Page 49 of The Chaosweaver's Daughter
Kas didn’t bother with the screen; he sat down upon one of the large boulders by the stream to tug off his boots, coat, and shirt. The children took turns changing, then made for their meal. Typically, Kas would swim stark naked, as the gods intended. Not today. Not around the twins. Aroundheron the other hand...
Nesrina tossed her floral dress up and over the screen, and he couldn’t help but wonder what she was wearing, or rather not wearing, beyond the barrier.
Shooting to his feet, he pivoted to face the brook, and stalked into the water, hiding the evidence of his wandering mind.
A minute later the children joined him, and as they waded in, he started splashing.
“Don’t mind me.” Kas laughed heartily. “I’m washing all that food off your faces! Crumbs and sauces and jellies!” The twins shrieked, rushing out to join him. He continued even as they ganged up on him to return the favor. His arms were much longer and his hands bigger—it was an easy win. “It’s for your own good!”
With one twin in each arm he roared, standing and swinging them around, their floundering feet barely skimming the rolling water.
Sunlight bathed them in summery warmth, its glow glinting off Della’s pale locks, making the crown of her head look like the moon itself.
Kas told her as much.
“Dad always tells Mum that about her hair,” she giggled, tilting her head back to beam up at him. Sun shone on her pale face, constricting her pupils to two tiny pinpricks.
“Your eyes have a bit of blue in them. Did you know that?”
She nodded. “They’re like my dad’s.”
“They’re lovely.” A central cerulean ring was surrounded by a wider swath of mossy green.Just like Nesrina.Maybe it was atishtafirthing.
That was the moment Miss Kiappa unveiled herself, stepping from behind the dressing screen wearing a very lovely and very short bathing dress. It was dusky purple, with cap sleeves and flouncy skirts that ended above her knee. The frills of matching bloomers poked out beneath the hem. She’d unbound her hair, and he couldn’t help but weave a gentle breeze through her waves.
Giving her head a little shake, she joined them in the stream. Kas’s eyes were drawn to the shallow V at her neckline. With his height, the dip in fabric provided a tantalizing view of the crease between her breasts. It was a gloriously scandalous outfit, he’d be the first to admit. Was it for him? He doubted it. But he was certainly enjoying the benefits of being present.
Still holding the twins around their waists, Kas splashed upstream to where a short dam of stacked boulders blocked the flow. Beyond the small cascade, he’d built a good-sized swimming hole, dammed on either side, and deep in the center. It was up to his eyes now that he was an adult. A glance over his shoulder nearly resulted in a collision with Ataht, thrashing and shrieking in his left arm. Miss Kiappa wasn’t far behind.
Lifting one of his long legs, he stepped up and over the barrier and waded into the deeper, calm water. Then he shouted, “Brace yourselves, hellions!” and launched the twins.
A resounding splash stifled their shrieking protests. Free of that burden, he turned to face the approaching vixen.
She’d dipped herself, and her dress was now a stunning deep plum that clung to her curves in all the right ways. He dropped to his knees, a combination of worship and necessity, and ensured he was adjusted correctly. Then, he walked toward her, still kneeling, to extend a hand and help her over the stones.
“I love this area,” she commented, coming to stand beside him. In his current position, they were eye level, the water lapping softly around her hourglass hips.
Stifling a groan, he flopped back, dunking himself and clearing all his thoughts with a harsh burst of water up the nose.
“Did you build this?” She sank down, fluttering her hands and kicking languidly to stay afloat. Ripples broke the surface.
Across the pool, the twins clambered up the natural rock face on the east bank, preparing to jump where it was deepest.
“I did, with Hevva’s help.” He smiled at her, and little droplets of water beaded on his lashes, giving the world an ethereal haze.
“As children?” she asked, not waiting for his reply before she disappeared beneath the surface.
He waited for her to emerge and watched as she brought both hands to her face to roughly part her sopping hair. Gods, she was so beautiful. Temporarily overwhelmed, stuck in a state of muteness, Kas managed a nod.
“Did you use your magic?”
“Not mine. Hevva’s anertcins.” He used the Old Tongue term for earthshaper, certain Nesrina would be familiar with it after reading Thanin’s piece, if she hadn’t known before.
Nes dipped her dainty chin before submerging herself until water rose above her nose. Little bubbles broke the surface, and she looked up at him like a frog.
“She helped to shape the swimming hole a little bit. But that was already here.” He gestured to the big boulder as the twins leapt, hand in hand, into the water. “It was a project we chose to do by hand. Plus, Hevva wasn’t much older than those two when we started. Her skills weren’t honed enough yet, and I was three.”
She grinned. “Can you move stones with your magic, now?”
