Page 8 of The Chaosweaver's Daughter
“It’s so sticky!” She struggled with the goo clinging to her hair and hands.
“I think your brother and I can help you out.” Nes gave the girl a half-smile before turning her attention to the boy. “Prince Ataht, can you take a deep breath for me?”
He nodded, gripping the arms of his chair.
“In through your nose.” He followed her lead. “And out through your mouth.” They exhaled together. “Good. Now, can you still feel your magic? It might feel like little pinpricks on your palm.”
The chestnut-haired prince nodded, his eyes glued to his hand, searching for what she described.
“Wonderful. Now take another deep breath, and let it go. Release the sticky ooze you imagined. Picture it falling apart, unraveling.”
As the prince exhaled, the substancepoppedaway, vanishing, residue and all.
“Ah, splendid!” The king clapped.
A blush heated Nesrina’s cheeks. She’d forgotten her audience, finding it was far easier to teach the twins than to consider how best to lift her glass when in the eyeline of a monarch. Offering the king a sheepish half-smile, she complimented the prince, “Excellent control.”
“I didn’t have any good control when I made that stuff.” He gestured toward his sister’s face, and she pursed her lips, nodding fervently.
Nes sighed empathetically before launching into a brief but thorough lesson about big feelings and how they can make it easy to lose control of one’s power. “Did you see the way the candles slowed before you made the sticky ooze?”
The prince and princess shook their heads.
“I promise to explain more about it later. For now, it’s important to practice staying calm even when you’re feeling frustrated. If you breathe the way I taught you, it’ll help you control the chaos.”
“Do you promise?” Small and timid, the prince’s question wormed into her heart.
“I do. If you accidentally create something you didn’t mean to make, take a deep breath, and remember that it’s not real.”
Princess Adella cocked her head to the side. “What do you mean, it’s not real? That splat was really sticky on me.”
“It might look and feel real, but our magic—it allows us to create a powerful illusion. Remember that. It’s an approximation. Find your calm in the chaos, breathe, and you’ll get through it.” Lesson complete, Nesrina stood and smoothed her dress.
When she looked up again, she saw Queen Hevva lean toward her husband and whisper in his ear.
He grunted in response. It was the sort of sound that indicated a “yes” rather than a “no.”
When the queen bestowed a gleaming smile upon her, Nes exhaled slowly. “Miss Kiappa, welcome, officially, to Kirce Palace.”
Her father would have been so proud, but it should’ve been him at dinner. Tamping down the heavy feeling that threatened to dampen her success, she forced her grin larger.
As she passed behind Adella’s chair on her way to her seat, the door flew open, andtheman strode in—the rude, not-a-gentleman from the grand hall.
Lened, damn, damn, damn.Her favorite Old Tongue term was swiftly replaced by its modern Selwassan counterpart as composure fled the room.
Nes spotted a familiar head of flaxen hair behind the unwelcome guest, and Rihan shot her a quick grin before the door was pulled closed by an invisible servant, blasting Nes with a rush of air.
“You’re late,” the queen said dryly as the children shrieked, “Uncle Kas!”
Uncle? Oh, no.His eyes met hers, flashing with recognition, before he moved on to greet each of his family members in turn. She took her seat, busying herself with her colorful array of vegetables as she consciously ignored the beat of anxiety picking up tempo in her chest.Who knew carrots come in purple?
“Apologies, Hevva, Ehmet. Please don’t shout at me. I got caught up with work,” he explained casually, all but ignoring Nesrina as he pulled out his own chair and joined them. His foot brushed hers as he moved his seat closer to the table. She shivered—out of fear, obviously.
Low and calm, his voice rumbled as he addressed his family, any vestige of his terse demeanor from the grand hall vanished. Or maybe it was reserved for her? He was no longer wearing the deep blue jacket from earlier and instead donned a simple forest green tunic that highlighted the auburn tones in his disheveled hair.
That messy hair.She wanted to reach up and push it back from his forehead, maybe give his perfectly straight nose a flick in the process, for the way he had treated her earlier. The thought assaulted her before she could get a grasp on it. But she did and forced it to the back of her mind.
“Brother, no worries. I’m pleased you could join us.” King Hethtar made the introductions, “This is Miss Nesrina Kiappa, the twins’ new magic tutor. Miss Kiappa, the Duke of Stormhill, Akkas Kahoth, my brother-in-law.”
