Chapter 48: Kael’s Terrible Lessons

Chapter 48 — Kael’s Terrible Lessons

Naya found Kael the next morning surrounded by an absurd number of papers, each one covered in his handwriting, sorted into neat piles labeled in a way that made her laugh the moment she read them.

"Dangerous," she read aloud, picking up one stack. "Boring. Easily offended. Secretly funny." She lifted the last one. "Absolutely avoid after drinking?"

"That last category is smaller than you’d think, but crucial," Kael said, entirely serious.

"You’ve categorized the entire court."

"Court isn’t about knowing every rule," he said. "It’s about knowing which rules you can safely break, and in front of whom."

Naya sat across from him, still smiling. "Then teach me."

He walked her through it methodically, though nothing about the delivery felt formal. Never let an Alpha make you repeat yourself, he told her, because it signals weakness they’ll exploit later. Never accept a drink from someone you don’t know, not because of poison exactly, but because refusing later becomes an insult you can’t take back. Don’t sit in another territory’s seat, don’t allow anyone to correct you publicly without answering, and above everything else, never let an insult make you angry before you’ve figured out why it was said.

"How do you know all this?" Naya asked.

Kael shrugged. "Years of watching people make every possible mistake. Some of them were mine."

There was something honest in the way he said it, no mystery hiding behind it, just experience worn comfortably.

He decided to test her immediately, straightening in his chair and adopting an exaggerated arrogance that transformed him almost entirely.

"You must be the replacement," he said, his voice taking on a mocking edge. "Tell me, does the crown often settle for whatever’s available?"

Naya’s temper flared instantly, old wounds from those early weeks rising fast to the surface. She opened her mouth to snap back, then caught herself, remembering his lesson from moments before.

"I imagine," she said instead, calm and level, "that whoever taught you manners settled for whatever was available too."

Kael dropped the act immediately, grinning. "There. That’s exactly what I wanted."

Naya felt a small thrill of accomplishment settle in her chest.

"Ronan’s going to hate how good you become," Kael said.

"Why?"

"Because eventually you won’t need him to rescue you."

The words landed somewhere unexpected, warm rather than unsettling, and she was still turning them over when Ronan appeared in the doorway.

He took in the scene immediately, Kael standing far too close as he demonstrated some formal bow, and his expression sharpened.

"What are you doing?"

"Teaching your wife," Kael said cheerfully.

"Move."

Kael shifted exactly one inch to the side, clearly enjoying himself, and Naya had to bite back a laugh at Ronan’s unimpressed expression.

"Kael’s forgotten an important rule," Ronan said, turning to Naya.

"Which one?"

"Never let Kael teach you anything."

"I’m right here," Kael said, offended.

Ronan ignored him, settling into the chair across from Naya instead and launching into a series of hypothetical scenarios, each one designed to test how she’d handle a rival Alpha attempting to undermine her authority in front of the court. She answered each one, and he pushed harder every time, adding complications, raising the stakes, until finally she offered a response that made him pause.

"Good," he said, something genuine in his approval.

Naya caught the small flicker of pride crossing his face and held onto it.

"She’s ready," Kael announced once the lesson wound down. "I’ll escort her during the opening procession, since I already know the routine."

"No," Ronan said immediately.

Naya raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

Ronan launched into an explanation about protocol and appropriate escorts that sounded thin even to Naya’s untrained ear.

Kael burst out laughing. "You could just say you’re jealous."

"I’m not," Ronan said.

"You absolutely are."

Naya looked at Ronan, curious now. "Are you?"

He hesitated only a beat. "A little."

The honesty of it surprised her, warm and unguarded in a way she hadn’t expected from him even now. She let herself enjoy it rather than second-guessing what it meant, something she wouldn’t have managed months ago.

Later, once the lesson had officially ended, Kael walked her back toward her chambers, his usual easy humor settling into something quieter.

"Ronan’s never really had anyone beside him at court who wasn’t afraid of him," he said.

"Are you afraid of him?" Naya asked.

Kael laughed. "Frequently. Usually right after he glares at me like he did earlier."

Then his expression turned more sincere. "He doesn’t trust many people, Naya. Truly trust, I mean."

"But he trusts you," she said.

"He does," Kael said. "And I think that’s part of why he tolerates me constantly showing up uninvited."

Naya smiled at that, something settling warmly between them, a friendship she hadn’t expected to find so easily in a place that had once felt entirely hostile toward her.

When she reached her chambers, Ronan was already there, waiting near the window with no particular urgency in his posture.

"Were you looking for me?" Naya asked.

"Maybe."

She crossed the room, a teasing smile pulling at her mouth. "You’re jealous, you know."

"I already admitted that."

"Twice now."

Ronan’s expression softened slightly. "I don’t mind Kael," he said. "I mind how easily he makes you smile."

Naya stepped closer, close enough that she could feel the warmth radiating from him. "Maybe you should try harder."

His eyes held hers, something steady and certain settling behind them.

"Maybe I will," he said.

Naya didn’t move away. Neither did he. For a moment they simply stood there, close enough that the space between them felt smaller than it actually was, the teasing from moments before giving way to something quieter and more deliberate. She thought about the five days ahead, the Moon Court waiting to test her, and found she wasn’t afraid of it the way she had been that morning. Not with him standing here, choosing this, choosing her, without needing to be asked twice.