“No, no these won’t do” says Keegan, sighing. 

Her lovely face is scrunched as she flips through the pages of a heavy tome about spells and magic. 

In order to send Kai home, she first has to understand what it was that pulled him here, to her world. 

She pauses, her heart dropping into her stomach. 

‘I pulled Kai. Kai!’

For the umpteenth time, she laments at the randomness of her magic. Her family bloodline is a wielder of dormant magic, something that is not actively used, but can be activated once certain conditions have been met. Due to the nature of her dormant magic, however, the first Emperor himself sealed away all documentation of the magic to protect the balance of power. 

This was due to the DeMasses family’s magic: Dimensional Summoning. 

When certain conditions are met, the wielder can summon any being from another dimension at will. In the history of the DeMasses family, passed down mouth to mouth now, there have been Kings, dragons, flora, even demons summoned. Based on the summon, an equal price is paid for the wielder, and if the summon outweighs what the wielder can offer, their life is taken instead. 

Only one such incident was recorded before being wiped from history: an ancestor had summoned a demon that caused the downfall of a kingdom, sparking both natural and economic disaster to its landscape and people. The wielder died upon the completed summoning, leaving no avenue for revenge. 

With this in mind, Keegan was frantically searching anything that would help her send Kai back- an ancient spell or magical logic that would help her wield the dormant magic within her without forfeiting her life.

Forcing herself back into her chair, she lets out yet another sigh. Because the Emperor banned all of the DeMasses magic from history, she feared that the only way to get any information is either illegally or from the mouths of the generation that still remembers. The former she could do easily, it was the latter she had to worry about. 

‘I don’t want to fraternize with those old geezers!’ she groans internally. 

A cup of tea, steaming and fragrant is set down in front of her. 

“Please take a moment to rest, Your Grace” Marcus softly suggests, pointedly looking at the bags under her eyes. It could have been an illusion, but it seems Keegan has lost weight during these three days as well.

The days where his Mistress was little more than a wraith haunted Marcus still, and seeing her losing weight again startled his composure. He never wanted to see her in that state ever again, and had already entertained the idea of reviving the rotation of employees that would keep an eye on their Mistress. 

Picking up the cup of tea, Keegan brings the cup to her lips and takes a small sip, sampling the flavor Marcus picked out for her today. 

‘I must have really worried him’ she muses as the familiar flavors of citrus and mint flood her mouth. Marcus only picked this tea when she was frayed enough to show it on the outside. 

“Thank you Marcus.” She says with a sigh. 

Taking another sip, she skims the tomes she still has to read, mentally choosing the next one as the heat and honey soothe her throat. While her voice was less hoarse, it was still husky and her throat still ached with the ghost of the effort of her magic. 

Lifting her gaze to her window, she watches the trees sway with the wind and relishes in the peace. When the birds in the tree dart away, she wonders if the gardener is changing the landscaping, and moves to the window with her cup in hand. 

To her surprise, instead of seeing the olive green hat that Mary usually adorns, she sees silvery locks reflecting the morning sun, swaying with the endeavor of the wind. 

Kai is lazily strolling through the back gardens, his white shirt undone at the wrists, the gray vest he adorns snug against his lean body. His hair is pulled back loosely with a bow the color of honey, most likely to compliment his eyes, flutters as his head turns. 

Looking at the purple bougainvillaea, he reaches for one of the papery flowers, only to withdraw it quickly. 

‘He must have found the thorns’ Keegan thinks, remembering when she too nicked her finger on the long spines hidden under the leaves of the plant. 

Keegan watches Kai and he thoughtfully glances at his finger, then at the plant, but his eyes look distant as he ponders. 

“Has he been settling in at all?” Keegan asks Marcus, who noticed where her gaze is. 

“To be honest, Your Grace, he seems to just be existing. Aside from the occasional question, he seems to be waiting in silence.”

Keegan did not need to ask him what that meant. She could only imagine what being introduced into an unfamiliar environment would be like, especially when he was thrust from his home world at such a crucial time in his story. 

‘It must all feel temporary.’ 

Keegan chews on her lip, thinking how long she should give him to adjust before approaching. The last thing she wanted was for Kai to relate her to bad news, or worse, begin to fear her. 

“Could you ask Adeline to send him some raspberry tarts for dessert tonight?” Keegan’s gaze breaks away to look at Marcus. 

“Of course, Your Grace” Marcus says, bowing and then leaving to fulfill the request. 

Keegan takes another sip of tea, looking at Kai again, her heart filling with pity and settling her determination once more. 

Leaving Kai to the garden, she sits back down at the desk and pulls a heavy tome to her, cracking it open with resolve once more. 

After what seemed like only an hour, she hears a soft knock on her door, pulling her out of her focus. 

“Your Grace, your guest has come to see you.” Marcus peeks his head in, “Would you like to see him now?” 

Confused, she looks to the window thinking he must have come straight to her study after walking in the gardens. Shocked to see the stars beyond her balcony, she straightens and brushes her hair behind her ears out of habit. 

“Please do. Would you mind bringing in some snacks?” Keegan was unsure of when Kai had last eaten and wanted to give him the choice.

Kai then enters, at the guidance of Marcus, and Keegan rises to greet him. Wearing the same shirt as earlier, she notices he’’s buttoned the cuffs, the gold embroidery shining at his wrists. On his vest sits a brooch in the likes of a golden bird, the emblem of the DeMasses house. 

Keegan hoped that was a positive sign. 

“Please feel free to sit anywhere.” Keegan gestures. 

He sits, perched on the edge of one of the sofas, clearly uncomfortable. As refreshments and drinks are brought in, he looks around her study briefly before his gaze snaps to her at the sound of her voice. 

Kai wondered to himself if he should be kneeling on the floor before her. 

Her voice, still raspy, brings him memories of when he had accompanied his employer to a musical concert, where the sound of instruments filled his ears. The one that moved him, to his surprise, was a large wooden instrument with a vibrating resonance. Though gentle, it felt as if the musician was playing his own heart strings as he listened, the powerfully beautiful tone lilting in his ears, fluttering in its tonal vibrancy. This is the voice with which he heard her speak to him. 

His gaze flitted to her throat, as if he could see inside the flesh of her neck, checking for the blood he saw the night they met. 

“I’ve come to apologize to you.” he starts.