Darius’s knees suddenly buckled the moment his eyes landed on Elara standing between her three brothers in the private courtyard, his body dropping hard onto the stone path with a dull thud that echoed through the silence.
He caught himself on his hands, breathing ragged, golden-brown eyes wide and locked on the gentle curve of her belly that her flowing gown could no longer hide. His raven hair fell forward as he stared, one hand slowly reaching out toward her even though she was still several feet away. The quadruplets inside her moved visibly under the fabric, as if they sensed their father’s presence, and Darius’s breath hitched sharply, his fingers curling into the stone ground.
Elara stood very still between Thorne, Kael, and Ronan, her silver-white hair catching the sunlight, one
