Radiance (Wraith Kings Book 1)(22)
Kirgipa’s chin quivered and Ildiko wondered if the Kai shed tears as humans did when they mourned. The servant bowed to Brishen and then to her before returning to her place next to the older woman.
Brishen turned to the king’s messenger waiting patiently by the door. “Send another message to Kirgipa’s mother. I’ll arrive tomorrow with her son’s mortem light.” He turned to Ildiko. “Do you wish to accompany me? We’d go tonight, but there’s no escaping the celebration feast without unleashing the queen’s wrath on everyone involved in our absence.”
Ildiko gave an involuntary shiver at the thought of Secmis’s retribution. She glanced at Kirgipa before easing closer to Brishen so only he could hear her. “Are you certain? I’m an outlander here, Brishen, and this is Kai business in both flesh and spirit.”
His black eyebrows snapped together in a scowl, surprising Ildiko. “You are first and foremost of the royal house of Khaskhem. There is no place barred to you except by the will of Djedor and Secmis.”
Were they alone, she might have smoothed the line bisecting the space between his eyebrows. Instead, Ildiko limited her touch to a brief caress of his arm. She didn’t miss the watchful stares of the nearby servants or the looks exchanged between them.
“This isn’t a matter of rank and access, Brishen, but of discretion. Would a woman mourning the loss of her son welcome a stranger to witness it, especially one who’d draw the attention I will?”
Brishen still scowled, and his eyes glowed a little brighter. “What would you do in her place?”
She shrugged. “When I lost my parents, I found no comfort in the sympathies of strangers, but each person is different. And I am neither Kai nor a mother—two roles in which I have no experience.”
He eyed her for a moment. “Will you go for my sake?”
“Yes,” she said without hesitation.
Obviously pleased with her answer, Brishen bowed and turned back to the messenger. “Let’s get this over with so I may return to my wife.” He paused and turned back to Ildiko before stepping into the hallway. “The chamber next door is mine. You’re welcome to explore it.” He winked at her. “Much to my family’s disgust, I’m a man of few secrets.”
He disappeared into the corridor, closing the door behind him and leaving Ildiko alone with the two Kai women.
The silence grew awkward as Ildiko considered what to say. “I am still learning your language,” she said. Both women shifted in place, and Ildiko congratulated herself on learning how to better read her adopted people’s expressions. She’d definitely seen surprise cross the servants’ features at her uttering Kai words.
“From what I can tell, your Common is better than my bast-Kai, so why don’t we start with Common, and you can teach me words in your tongue as we converse.”
They nodded in unison, and the three began a stilted dialogue between them as they helped Ildiko unpack some of her trunks and instructed other servants for where to place the tub brought in for a bath. Ildiko already knew Kirgipa’s name and learned the other woman was Sinhue.
During her journey from Pricid to Haradis, Ildiko had grown used to the stares of the Kai, sometimes curious, other times revolted. Sinhue’s and Kirgipa’s didn’t bother her, and they would be nothing compared to what she’d face at the welcoming celebration later—where she’d likely feel anything but welcomed.
Except for a few smothered exclamations when Ildiko disrobed and stepped into her bath, the two servants were circumspect, civil and helpful. Ildiko fancied she even heard a note of approval in Sinhue’s voice when she agreed that wearing Kai garb instead of Gauri to the celebration feast was a good idea.
During her preparations, she heard movement and rustlings next door. Brishen must have returned from council with his father and, like her, prepared for the upcoming festivities. He confirmed that assumption when he knocked on her door and entered at her bidding.
No longer dressed in riding leathers and light armor, Brishen had changed into garb even more formal than he’d worn at their wedding in Pricid.
A wide-sleeved tunic with a high collar covered most of a tight fitting shirt and trousers, all in varying shades of black and forest green embroidered silk. Tiny beads threaded through twin braids were woven into his black hair. Except for the braids, he wore his hair loose, and it spilled over his shoulders, dark as a crow’s wing.
Being in each other’s constant company during the journey to Haradis had changed the way Ildiko saw him—tempered her perception of his otherness. His toothy smile still startled her as much as her eyes unnerved him, but she began to understand why Kai women found her husband attractive.
He hadn’t abandoned his martial adornment entirely. A wide belt of thick leather decorated with brass studs cinched the tunic close to his narrow waist. Anyone interested in sliding a knife under his ribs would find it a difficult task getting through the leather for a lethal thrust. The belt sported a large ring sewn to the leather, and from that Brishen had tied his court sword. It rested against his hip, companion to the daggers tucked into the tops of his boots. Ildiko guessed he probably bristled with weaponry; these were just the ones she could see.
“Are we going to war or to a feast?” she teased.
“This is Djedor’s court, hercegesé,” he said. “They’re often one and the same.”