“Of course I went through your bag,” said Baurus. “I’m only human, after all. And I’m only giving you a hard time about the ject. I know detectives carry guns, and it figures you’d have one as beautiful as you.”
In her flustered state, Kadin focused on the fact that she would have to carry around two purses for the remainder of the night. “Let me consolidate,” she said, not meeting his eyes. “I can put one of these in the cloakroom.”
After she had shuffled around her gear—and put Xanidova in the bag she intended to keep with her—Baurus held out his arm to her. “Shall we?”
Kadin moved to take his arm then stopped. She held up a finger. “This is not a date.”
Baurus raised an eyebrow at her.
“I haven’t broken up with Dahran yet, so it’s not a date,” Kadin repeated. “Baurus kept his face frozen in that same expression, so Kadin felt the need to keep rattling on. “I mean, not that it ever was supposed to be a date, but I wanted to be clear—”
“Kay, it’s fine.” Baurus’s expression melted into a smile. “But you do have to dance with me at least once. Those are the non-date rules.”
“I can handle that,” she said with a relieved laugh. She took his still-proffered arm and went into the club with him.
An hour later, Kadin had to admit this was the best non-date she had ever been on. They’d arrived early enough that the club was still serving food, so they shared a flatbread. Kadin had expected Baurus to snub the simple fare, but instead, he told her stories about the time his mother had hired a cook who he swore was the worst Valeriel City had to offer.
“The man came so highly recommended from the Imbolcs, Mother decided she had to steal him,” said Baurus. “But I think Delgata Imbolc was having one over on Mother in an attempt to get rid of this guy.”
Kadin laughed, though she assured Baurus this cook could not be the worst chef in Valeriel. “I assure you, that is me. I mean, you’ve seen me try to make coffee, and everyone says that’s ridiculously easy.”
Baurus’s other stories were surprisingly normal, considering his background. He told her about pranks he and Ralvin used to play on Beatrin.
“I wish you could have known him then,” said Baurus, as if he were talking about some ordinary man and not the king of Valeriel. “He could tell the most appalling lies with a straight face. Since he became king, though, it’s like the spark is gone. I can still see it in there sometimes, but I miss the real him, without the face paint.”
Kadin reached out and lay a hand over Baurus’s. She didn’t know what to say about his pain at losing a cousin. The truth was, she probably knew Ralvin better than Baurus did at this point, and she couldn’t say anything to make him understand that his cousin was okay.
Baurus flipped his hand over to hold Kadin’s. “Hey, you owe me a dance.”
Kadin had hoped he had forgotten about that, but she couldn’t deny him, not when he looked so sad and lonely, and not when she felt so guilty about keeping secrets. “All right.”
Baurus didn’t let go of her hand as they headed to the dance floor, and she wasn’t surprised when the music turned slow and soft as soon as they stepped onto the polished wood.
It’s one dance.
Baurus pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to be feeling as they swayed back and forth. She had never felt the kind of romantic surge she’d read about in romance novels, but this dance felt nice. She didn’t feel queasy the way she did when she had to stand this close to Dahran. She enjoyed the feel of Baurus’s rough cheek on hers and looked up in surprise when he pulled his face away.
He didn’t look upset at her, though, and the rest of him stayed close to her.
“Kay, you’re amazing.”
He kissed her.
Chapter 14
Utter surprise shot through Kadin’s core. The duke of the entire city was kissing her in a very public place, even though she had been very clear this was not a date. She had no idea how to respond. Should she kiss him back? Rebuff his advances? Trinithy would know what to do. Olivan would probably have a flowchart for her next several actions, depending what she wanted the result to be.
That’s the thing, though. I don’t know what I want the outcome to be.
Those words. “Kay, you’re amazing.” She’d heard them before. Dahran had said the exact same thing to her the other night, and she knew she couldn’t believe them from him. So how could she believe them from Baurus?
There’s a connection between us, but I don’t know him, not really.
The crowd’s murmurs rose around her, giving her a very clear impression of how very public this ordeal was, and that made her decision. She did not want to be a public spectacle.
She pulled back, and Baurus—Deity bless him for this if nothing else—let her go. “What are you doing?”
He took a step closer, trying to bridge the gap between them again. “Kadin, I—”
She held up her hands. “No.” She made herself look up at him, at the confusion in his darkened hazel eyes. “It’s not… I don’t… This isn’t a date. I said that.”
“You did, and I’m sorry. I just—”
Kadin could barely register his words. Had Baurus apologized to her? She couldn’t look at him anymore. She couldn’t look anywhere. She could feel the crowd’s eyes on her. Her head felt dizzy, and she wasn’t sure if she was confused or out of breath.
“I have to go.” She turned and pushed her way past the people blocking the entrance to the club.
“Kadin!” Baurus called after her, but she didn’t stop. She walked in as straight a line as she could out of the club and was relieved to see an autobus parked on the curb. She stepped onto it, not caring where it was headed, so long as it was away from Divinity and Baurus DeValeriel.
When Kadin got home, she hurried up to her bedroom, not wanting to face Octavira or Tobin after the last two nights’ debacles. As she began her daily beauty regimen, she relaxed in the knowledge that she wouldn’t have to deal with anyone until the next day.
“Excuse me,” came a strident feminine voice from her bag. “Would you kindly remove me from this receptacle.”
Crap, I forgot about Xanidova. Again. At least I held onto my bag while I danced.
She paused in the pinning of her hair and pulled Xanidova out and placed her on the nightstand by the window. “Are you speaking to me now, then?”
“Apparently,” said Xanidova. “I demand to know why, when I was entrusted to your increasingly dubious care, you handed me over to a red potentiate.”
Kadin stared at the ject, trying to figure out how the weapon managed to communicate. Xanidova didn’t have any kind of mouth so far as Kadin could see, yet she managed to be heard, loud and clear. Kadin shrugged and chalked it up to the elusive magic that seemed to keep intruding on her life.
“What’s a red potentiate?”
Xanidova sniffed, once again a remarkable feat without a nose. “As if you don’t know.”
“Xanidova, I wouldn’t have asked if I knew.”
“You may have Gates fooled, but I can see right through you. I’m not giving you any more information.”
“Fine.” Kadin shook her head and returned to her seat in front of the mirror.
She had pinned about two more curls when Xanidova spoke. “Fine. A potentiate is someone with the potential to be a mage.”
Kadin turned back toward the ject, not that she imagined it mattered. She couldn’t read Xanidova’s facial expression or anything. “Not everyone can become a mage?”
“No. Certain people—potentiates—have an affinity for one of the types of magic and, under the right circumstances, can learn to harness it.”
Kadin thought back to her encounter with Herrick Strand, when she’d managed to stop him from hurting her. “Am I a potentiate?”
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“You? Most assuredly not.”
Kadin stifled a stab of disappointment that she didn’t quite understand. She didn’t want magic powers. “But Baurus is.” A red potentiate, Xanidova had said. That meant Baurus had an affinity for destruction magic, like Herrick Strand.
He would want to know. Baurus wants magic more than anything in the world.
“I’d advise against telling him,” said Xanidova, as if reading Kadin’s thoughts. And who knew? Maybe she could. Kadin didn’t know the rules of magic jects. “Magic does no one any good.”
A thought occurred to Kadin. “Wait, you can tell whether someone has an affinity for magic by looking at them?”
“It’s the first thing any mage learns,” said Xanidova.
Kadin was surprised that Xanidova, who seemed to hate mages with a passion, had just admitted to being one, but she decided not to dwell on that. “Can you tell from a click?”
“No. I have to see them in person.”
Kadin saw her own disappointed frown in the mirror. She had been hoping Xanidova could look at a click of Dove and determine whether or not he had blue magic. “Okay, another question. In your apparent expert opinion, would a mage kill someone with magic and then kill another person with a ject? And do a poor job of hiding the weapon?”
“Let me turn that into a question for you. Would you be that stupid?” Xanidova asked.
Kadin shook her head. She knew Xanidova was right. Kadin still had another killer to find. But how could she do so when she was forbidden from participating in what everyone thought was a closed case?
Kadin woke up Saturday morning with a queasy feeling in the pit of her stomach and couldn’t quite remember why. Then the events of the last week rushed back to her—from Octavira’s disastrous birthday to the murder she couldn’t solve to Baurus’s very public display of affection—and she wanted nothing more than to stay in bed.
No, I have to get up. Things won’t be so bad if I face them.
She put on one of her more casual blue dresses and undid the clips she’d put in last night. Despite her resolution to continue on with her day, her thoughts raced. What must Baurus think of me now? What do I even want him to think? And has Octavira forgiven me enough to let me help out around the house today? And what in the world am I supposed to do with Xanidova?
The answer to that last one was easy enough. She would leave Xanidova shut in her room, where the children were unlikely to find her.
Kadin had barely made it downstairs when a knock sounded on the front door.
“Who could that be at this hour?” Tobin went to unlock and open the door.
Kadin peered around her brother and was surprised to see Ralvin DeValeriel, in his Vinnie Royal guise, standing at her front door, holding what looked like a newspaper.
“Good morning, Dr. Stone,” said Ralvin. “I’m sorry to bother you at such an early hour, but I wondered if I might have a word with Kadin.”
“And might I ask who you are?” asked Tobin. “I don’t know how I feel about strange men visiting my sister first thing in the morning.”
Deciding to head off the conversation before it got too awkward, Kadin moved over to stand next to her brother. “This is Vinnie Royal. He’s Ollie’s boyfriend.”
Tobin’s brow wrinkled. “The one who owns the newspaper? Why is he here before eight in the morning?”
“I don’t know. Let me talk to him and find out.”
Tobin didn’t look convinced, but Ralvin appeared so bland and unassuming that Kadin thought it unlikely her brother would refuse.
“Okay, then,” said Tobin. “But I’m watching you.”
Kadin stepped out onto the front porch and shut the door behind her. “What is it?”
Ralvin gave a humorless laugh. “I came to ask how your night was.”
“Interesting, terrifying, you know, the usual.” Kadin’s voice sounded hysterical to her own ears. Then she took in what Ralvin held. “Wait a minute. Why are you asking about my night? Did you talk to Baurus? Please, tell me you talked to Baurus.”
As Kadin spoke, Ralvin slowly held up the newspaper in front of her. There, in bold lettering, were the words “Who Is Duke Baurus’s New Mystery Woman?” Underneath them, in a picture splashed over half the page, was Baurus kissing her, and it looked for all the world like she was kissing him back.
Kadin’s hands rose to cover her mouth, and her muffled voice emerged from behind them. “Oh, Deity. Oh, this is bad. This is so bad.”
Ralvin lowered the newspaper and patted her on the shoulder. “Welcome to the Society pages. May it be your first and last experience with that particular toxin.”
Kadin sank down to sit on the front step. “Don’t you own the paper? Couldn’t you have kept it out?”
Ralvin sat down next to her and rubbed her back. “First of all, I only own part of the paper, not the whole thing. And second, I have very little control over what actually goes into it. But let’s look on the bright side. At least you broke up with Dahran before it happened.”
“Oh, Deity.” Kadin felt terrified tears spring to the corners of her eyes. “He’s going to kill me.”
Ralvin shot her a quizzical look. “Why? You, um, you did break up with him, right?”
“No.” Kadin’s voice was tiny. “I didn’t get a chance.”
Ralvin’s face went slack. “What?”
“I haven’t seen him! I got sent home early from work on Thursday, and he skipped yesterday!”
“Then why did you go out with Baurus?”
“He had my purse.” The excuse seemed weak, even to Kadin’s ears, but there was no way she could explain about Xanidova. “And I told him it wasn’t a date. And I stopped him kissing me as soon as I could, but apparently, it wasn’t soon enough.”
“Well, on the bright side, you probably won’t have to break up with Dahran now because I’m pretty sure he’s going to break up with you.”
“It’s not funny! He might actually kill me. He has the worst temper.”
“Yeah, he sounds like a winner. Real loss there.” Ralvin sighed. “I’m sorry about Baurus. He forgets that not everyone lives in our bubble where every action becomes daily news.”
Kadin sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks. “I don’t think I’m cut out for that life.”
“I’ll talk to him,” Ralvin said. “He’ll leave you alone from now on.”
Kadin nodded. “That’s probably for the best.” It didn’t feel for the best, though. The idea of never seeing Baurus again filled Kadin with almost as much dread as seeing her face in the paper had. But odds were good he wouldn’t want to see her after her performance last night, and she wasn’t up for the kind of high-publicity life that apparently came with being involved with Baurus DeValeriel.
Ralvin drew in a breath through his teeth. “I really hate to leave you like this, but there’s an emergency meeting of the Assembly this morning that Ralvin can’t get out of.”
Kadin decided to forgo mocking him for talking about himself in the third person. “Go. The nation’s governance is more important than my petty concerns.”
Ralvin gave her a sympathetic look. “It’s not so bad, really, Kay. It’ll blow over.”
Kadin tried to laugh, but it came out as more of a snort as tears continued to pour down her face. Ralvin patted her back one last time then walked away.
Kadin sat on her front stoop, staring at the swirls in the concrete. A million emotions swam through her head, and she couldn’t pick any one to concentrate on: embarrassment at her private life splashed all over the papers, fear at what Dahran and everyone else would think, regret that she was cutting short her blossoming relationship with Baurus.
She sat there for what could have been minutes or hours, spinning in her own head, until she heard a new set of footsteps approach her. She barely had time to look up and
register Dahran’s presence before he grabbed her by her hair and wrenched her to her feet.
“What is this?” The roar of his voice echoed through her aching skull as he thrust the photo of her and Baurus in her face.
The sharp pain on her scalp where he held her hair rendered her nearly unable to breathe. “I’m really sorry, Dahran. I—”
“Sorry?” Dahran shook her by the hair, causing ripples of pain along her scalp. “Not as sorry as you’re going to be.” He threw her against the stoop.
Kadin reached back to catch herself, and she heard a crack and a rush of pain down her arm as she landed on it. She thought about offering an explanation for her behavior, but she realized she only had one thing left to say to Dahran. “Get out of here, Dahran. We’re done.”
“You don’t get to decide when we’re done, bitch!” He raised his hand and brought it down hard on her face.
That’s going to bruise, she thought, surprised at how calm her inner monologue was. She considered explaining that Baurus had kissed her, and she had extricated herself as quickly as she could. She thought about saying she had planned to break up with him anyway, if he had bothered to show up for work. But she knew that none of that mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting him out of her life.
“I do get to decide,” she said. “We’re done.”
His face contorted with rage, and Kadin wondered how she had ever found him handsome. In his current state, his red face looked positively evil. It occurred to her that he might actually beat her to death, right here on the front stoop of her brother’s house. She found herself surprisingly calm about the whole thing.
At least I stood up for myself.
As Dahran raised his hand to hit her again, Kadin heard the front door open behind her. “Step away from my sister, you miscreant,” came Tobin’s voice, followed by the all-too-familiar sound of a projectile weapon being cocked.
I didn’t even know Tobin had a ject.
Dahran looked back and forth between Tobin and Kadin then spat at Kadin’s feet. “This isn’t over, bitch.”
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