Page 117 of The Chaosweaver's Daughter
He gulped.
“How long have you known?” her voice was soft, too quiet. Too calm.
“Less than a week. Hevva told me when she got here. She—”
“I can’t believe you kept this from me.”
“Nes,” Kas began as his hand shot out to grab hers from where it rested upon the sheets. He wound their fingers together and held on for dear life, thanking the gods when she didn’t pull away. “I wanted to tell you the moment Hev told me her suspicions. Hevva and Ehmet only realized it recently, or suspected. And Hevva said I couldn’t tell you until the traitors were caught. She was worried that, well, thatthiswould happen—sort of.” He shook her arm that he held and gestured to her bandages with his free hand. “We were worried someone would try to question you, to get an admission. We didn’t expect fucking blood magic.”
“All right.” Nesrina squeezed his hand, sending a small shiver of relief through his system.
She wasn’t nearly as angry as he expected, but that didn’t necessarily bode well. “All right? You’re not mad?”
Nes shook her head. “I understand, kind of. It’s a lot to take in. You told me the truth, though. You didn’t make me figure it out on my own.”
“Well . . .”
“All right, you kind of made me figure it out on my own. But all in one conversation counts, I’d say.”
A small smile flitted across Kas’s face. “Thank you.”
“Thank me? Forwhat?”
“For not hating me for keeping something else from you. I...” There was one other secret he was holding onto—two, if he counted needing the perfect moment to tell her he loved her. Although, Kas was fairly certain Nesrina would give him a pass on his hidden identity. He hoped. It didn’t directly impact her the way the other secrets had. There would be time for that discussion later, though.
“Do you think my papa knew?”
It was Kas’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. Hevva thinks it’s possible. Ehmet told her Hothan’s correspondence grew infrequent after he had an argument with Queen Adellan, not long after Hevva and Ehmet’s handfasting, maybe two years after King Hethtar the Third died.”
“When I was around ten? That’s when Papa got . . . weird . . . about nobility.”
“It is?” Kas chanced a glance at Nesrina, who was staring at her toes tenting the blanket.
“Yes. He used to speak so fondly of his time at the palace, tutoring the ki—Ehmet.My brother,gods...”
Kas gave her a few moments to process the whole “secret sibling” thing.
Eventually, Nesrina began to voice her thoughts aloud, “Papa talked so fondly of Kirce when I was young. He had nothing bad to say about nobility then. Mostly, he told me about the splendor of the palace, the food, teaching Prince Ehmet, and visiting the sea. But it changed. I don’t know exactly when, but I was nine or ten. He stopped wanting to answer my questions. When he talked about his time at the capital, it was nothing more than a ‘great honor’to have worked for the royal family, not‘the besttime of my life’anymore. I didn’t question it. I figured I asked too many questions, and he tired of discussing it. His negativity crept in after that, influencing my mind too. But... Do you think blood magic is real then?” Nes changed the subject, and Kas went with it.
“I do. I told Hevva as much. Why else would Rihan fill a godsdamned canteen with your blood?”
“Ohhh. You think Ehmet’s injury was asuccessfulblood gathering attempt, not a failed murder?”
Kas squeezed her hand. “Exactly. It fits that Rihan was tasked with stealing blood.” If that was the case, it was also possible, nayprobable,that the arrow in the clearing was meant for Nes, not Ataht, but he didn’t want to guilt her any further, so he kept the suspicion to himself. “I should have known, or worked out that Ehmet’s illegitimate at least. He never acted like his dad. Nekash, on the other hand, he’s similar to the old king in demeanor and proclivities.” Kas sneered.
“Wait, are you saying Nekash is behind this? Andwhydoes it fit that Rihan’s involved? In the cottage, he said that thing about the true or rightful king. Did he mean Nekash?”
She was so quick, it was unbelievable. He hadn’t considered Nekash’s involvement, only the immediate connection between Rihan and the blood magic. “NowI think Nekash is behind it. It makes the most sense. And Rihan’s been working for him. Reassigned to his guard.”
Nesrina cocked her head at him. “Since when?”
“Since Ehmet heard about what the arsehole did to you at the symposium.”
Nes grimaced.
Stroking his thumb over the back of her hand, he said, “I didn’t know, not until Hevva told me. What happened there?”
“It was while you were talking to King Hethtar—”
