"—would be good for the both of u—"

A small cry erupted from the nursery attached to their rooms. Cinder wriggled out of Kai's grip and hurried in. The pale pink room was painted with peony bushes at waist height, their petals ranging from cream to deep magenta to pale purple. Liliana's crib was set against the wall under a painting of Artemisia's skyline, the edges dripping into the night sky as seen from the domed city.

Liliana was waving her little fists in the air, her face scrunched as she wailed. Cinder picked her up and cradled the baby against her chest, giving Kai a tired smile. She hummed softly to quiet her fussy little girl, who slowly stopped crying and looked over her mother's shoulder at her father. Kai made a funny face and made Liliana smile, whacking a small fist on her mother's shoulder. He came closer and tickled her pudgy neck. She was only a month and a half old, but already she was spoiled rotten by her parents and all her aunts and uncles.

Everyone agreed that Her Royal Highness Liliana Peony Asami of the Eastern Commonwealth was the perfect blend of her parents. Her tanned skin matched Cinder's while her brown eyes were as dark as her dad's and her head full of curls lingered somewhere between her mother's mousy brown and her father's jet black.

Cinder settled her into sleep and placed her back in the crib, carefully closing the door behind them both.

"Cinder—"

"Kai, we're not talking about this anymore. I don't want one, so we're not going to have one."

"But Cinder, it would be a good thing. We could have a few hours to ourselves and be back for bedtime or whatever it's called now."

"Bedtime. It's always been bedtime, it's always going to be bedtime." She put her hands on her hips. "I'm not arguing with you about this."

"We have to talk about this, Cinder," Kai pleaded, ready to get on his knees and beg if it came down to it.

"We are not getting a nanny to raise our child! I don't care if we're royal or not!" She eyed the door to the nursery. Maybe the baby would cry and get her out of this mess.

"I was raised with a nanny!" Kai defended.

Still no crying.

"And look where it got you! Married to a cyborg Lunar princess who started a revolution to get her throne back!" She sighed.

"And that's why I love you," Kai said, wrapping her up in his arms and kissing the top of her head. "Why don't we get a nanny part-time? Then we could both get work done without worrying about Liliana."

Cinder sunk into the embrace. "No."

"Why not? What's really bothering you about a nanny, Cinder?" He knew it wasn't just the idea of a stranger raising their little girl.

Cinder felt her mouth go dry, tasting ash and feeling flames lick her skin. She squeezed her eyes shut.

"The fire," she whispered. "The one on Luna. Levana convinced my nanny to set it."

Kai hugged her tighter. "Then we won't get a nanny that can be manipulated."

"What about an android? They can't be manipulated and they can be programmed with our voices," Cinder looked up at him.

"What about Iko? She already loves Liliana, and she's an android."

"She has a job, Kai."

"As your stylist."

"So?"

"I think she could be your stylist and Lili's nanny. And you trust her." He kissed her head again. "She fits the bill."

Cinder sighed. "To nanny, or not to nanny. That is the question."