Page 51 of The Mountain King
Chapter Seventeen
Kailigh turned onto her side, wincing at the subtle ache in the small of her back, and stretched. She pulled the covers back over her head, continued to pretend it wasn’t morning for another five minutes, then sighed and threw off her cocoon, swinging her legs to the floor.
Glancing over, she froze. Two daughters slept in armchairs near the fireplace and Maddugh… he stood several feet away, an island in the middle of the room, arms crossed. Staring.
“You’re awake,” he said.
“Why are the three of you in my room?” She stood, a little surprised at how wobbly her legs felt, and shrugged it off. Last night had been… she blushed, and turned her mind away from those thoughts. They’d set a fast pace on the trek back to the castle once the rain let up…
Kailigh frowned. Why was she in bed? They’d left this morning, and… and…
“You’ve been asleep three days,” he said.
It was her turn to stare. The words made no sense. The girls stirred, Serephone’s eyes popping open with abrupt wakefulness. She surged to her feet.
“Mother!”
She knew her daughters, especially the nuances in their voice tones. “What’s going on?”
“I believe,” Maddugh said, “that your Dwyrkin nature has been triggered. To some extent.”
What?“You really think I’m not human, don’t you?”
“I know you aren’t all human.” His look was measured. “It was only ever a matter of how much of our blood is in your veins, and which particular strain. This… may make things more interesting.”
Kailigh glanced at her daughters. “Cin?”
“Asleep,” Persia said. “We made her stay in her room. She’s still tired. But better.”
Kai nodded. “All right. Everyone, get out. I need to bathe and dress and then we will talk. Girls—we also need to discuss what you will be spending your time doing forthwith. Lounging around the castle, idle, isn’t an option.”
The girls nodded and left. Maddugh hadn’t budged. “We need to talk, Kailigh.”
She crossed the room towards the wardrobe, opened it and drew out her selection for the day. Wide-legged trousers designed to look like skirts, in serviceable navy, a plain white blouse and brown vest with embroidery in festive red. She made a face when encountering a corset, and considered forgoing it for the day.
“We’ll talk after I’ve dressed,” she said, turning. Her stomach rumbled. “And eaten.”
He nodded. “I’ll order breakfast.”
* * *
Kailigh stared in the mirror, uneasy. She couldn’t quite decide if she was imagining things, or if she was just well rested after three days of sleep… or if the light in the castle was simply better than what she was used to.
Her fingers touched her face again. Subtle differences, so subtle shecouldjust be reacting to nothing. But her skin felt smoother. And when she squinted, she didn’t see the faint beginnings of hairline wrinkles on her forehead. The signs of age she’d first noticed in her mid-thirties. She still was mistaken as Persia and Serephone’s sister—but an older sister.
Now… she looked barely a decade older.
Kailigh left the room, making her way to the dining hall. She’d dismissed the staff assigned to her the first day, preferring to find her way than have a Dwyrkin hovering over her. And the place was built along straight lines; it wasn’t difficult to point oneself in the right direction, and then just keep following the increasing scent of food.
Entering the breakfast room with its more informal round table and sideboard, she spotted Maddugh right away, sitting in a chair with, of all things, a newspaper.
She stared. They had newspapers in town. Runners dropped the periodicals off once a month, but paper was so precious these days. Women liked to keep up with the fashions and high society in the cities, and the men liked to pour over a month’s worth of scores for their favorite sports teams. The cities had luxuries like sports teams, and fashion blogs. Out here… the world was about survival and conditions existed that were more nineteenth century than twenty-third century.
Picking up a plate, she helped herself to eggs and sausages. Maddugh set aside the paper and rose, approaching the sideboard to select a glass and fill it with fruit juice. A luxury, especially orange juice. He set it next to her plate as she took a seat.
“I can see the questions on your face,” he said after she’d eaten in silence for several minutes.
She glanced at him, then shrugged. “You said my Dwyrkin blood is awakening. Because we had sex?”
