laughter was interrupted by a squeal from the sandbox. Evie had managed to dump a handful of sand down her shirt, and this time, she wasn't as happy about it as when she'd dumped it on her head.
Her little face was twisted in a prelude to crying, and then the tears came.
"Bath time." Amanda gathered up her daughter and lifted her shirt to dust off some of the sand, which made Evie cry even louder.
"It irritates her skin," Syssi said. "The sand sticks to her sweat and brushing it off hurts her."
"Right." Amanda just whipped the shirt off, leaving Evie bare-chested, and then blew air on her chest and tummy. "Better?" she asked.
Evie nodded and arched her little belly for more air blowing.
"Adorable," Syssi cooed.
Kian scooped Allegra into his arms and kissed her cheeks as Syssi collected the sand toys and dumped them onto the bottom shelf of the stroller.
"Daddy." Allegra cupped his cheeks.
"Yes, sweetie?"
She just smiled and planted a slobbery kiss on his cheek.
11
PETER
Peter placed four pairs of the latest model of translating earpieces on the dining table. William's team had developed them for the Kra-ell, and they weren't as sophisticated as the one that blocked compulsion, but they did the job of translating even better.
"What are these?" his mother asked.
"Marina's parents don't speak English. They can speak Russian, Finnish, and Kra-ell." He added the last part so his mother wouldn't get all snooty about them being illiterate or something.
For humans, who didn't have the immortals' innate ability to absorb new languages like sponges, speaking all three fluently was an impressive achievement.
"I see." She picked up a box and opened it. "They don't look like the ones you have in your ears."
"Mine are also compulsion blocking. William's team created a new, simpler, and less costly version for the Kra-ell. They can be set up to translate from Kra-ell or Russian into English. Marina's parents will set them up to translate English to Russian or Kra-ell."
Pulling out the devices, she examined them for a moment before sticking them in her ears. "What do I do now?"
"Tap on one of them." He demonstrated. "It will give you the selection and instruct you on what to do next."
She frowned. "But what will happen when you and I speak English? Will it automatically translate to one of the other languages?"
He chuckled. "No. It's a smart device. It will not translate my English to Kra-ell when you have it set up the other way around."