“I believe so. My father could do the same temperature manipulation as me, my aunt too. Nowwhatdo you keep trying to tell me?” She accepted her wine from Kas and sipped it as she fixed her eyes on the distant night-shrouded trees.
“Is that how the twins made that dragon with the fiery pennant in its mouth?” He joined her to lean upon the railing.
Nes balked. “You saw that?”
Oops. “I did, from the library. You handled it masterfully, by the way.”
She elbowed him in the side. “Handled it masterfully? Please. That was insane. I’m lucky I didn’t lose my position on the first day.”
“Your position is certainly solidified by now, I don’t think you need to worry,” he offered, skirting around the fact that he’d inadvertently told Hevva himself.
“I hope not.” She ran her finger up and down the stem of her glass.
“I’msureyou don’t need to worry.”
“Are you positive?”
“Yes.”
She nodded softly. “Well then, to answer your question, yes, Della made the banner thing glow, and Ataht’s magic gave it the ability to burn. When they’re stronger, I have no doubt they’ll be able to create realistic looking flames that function as such, too.”
“Astonishing.”
“It is.”
They stood in silence for a moment before Kas returned them to their original topic. “No interruptions this time.I thought you mighthave noticed the flimsy excuse I gave the twins at supper.”
“Oh, I certainly did.” She laughed before her eye caught on something in the yard. “Is that...?”
Kas followed her gaze to where Aylin and Thera were out for anevening walk. They paused briefly, Thera swatted Aylin on the arm for something she said, and the maid rounded on the housekeeper before pecking her on the mouth. “Those two? Been married for longer than I’ve been alive.”
“Oh.” Nes’s mouth remained in the shape of the word for a few seconds. “I thought they might be a couple but kept forgetting to ask.”
“They are. That’s why Aylin stayed on as a chambermaid with a lady’s maid’s salary when Hevva moved to Serkath. I appreciate you putting her to work these past weeks. She missed it, I think.”
She smiled, watching the aging couple continue their walk into the woods. “There’s something you keep trying to say?”
“Yes.” Kas sighed. “Not to dampen the mood, but Ehmet was unexpectedly injured while hunting.”
Her brows pulled together as she glanced up at him. “Aren’t all injuries unexpected? Just say accident.”
“My thoughts precisely,” he murmured as a shiver of heat coursed through him.Great minds, and all that.Kas filled her in on the curious letter he’d received from his sister. Between Hevva’s expedient departure from Kirce, the canceled trip, the rumblings around the palace, and the clear lack of the word “accident” in her letter, Nesrina agreed with Kas that something was afoot.
They passed quite some time upon the southern terrace. The first bottle of wine was gone around the time they finished discussing the king. Kas used a thick cord of magic to lift open one of the kitchen windows and snag a new bottle from the countertop. Cook screamed at the unexpected intrusion, but no real harm was done. Laughing, they moved from leaning against the railing to sit at the top of the stairs. Conversation shifted with their positions from consequential to casual.
“How did you play the pianoforte?” Nesrina asked.
“I know the songs and make my magic play in place of my hands.”
“A duke and a musician? Color me impressed, Lord Kahoth. I wasn’t sure if you were able to offer a mood, or if you had to play the keys correctly.”
“The latter, unfortunately. I made a few mistakes, didn’t you notice?”
“I did not.” Nesrina blushed prettily as she sipped her wine.
“What of your magic? Do you have to be very specific, or can you—what did you say? Offer a mood?”
“Oh, I have to be quite specific,unfortunately.” Her eyeroll ended in a grin as her feet tapped the stone steps.
