“We decided,” Queen Hevva interjected, “to have you stay at Stormhill for a time.”
Nes stifled a gasp behind her goblet.
“It’s the second safest place in the kingdom,” the king continued. “And Kas’s—Lord Kahoth’s—windshifting will be helpful to control any... flying creations the children might bring into existence.”
Flying creations?For a split second, Nes questioned whether or not the royal pair knew of thefirstincident with the dragon on the west lawn. If they did, they’d never addressed it directly.
“We’ve already spoken with the children,” Queen Hevva went on. “They’requiteexcited to visit their uncle, but my brother’s also a busyman. It’s imperative they leave him to his duties.”
“I understand. I’ll keep an eye on them at all times.”What could go wrong?
“You won’t be alone,” the queen assured her. “We’re sending their team, too.”
“And a guard,” the king chimed in, eyeing his wife.
“And a guard, Ehmet,” she reassured him, returning his gaze with a pat on the head before facing Nesrina once again. “In the morning, you’ll leave for Stormhill. We don’t expect any of you to teach while traveling, we only ask that you keep the children in their corporeal forms until you reach the manor.”
“And after,” the king grumbled.
“Yes, dear. And after. At Stormhill, you can resume your usual schedules.”
Nesrina nodded, anxiety trembling beneath the blanket of warm calm provided by her wine.What usual schedule?Everything was going to change.
“Don’t fret, Miss Kiappa.” Queen Hevva smiled. “You will be well taken care of.”
“Do you have any questions?”
Two.She had two questions. Which guards would be accompanying them? And how long would they be staying? She voiced the second.
The king and queen shared a glance. “Possibly for the summer,” the king replied with a slight grimace.
“It pains us to be away from our babies for so long, but we need to get through this visit from Domos and the onslaught of summer visitors. And we’d like to give the children time and space to hone their magic in safety.”
The king nodded. “When all thehubbubis done”—he waved his hand around as if to gesture at his untenable busy schedule—“we’ll spend a few days at our summer cottage as a family, then return home.”
They shared a soft look full of affection.
“Yes, and until then, Stormhill is the best place for you all. We can’t thank you enough for this, Miss Kiappa.”
Nes returned the queen’s smile, not certain that it reached her eyes. Oh,how she’d miss the enormous library at Kirce. And oh, how she dreaded being a guest of Lord Kahoth.Ugh.
King Hethtar bobbed his head in agreement with his wife. “A toast!” he boomed.
“A toast!” The queen laughed, raising her glass.
“A toast?” Nesrina lifted her goblet, confused.
“To the brilliant Miss Nesrina Kiappa, who turned up to save our children from their own unruly tendencies.”
“To Miss Kiappa.”
Nesrina blushed heavily and joined them in a toast, to her.
When she’d nearly finished her wine, she was struck with the thought that she was lost. Should she leave, or wait to be excused? The latter was probably the proper course of action.
Not for the first time, Nes wished she’d asked Papa how to act in these sorts of situations,justin case. If she’d framed it as a hypothetical, he’d probably have talked. The familiar pang of loss burrowed into her chest, tightening her throat. It used to be worse, but time lessened the stabbing agony to a moderately uncomfortable sense of sadness. Still, she missed her papa everylenedday.
“Do you think they need more guards?” the king asked his wife.
