Trying not to fall for the pitiful expression on her face, Siku unfolded the page and looked it over. Sure enough, the problems on the page had been filled out in neat handwriting. Not a single question was left unanswered, and he was impressed to see her handwriting was beginning to improve.
Siku laughed. “Very well, you win. I’m sorry for having doubted you Nila.”
Her eyes lit up. “Does this mean I can go play with Mika now?”
“Is that the baker’s boy?” Siku asked.
Aputi shook his head. “Butcher’s.”
“Ah right, the one who taught our little princess how to climb to places she shouldn’t go.”
Nila frowned. “I promise I won’t do that this time.”
Siku no more believed that than when Aputi tried to claim he wasn’t concocting some devious new plan. Neither his husband nor his daughter were capable of fooling Siku, he’d been dealing with them for too long.
Aputi set her down, giving her a pat on the back. “Well, I think your Papa is letting you go. So run, be free, before he changes his mind.”
Nila needed no other motivation and took off at a full sprint down the hallway to find her friend. No doubt he would hear later how his daughter had somehow managed to crawl into a forgotten tunnel in the castle or had somehow ended up on someone’s roof again. As much as the idea made his stomach flutter, he knew there would always be guards nearby to watch over her. She was as safe as she could be, while still allowed to run free.
Aputi took the page from him, snorting. “Oh, oh dear.”
Siku turned. “What?”
“You gave her a pass with this?” Aputi asked, holding up the paper.
“She completed it, didn’t she?”
“Siku, love, this is not our daughter’s handwriting. This is my mother’s.”
Siku thought to the amused expression on Ainu’s face before he’d left her to chat with his mother. Groaning, he snatched the page back and looked it over carefully. Sure enough, even the wording was just off enough that he could see it hadn’t been his daughter’s work.
“You just got conned by our daughter,” Aputi said with a laugh.
“She is going to get it.”
Aputi took hold of Siku by the waist and dragged him close. Siku’s breath caught as his mate’s body pressed against his, eyes burning.
“Why don’t you come with me to a secluded room instead?”
Siku hummed, leaning into him. “You know I can’t say no to you.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
Letter from the author
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Claiming the ice Prince Page 15