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For the first time in his entire existence, he’d been unsure of himself Scared even His hands had actually trembled as he made his way over to her

He’d been almost on top of her before he realized she wasn’t alone Asleep in her lap was a small huine why she’d have brought a toddler to such a place That wasn’t like her

Sing hard, he’d pulled out the chair across from her and taken a seat For several aardat hi toddler to the point he’d been ready to kill it for distracting her

Then those blue eyes had glanced up and held hiain When she’d parted her lips to speak, he’d wanted her to declare her undying love for him

Yet before she could do so, that puny, wretched creature awakened and started bawling

“Shh, Nicky,” she’d breathed in that dulcet tone that had never failed to weaken him “C’est si bon, Boo” And just like Adarian, the boy had been soothed instantly With a bright, dimpled smile, the small creature had pulled hi the boy’s chubby cheek, Cherise had attempted to tame the riotous dark brown curls that were rumpled from his nap The toddler had laid his head down on her shoulder and buried his hand deep in her blond hair while he bounced on his chubby legs and laughed Adarian had sneered at the child, who seemed to mock him with the fact that he could hold Cherise while Adarian was forbidden to touch her at all

After kissing his cheek again, she’d wrapped her arht to her as she bravely locked gazes with Adarian and expelled a heavy breath “Adarian … meet your son, Nicholas Ambrosius”

Those unexpected words sucker-punched hiht that they could have had a child together that would survive past its infancy had never dawned on hi dead and buried But this …

“My son?”

She’d nodded as tears glistened in her eyes “He was born just over a year ago … but don’t worry, I expect nothing from you And neither of us expects you to be a dad to hi you that he was here I’m sure one day, he’ll have questions about you, and I don’t want to lie to hi the innocent blood of the boy in her arms He’d started to call her a liar until he realized that his powers had done the i that inside a human prison filled with absolute evil should never happen to him The only way for him to lose any power at all was for his son to be near him

No, not his son

His heir

It wasn’t unusual for Malachai to have children That had happened throughout history But the children never survived for very long A week or two Maybe a month Not unless they were to be the new Malachai The one ould kill the father and take his place

Unbeknownst to her, Cherise had birthed his doom

Horrified by his obvious future, he’d watched the way she’d cuddled her child and he’d hated Nicholas for that love she bore hientle way she soothed hiainst her chin and blew bubbles

When the boy had turned to him and reached out, Adarian had recoiled fro that creature Not unless it was to end its life

Now that tiny, putrid beast had alrown into manhood In their realm, Nicholas stood eye-to-eye with him

And while Adarian still hated Nicholas with every part of his being, he knew that Cherise loved this child, this putrid part of him, with all her heart His loss would devastate her

That was soround and reached to save the brat “Boy!”

Nick couldn’t respond as so choked hi to kill hile Malachai?

His vision dimmed more Just as he started to black out, he was jerked froranite Someone slapped at his cheeks

“Nicholas? Can you hearhim? Nick blinked slowly as the pain and pressure receded Coldness brushed his cheek with a tender caress

“Speak to ranite crushing hi hi his face

Yeah, right The devil was eating ice crea on icicles That was the only way for his father to be this nice to hi around the s

“Am I dead?”

That familiar sneer twisted his father’s lips, but still he held Nick against his chest “I should kill you”

Now that sounded right Murder Mai nice and being cuddly His father would rather throw hi, Nick pressed his hand to his eye, where he discovered so warers

“It’s all right” His father wiped the blood from his hand before he cleaned Nick’s face with a tenderness Nick would have never thought hi “Who are you and what have you done withto stare down at hi scowl “You have your mother’s eyes”

Nick duplicated his father’s frown “Yeah I know”

His features softening, Adarian cupped Nick’s face with his cold, dry hand “I never noticed that before All I ever saw in you was me, and I hated you for it” He took Nick’s hand in his and studied it as if it were an alien object “How can she love you like she does when you look so much likeevery day” Nick sed hard as he stared up at his father “She tellsshe had until the moment I was born And froain”