Free Web NovelChapter 67: And He was There
A knock tapped lightly against the table.
Nina lifted her head.
Lady Emory stood before her, hands folded behind her back, her dark eyes resting steadily on Nina’s face as though she had been waiting a while for her attention to return.
"What?" The word left her mouth before her brain could catch up with her thoughts.
There was silence.
She glanced at the room. Everyone was looking at her.
Nina swallowed as she straightened in her seat, schooling her expression as she wiped her sweaty hands on her dress.
"What did you say, Lady Emory? I didn’t get your last words."
Emory held her gaze, studying her for a moment. One brow lifted slightly. Then her mouth softened into a faint smile.
"I asked if you had any questions," she said evenly. "We did not go over this yesterday."
The words pressed faintly against Nina’s thoughts. She held her breath, making sure her expression gave nothing away, then she pulled her lips into a smile.
"No," she replied, voice light. "I don’t have any questions, Lady Emory."
"Good," Emory said, already turning away. "We will move to the next session."
She walked toward the door and opened it, stepping aside.
"Please, ladies, come with me."
The women hesitated for a moment, and they all began to stand one after the other, walking out of the training room.
Nina sat still, her eyes staring in a daze for a long while before she felt a warm hand touch her shoulder.
She looked up; Ruri’s blue eyes were staring down at her.
’’Aren’t you coming?’’
Nina forced a smile. ’’Right behind you.’’
The East courtyard lay open beneath the afternoon sun as the ladies stood in twos, talking as they waited.
A servant was crouched near the ground, drawing a straight chalk line across the grass.
Lady Emory walked around as another servant handed three small bowls to each of them.
Nina stepped away from the group, stopping near the edge of the courtyard as she tried not to think of anything. To focus her attention on everything but what her brain so desperately wanted to think about.
A bead of sweat slid from her hairline down her neck, and then another. At this rate, all the makeup she’d used to cover up the hickeys was going to melt away.
There was a slow moment of quiet, then her fingers found their way to her neck, and she rubbed against it.
Her jaw tightened.
No.
She shook her head slightly, dropping her hand instantly.
It wasn’t true.
It was just a mistake. Right?
He hadn’t been himself last night. He was drunk, maybe. Instinct, nothing more.
It was all a mistake. It meant nothing.
Nina drew a long breath.
The thought settled uneasily, but she held onto it anyway, turning it over again and again until it almost sounded reasonable.
She inhaled slowly. Just then, Ruri appeared beside her, her smile wide.
"Don’t worry," Ruri whispered, as though she was about to say something she didn’t want anyone to hear. "It’ll be all over before you know it."
Nina glanced at her and chuckled lightly.
"Well,’’ she drew a breath. ’’It doesn’t seem like it. Lady Emory looks as though she’s going to keep us here as long as she can."
Ruri tilted her head, watching the older lady whose hands were clasped behind her, her smile wide. "You have a point,’’ she nodded, ’’but she won’t scold you too harshly. You’re the Luna." Her voice lowered. "You could leave whenever you wanted."
At that, Joane turned.
Her eyes moved over Ruri first — brief, dismissive — before settling on Nina. The look lingered just long enough to feel deliberate before she faced forward again.
Ruri’s smile faded instantly. She stepped forward instinctively, but Nina caught her arm and shook her head.
Ruri scoffed loudly, her eyes glaring at Joane’s back, then she glanced at Nina.
Nina smiled softly and laughed, folding her hands in front of her.
"Who will go first?" Lady Emory’s voice sounded across the courtyard once the line was finished, her eyes looking through the ladies.
They turned, glancing at each other, murmuring softly.
Joane stepped forward before anyone else spoke.
"I will," she said, already moving towards the line.
’’Good, Lady Joane, always taking the lead,’’ Emory said. ’’Let’s see what you can do.’’
Joane smiled as she placed her bowls with careful ease on her head, shoulder, and the other side — then began walking. freeωebnovēl.c૦m
Her steps were smooth, measured, and confident. The bowls did not tremble, neither did her steps shake.
The girls watched quietly as she reached the end, turned neatly, and returned the same way.
Emory clapped twice. ’’’Great,’’ she nodded in approval.
"Excellent posture, Joane. Well done."
’’Thank you, Lady Emory.’’
Joane smiled as she returned to her place, her gaze brushing over Nina, satisfaction flickering briefly at the corner of her mouth.
Nina held her gaze for a beat and looked away first. She had a lot of things to worry about. An insignificant lady of the court mattered less than nothing right now.
"Who is next?" Emory asked, scanning the line. Her eyes settled on Ruri. "Lady Ruri. Come show the Luna how it is done."
Ruri straightened immediately. "Yes, Lady Emory."
She stepped forward, concentrating hard, lips pressed together. One bowl wobbled slightly before steadying again as she continued to the finish line, then she turned.
When she finished, she grinned openly.
Emory nodded. "Good control."
One by one, the others followed.
Nina watched them without truly seeing, her thoughts drifting despite herself.
Only when the last girl stepped aside did Emory’s voice reach her again.
"Luna."
Every head turned.
’’It is your turn.’’
Nina smiled and stepped forward.
She placed the bowls carefully — one atop her head, one on each shoulder — adjusting until they balanced.
"Head up," Emory said, touching two fingers lightly beneath Nina’s chin.
Nina lifted her gaze and began walking.
The first steps felt manageable.
Her back straightened. Her breathing slowed as she focused on balance, on movement, on the steady rhythm of placing one foot before the other.
The bowls trembled, but they stayed.
"You can do it!" Ruri called behind her, clapping her hands together as she cheered her on.
A faint smile touched Nina’s mouth.
She continued forward.
Halfway across the line, footsteps sounded ahead.
Unhurried.
Measured.
Strangely familiar.
Nina’s eyes lifted.
Broad shoulders came into view first.
Then his face.
Rodrigo.
Her breath caught before she could think. All the hairs on her body were standing on end.
Her feet slowed, her lungs refused to take in air. The ladies behind her were murmuring, but she couldn’t hear a thing. Every nerve inside of her pulled forward towards him.
His eyes found her across the courtyard, and her legs grew weak.
He slowed when he saw her.
Not stopping — only slowing enough that the space between them stretched, awareness settling thickly in the air.
The courtyard noise faded. The sun felt distant. All she could feel was the weight of his eyes resting on her as though nothing else existed.
His gaze moved briefly over the bowls balanced on her head and shoulders, then returned to her face.
Something softened in his eyes, and
Her pulse faltered.
Memory rose without warning — his breath at her neck, heat against her skin, the press of his mouth, teeth hovering just before—
His steps approached, the scent of him finding her nostrils.
His eyes didn’t leave hers for a second. Nina could hear her heart thudding loudly in her ears.
He drew closer.
Close enough that she could feel the faint shift of air as he passed.
His eyes lingered on hers a moment longer.
The world narrowed to that single look.
Her heartbeat lost rhythm.
The bowls slipped.
One slid first, bouncing off the grass. The others followed, scattering across the courtyard.
Nina instantly looked away from him.
"Alpha," the ladies greeted as he walked past her. Nina didn’t turn, her hands folding into fists.
She did not hear him respond; his feet just continued forward.
He walked past them and entered the East building.
Nina stood where she was, unmoving.
Her heart still thudded loudly in her ears. She could still smell him, could still feel the intensity of his gaze on her.
Nina dragged a breath through her nose.
This was not going to end well.
