Chapter 33 Nesrina slams a door.
thirty-three
Nesrina slams a door.
Nes rolled over in bed with a sigh. She’d been working to avoid Kas at all costs since their argument.
It wasn’t going well. Queen Hevva’s presence should’ve helped to distract him; unfortunately, Kas insisted that Nes still attend nightly dinners .
. . and breakfasts, too. He also made a point of hanging around every afternoon, either immediately before or following her lessons with the twins.
But alone, just the two of them? In spite of the odds, she’d managed to keep the promise she made herself after Ataht interrupted them. Thank the gods for his poor timing. She would not give in to temptation. She would not allow herself to compromise her position as tutor.
Nes had been starting to think Papa was wrong about nobility being ingratiating and calculating.
She’d begun to convince herself that people like Rihan were the issue, regardless of social class.
There were good folks and bad folks in all echelons of society—and that was true.
She knew that. She wasn’t dumb. The issue was, she’d also begun to convince herself that people like Kas were not inherently a problem, regardless of social class.
Now, she wasn’t so sure that was true. Papa certainly lived through something that made him feel the way he did.
Had she just lived her thing? Was it the dresses?
Was Kas being intentionally manipulative? And what did he want?
Aylin announced her presence with a series of soft raps on the bedroom door, and Nes bade her entry, hoping the kind maid may have, by some stroke of luck, brought breakfast so Nesrina wouldn’t have to brave the presence of Lord Kahoth quite so early in the day.
Alas, Aylin came empty-handed.
“Good morning, Miss Kiappa.” She grinned.
Nesrina attempted to return the smile but was fairly certain she produced no more than a grimace.
“Would you like my assistance dressing for the day?”
She didn’t, not really, but the slightly overbearing woman was already halfway to her closet, so Nes bit back her reply, climbed down from the bed, and made her way to the bathing chamber.
“I’m going to freshen up,” she called to Aylin, who was using a finely honed stream of water to flick through Nes’s clothes, manipulating her magic so it didn’t drench the priceless items.
When Nesrina emerged a few minutes later, Aylin had laid out one of her old dresses, the pink floral, upon the chest at the foot of her bed and was finishing fluffing up pillows.
Did she know about their argument?
“Ah, let’s get you ready.” Quicker than Nes expected, given her ample size, Aylin plopped down the final pillow, spun away from the bed, and herded Nesrina to the vanity across the room. “Sit. Sit. You don’t want to be late for breakfast.”
“I wouldn’t mind, actually,” she grumbled as Aylin began tugging at her tangled waves.
The maid chuckled and swatted her shoulder playfully. “Oh, you don’t mean that, Miss Kiappa. Those children love you, not to mention the duke.”
Nes choked on her own spit.
She descended the stairs alone, having somehow managed to shake off Aylin, who was ready to escort her to the breakfast room. The woman seemed to think Nes would stop by the library for a book and scurry out to the garden to hide. To be fair, it wasn’t a far-fetched idea.
She went straight to the breakfast room as promised—basically—taking the longer route to see if anything exciting came in the morning’s post. She’d been corresponding with her mother recently and was expecting a response in the coming days.
Beneath the three letters, none of which were addressed to her, she uncovered a thin publication bound in red. Like so many of her favorite reads, she’d recognize this one anywhere: the Mystical Sciences Review. Nes scrunched her nose; this one wasn’t due out for another week or two.
As she flipped the overturned publication, the reason for its early arrival became obvious. The words “Advance Copy” were emblazoned across the front in bold white text. What lists is this man on, and how do I get on them, too?
Nes set the journal back on the mail tray and continued her loop toward the breakfast room.
She wasn’t exactly excited for the meal, but the promise of asking to borrow the newly delivered journal lifted her spirits.
He’d have to deal with the fact she’d flipped through the post. It was far less intrusive than what he’d done.
As she neared the chamber, the scent of fresh bacon and the low rumble of adult voices drifted from beyond the cracked door. She slipped in through the partially opened panel, and Kas and Thera startled from their hushed conversation.
With her hands clasped, Thera stepped away. “Enjoy your breakfast,” she said cheerily with a quick nod at Kas before she ducked out of the room.
“Miss Kiappa.”
“Lord Kahoth.”
He nodded and pulled out a chair for her, the one to his left, as usual.
“I wanted to—”
The door to the breakfast room flew open as Della and Ataht bounded in, side by side, as they were both still slight enough to fit simultaneously.
“Look what we’ve got!” Della screeched through a smile as she flew into her chair.
“What have you got?” Kas reached for the honey, then addressed Nes’s tea as Ataht dug into his pocket.
The boy pulled something out and held it up for inspection. Nes, who’d been distracted by the honey drizzling into her cup and certainly not by the duke’s large hand, glanced over at the prince. A small spotted item wriggled on his palm.
“Oop—” Kas accidentally dropped the dipper, splashing the table. The spotted creature jumped from the prince’s palm, and in a flash, scurried beneath the lip of a plate of honey buns.
“What is that thing?” Nesrina inquired, willing her voice to remain calm as her heart rate skyrocketed. She had limits.
“It’s a newt!” Della beamed.
“Nuh-uh, it’s a salamander,” Ataht corrected, craning his head so it was flat against the table as he peered at the creature beneath the platter.
“Please, release the chaos,” Nesrina said with a smile. “Whichever one of you created this needs to let it unravel.”
Beside her, Kas fished the honey dipper from her tea and went about his business.
“It’s not magic, Miss Kiappa.”
“Yeah, we found it outside,” Della added.
“Nope. Nope. Nope, nope, nope.” Nesrina shoved her chair back, startling Kas, who dropped the dipper again, into his tea this time.
The rattling of dishes startled the spotted beastie, which darted out from beneath the plate and zipped toward Nes, alarmingly fast, before taking refuge against the side of her warm teacup.
She screamed in an entirely unprofessional manner and pulled her feet up onto the chair, hugging her knees.
“Get rid of it. Someone release it. Release it, release it—like, let it go, physically, outside!”
The children giggled as the newt/salamander’s tiny tongue darted from its mouth.
Nes yelped again. A great booming laugh escaped the duke, surprising all of them, including the wriggly creature, who scurried around to the other side of her cup.
One of Kas’s enormous hands flew up to cover his stupid, tiny mouth.
But she heard that laugh, and she saw him crack a smile at her expense.
“Get it out of here!” Nesrina shouted, unable to stop the panic that had overtaken her.
“Now, now. Miss Kiappa, you’re usually so calm and collected—around the twins.” His eyes twinkled. “Are there not newts in the stream and salamanders in the wood?”
“It’s the location!” she shrieked, not in the mood to defend her fears. “They belong in the mushy soil, beneath logs, hiding under rocks. Not on the breakfast table!”
“Have we found the one thing that sets you to flailing?”
“Esheb,” she grumbled.
“That means arse,” Ataht whispered to his sister, sending them into further peals of laughter.
Slowly, Kas rose from his seat, scooped up the little salamander, teacup, saucer, and all, and ambled over to the window.
He opened it with his air, set the dishes outside, then magically pulled the glass closed.
After pulling a cord to ring for the servants, Kas returned to his seat and smirked at Nesrina.
She scrunched her nose in frustration before scooting her chair up to the table and reaching for the platter of cinnamon buns as if that hadn’t happened.
“Good morning, what did I miss?” Queen Hevva asked cheerfully as she blustered into the room.
Afew hours after breakfast, but well before her lesson with the twins, Nesrina decided to break her promise to avoid Kas—outside of his required meals and turning up unannounced, of course.
Unfortunately, the newt/salamander situation upended her plan to ask about the advance copy of Mystical Sciences Review.
She remembered the publication at the precise moment she settled beneath her favorite willow after aimlessly wandering the gardens for over an hour. Though she groused and grumbled dramatically, as if she had somewhere better to be, Nes couldn’t help the little bubbles of excitement in her chest.
Great idea, become a mistress. Nesrina Kiappa, Guest of the King, tutor to the royal children, mistress to the Duke of Stormhill.
She scowled, her excitement diluted. Even though Kas claimed he’d never thought of her in that way, she didn’t quite believe him.
In what other context would a duke like him consider a tutor like her?
She was going to ask about borrowing the new journal.
That was all. That was the reason she sought him out, the only reason.
Definitely.
Nes entered the portico by the north door.
A glance to her right showed at least one lit candle in his office, but she couldn’t make out much else through the sheer curtains.
At this time of day, it’s where he was most likely to be.
Pulling open the glass-paneled door, she waltzed inside, intent on popping by—very briefly—to ask after the journal.