The blond fool flashed a goofy grin at Miss Kiappa, who returned the smile, albeit far more demurely. Balling his hands at his sides, Kas wanted nothing more than to punch the young man in his stupid rosy face.
Nesrina murmured some sort of apology to King Ehmet for being away from her duties to attend the symposium.
“Eh, nonsense.” Ehmet waved a paw. “Hevva filled me in after Kas wrote for permission to invite you.”
Shit.
Nes eyed him peculiarly, and tingles of anxiety prickled his fingers and toes. He’d written to his sisterlongbefore their conversation, in response to Hevva’s note about rotating staff vacations. She eyed him expectantly.Uhhh...
He winked.
Why? He wasn’t sure, but he definitely didn’t know what to say. At least his gesture seemed to throw her off his trail while the conversation continued.
“Kahoth wrote again, recently, of the protective measures you took to keep my children safe. Thank you.”
Shut up, man!
“Thank you, Your Highness.” She curtsied, elbow bumping Kas above the knee.
It was time to find a table. Ehmet said he needed to kick things off but would like to talk more after he addressed the room. Missing Hevva, and with much to do at the capital, he was getting right on the road after this event to travel through the night.
His brother-in-law left the dais briefly, to refresh in the back room, before officially opening the annual symposium. The flaxen-haired soldier followed dutifully, hand resting on the hilt of his sword. Kasrolled his eyes then let out a low, hopefully unnoticed, grumble when he watched Nesrina’s gaze follow the guard out the door.
Ehmet’s address passed in much the same manner as their original conversation: Kas didn’t take in much, distracted as he was by gazing at Nesrina Kiappa. Every time he caught her staring at the red-faced soldier guarding the king, he dug his nails a little deeper into the palm of his hand, hidden beneath their table.
Post-speech, Ehmet waved Kas up to the front and he sort of wished Nes didn’t bounce to her feet to accompany him. Ehmet brought them down a side hall to the private royal salon, and when he ushered Kas in, alone, the guard sidled up to Nesrina and greeted her by placing a handfartoo familiarly on her upper arm.
Closing the door, the king stalked to the bar.
He offered a relatively useless update on the “situation” in Serkath. Yes, there was still an issue, continued rumblings regarding his legitimacy as king. No, they had no leads on who was stirring the pot. Yes, they wanted to keep the children safe at Stormhill for a while longer. And, no, Ehmet was not living in fear of his life. “A minor annoyance is all,” he assured Kas as he finished up with the liquor.
Kas wanted to know if there was any legitimacy to the illegitimacy thing but figured it wasn’t the best question to ask. Hevva would fill him in when the time was right.
With tumblers of whiskey in hand, they sat down to catch up. Ehmet primarily wanted information on the children and Nesrina, and Kas gave a thorough report. Hevva had implored him to keep an eye on them all when she sent them north, namely because of the dragon incident that had gone unreported.
He had no idea it was supposed to stay a secret when he’d blabbed about it to her. Of course, two weeks later, when Hevva sent everyone to descend upon his home, she let him know it was knives that did them in, no one had fessed up to the first flying beast.
Once the king was satisfied, he rose from his chair with a groan. “Well, brother, it seems you have things in good hands. We can’t thank you enough for taking care of the twins.”
Kas dipped his chin.
“I hope it’s not too much of an imposition.” He grinned conspiratorially. “But my lovely wife tells me you may be getting something out of the arrangement?”
Kas tried poorly to hide his embarrassment. “Perhaps.”
Ehmet chuckled. “Where are you staying? Hevva says you turned down her offer to use Hewran Hall? You’re welcome to go there. Say the word.”
“Ah.” Kas waved off the offer. “We’re staying at the Elk & Heron. Accommodations there are quite nice. Wouldn’t want to impose on your staff and all that.”
“Very well. But if you change your mind, show up anytime. They got the damned place ready for me anyway, and I’m not staying the night.”
With their conversation finished, they left the room. Ehmet followed Kas into the hall and announced he was ready to leave. The guards snapped to attention. Pausing briefly, Ehmet encouraged Nes to do something Kas missed, then the king said goodbye and disappeared down a corridor, soldiers in tow.
Nesrina stood straight as a rail the whole time, her chest heaving. When she finally met Kas’s gaze, her cheeks were red and her pupils blown large, which he did not like.Not one bit.
twenty
Nesrina is sick of grumpy men.
