DURING THE DAY, she would wear her mask and do her duty… For Haerland.
The wife had not been happy about Nyssa spending the night with the trader. Even with Quinn reporting back with the noises the two had made overnight, Shae continued to be wary of her. The Noble had shrugged it off after seeing the marks on her throat and the bites on her collar. He'd asked her for information on the trader and whether he'd realized who she was. Nyssa had told him no, that the male had boasted the entire night about his being the first of Haerland to bed one of the strangers.
The Noble had given her a cup of water from his own stash in return.
But the wife had set her in a chair and made Quinn pour ocean water over her face until Nyssa nearly drowned.
She had slept naked and sobbing that night. The only thing that kept her from breaking completely was that Nadir knew where she was now.
During the middle of the night, she heard a quiet knocking beneath the floor. Nyssa hardly had the strength to move, but she did. And when she lifted the loose floorboard, she found her eagle on the ground beneath it.
Her eagle had hopped up into her room and wrapped his great wings around her without hesitation. It was her first time actually seeing the creature up close in six weeks, and she couldn't help herself from falling into his embrace.
She'd only been able to communicate a few words to him, but the fact that he'd walked beneath floorboards to get to her made her heart swell. He stayed with her the remainder of the night, standing guard at her side until the sun rose, and he nipped at her finger before heading back out.
There was only one meeting during the following week. A new man had joined them, and he'd poured over her like the others had done. He, too, came with more news of the King's arrival, to which the Noble had become visibly nervous over. Bechmen had hardly spoken to Nyssa that afternoon when he'd pulled her into his room for her to report on the movements of his men. To the point that Nyssa had blatantly fibbed about something she knew he would catch, and he didn't.
She learned what was wrong with him later that night.
The new man had requested he travel to Savigndor.
With the gift for the Prince.
Withher.
The man had told Bechmen a few of the Prince's maidens had arrived to oversee that things were in order and to his liking before he arrived. The man wanted these women to inspect his gift to ensure she was in line with what the Prince would want.
Bechmen had told her they would leave in two days as requested. Once the maidens determined what else needed to be 'fixed' on her, they would return for the wife to finish.
Nyssa decided she would not be telling Nadir about this.
On the day of Nadir's arrival, Nyssa begged Quinn to ask Bechmen if she could take her walk, especially since she would be carted off to their castle the next day. Quinn had taken her to the Noble before their breakfast, and she'd walked in on him getting dressed.
“Your Grace,” Nyssa said with a curtsy and bow, avoiding looking directly at him. “I wonder if you would allow me my stroll this morning,” she asked. "It has been a week."
He contemplated her a moment as he pushed his shirt over his head. “Very well, Ari. I’ll have Porters escort you. Wear your hood. I do not want any more of these spots to appear before the maidens have a look at you.”
Her chest tightened with his agreement. “Thank you, sir,” she said with another bow. “Is there anything his Grace would like me to look for? Perhaps the exotic fruits from last time.”
The Noble bent over his dresser, pulling something from the drawer. A bag was tossed into her hands, and he gave her a nod. “My wife was looking for more dress fabrics. Perhaps you can find a few she would like.”
"Yes, sir," Nyssa nodded. "Should I think your Commander has left more dresses for myself to be presented in for our Prince?"
She was still getting used to calling Luka such.
"He did," he informed her. "You'll be trying them on later tonight."
Quinn and another Porter she didn't know escorted her outside. It was odd for her to be walking amongst people again. She didn’t realize the number of people he had in his estate until that morning. The noise of chickens and pigs entered her ears when she rounded the corner. She bought eggs and dried meats, offering the Porters a ration even though she knew she shouldn’t have. But they took it with a nod of their heads and devoured the food as though it were a royal treat.
It was when they were on the last turn that she finally saw Nadir.
Her heart began to thump louder at the sight of him. She had to stifle the smile on her face, and she could tell by his eyes that he was doing the same.
—The smile.
It was foreign on her lips, and emotion bubbled to the surface at the feeling of it.
Nadir turned his back to her the closer she approached and began pulling a few crates from the stacks on his wagon and placing them on the ground. His muscles strained beneath the black wool shirt he had on, his hair pulled back into his usual thick bun. And when he finally turned around upon her reaching him, it took everything in her to keep from bounding into his arms.
