Back revealed to the forces, Nymiria got to her knees and leaned across the footstool. She waited, barely able to swallow with how nervous she was. Lovenia, her tutor, was known for her cruelty. She took her job seriously and absolutely did not want to make Inasha angry. It felt worse than torture towait for pain. Nymiria wished that Inasha would simply take matters into her own hands rather than be forced to wait.
She watched her mother’s foot move up and down against the tile, tapping anxiously before she turned and began to pace. “Where in the three hells has she gone?”
Mere minutes later, Nymiria’s back went taut. The unmistakable clacking of Lovenia’s heels echoing through the rooms.
“Did you see what she did?” Inasha hissed. “Pink roses.Pinkroses. I haven’t seen a presentation of pink roses in this palace since my grandmother held the throne. We are not a pink family, Lovenia. We arered. Red, like blood—for loyalty, for devotion, for sacrifice. Does no one in this kingdom understand that?”
“They were still impressed with the presentation, Inasha. Everyone is still talking about it—the ballroom is buzzing about her talent.” Lovenia was not trying to reason with Inasha on Nymiria’s behalf. She was trying to save herself. As Nymiria’s tutor, she would take some of the blame.
Inasha’s feet scuffled to a halt. Nymiria didn’t dare look up at her mother. She averted her eyes, keeping them focused on the crimson veins that wove through the quartz flooring. The smack delivered to Lovenia’s face was enough of an answer as any. Her mother did not care about the happiness of her people. She only cared about what she wanted—her own happiness, her own image. Regardless of what anyone else felt or believed. “Come next presentation day, I want her to conjure anything I ask. Do you understand?” The queen snapped.
“Yes, your majesty. She will not disappoint you.”
Inasha snorted hatefully. This time, when Nymiria met her mother’s gaze, there was nothing but pure ire behind her eyes. “She was a disappointment at birth, Lovenia. There is nothing much that can be done to save her now.”
Nymiria took her punishment as expected. Held back tears as expected. Cleaned herself up and bathed as expected.
As fearful as Nymiria was of her mother, there was one woman in all of Nym that Inasha Celentas didn’t dare cross, and Nymiria chose not to tuck herself into bed. Instead, she climbed out of her window and dropped to the lawn. She stuck to the shadows, allowing them to guide her through the courtyard and into the forest.
She was halfway to Nan’s cottage when a twig snapped behind her. Nymiria’s head jerked towards the sound, her lungs and heart seizing their innate rhythm. A flash of silver hair caught her eye, her curiosity piqued as she walked towards where the being stood.
It was a boy.
Given his height, he could have easily been mistaken for a man. Upon first look, that was what she thought. But when he turned to face her, she saw his boyish features and exhaled a sigh of relief.
“You shouldn’t be in the forest at this hour,” she proclaimed. “There are monsters here, you know.”
The boy stared at her, eyes wide and lips parted around what surely would have been an excuse. But then his thick, dark brows drew together, his gloved hands sliding into his pockets. He was dressed like he held station, she noticed. Perhaps the son of a lord or a duke. Her head tilted to one side. “Who are you?”
He shook his head, silver hair falling into his piercing blue eyes. “I am… not important.”
“Were you attending the party in the palace?” She inquired.
Once again, the boy looked angry. “No. Why I am here should be none of your concern. Now, go.”
Nymiria scoffed. “You can’t order me around. This is my—“ she paused, eyes narrowing as she observed him closer.
He could have been an enemy. He could have been one of those Mystic children that Dorid Yaarborough used as spies.
“Your what?” He prodded.
Glancing around in search of an answer, Nymiria licked her lips. “There are monsters here.”
“Are you a monster?” The boy grinned, eyes dragging over her nightgown.
She folded her arms over her chest, face warming. “Perhaps I am.”
He took a step closer to her, one single step that had every hair on her arms lifting in response. She fell back a step, sucking in a sharp breath when she saw the point of his ears in the moonlight. “You don’t look like a monster to me.” He said with a shrug. “But you do look like power.” Nymiria stumbled back in another attempt at retreating. Before she could land on the forest floor, a hand shot out and grabbed the front of her nightgown. The boy jerked her back to her feet, his eyes hard as they roved around the forest. “You should go. Before the real monsters come to claim you.” He said through clenched teeth.
If Nymiria was known for anything, it was her stubbornness. Someone telling her to do anything only made her more inclined to do the exact opposite. Still, she knew that the boy was right. She needed to leave. If anyone caught her in the night with a boy, it would spread across the entire kingdom by morning. And with her back already welted and aching, the last thing she needed was more punishments.
She looked into his eyes again, heart pounding against her ribs in a way that made her feel breathless.
“Well?” The boy hummed impatiently. “Are you going or not?”
Snapping out of her trance, Nymiria glanced over her shoulder. She could just see the orange glow of Nan’s windows in the distance. “I’m going.” She said quietly.
And then she left.
