Kaian teased me with the sizzling pan, moving it just beyond my reach.
"That's cruel," I protested, lunging toward him.
The movement triggered sudden nausea. My stomach twisted violently.
"Ugh—"
I bent over the table, gripping it for support. Morning sickness, the doctor had called it. I'd slept through the afternoon and now my empty stomach was revolting.
Kaian was beside me instantly. "Are you all right?"
He wrapped his arms around my shoulders, his red eyes illuminated by the kitchen candlelight and filled with genuine worry. His large hand pressed against my forehead, checking for fever. He caressed my cheek, squeezed my hand to ensure I wasn't cold.
The tenderness broke something in me.
*Does he really not know I'm pregnant?*
"I'm hungry," I said finally, needing him to stop treating me like I might shatter. "Stop playing."
"I'm sorry."
He seated me immediately and brought bread, cheese, and sliced bacon. As I ate, the nausea subsided, replaced by ravenous hunger. He watched with satisfaction as I consumed everything, then prepared apple slices as if this were the most natural thing for a powerful Duke to do.
When I'd finally eaten my fill, I sighed contentedly and reached for him.
He came without hesitation, pulling me into his arms while the kitchen fire burned low and red around us. I rested against his chest, feeling the steady beat of his heart.
"You're so strange," I murmured. "Good at so many things."
He laughed softly, the vibration traveling through me. "Strange because you're curious but helpless in so many ways."
*Could he really be this good to someone he doesn't love?*
After he finished preparing the apples, I pulled away slightly. "How do you know the kitchen so well? You don't come here often."
"This castle has secrets I need to show you."
He led me through the storage areas—warehouses divided by purpose, filled with grains, vegetables, dried fruits, and large oil jars. Then he showed me the boiler system: massive iron boxes with a long pipe extending upward.
"This heats water," he explained. "Firewood burns here, water boils, and a mechanical device raises hot water to the bedrooms. You can fill your bath without servants carrying water."
I remembered Hannah's indignation on my first day, asking maids to bring hot water, not understanding she could simply turn a valve.
"The water comes from this far away?" I marveled.
He took my hand. "Come. There's more."
We moved to an empty warehouse at the hallway's far end. Unlike the organized storage areas, this space was bare. Kaian guided my hand to the wall at eye level, where a brick protruded slightly—almost invisible.
"Feel that?"
When I nodded, he pressed it hard.
The sound of something heavy turning, grinding—then the warehouse floor opened, revealing stone stairs descending into darkness.
I gasped, unable to form words.
"There's another mechanism below," he said, showing me a brick slightly protruding further down. I pressed it, and the floor rose again, becoming flat.
"What is this?" I whispered.
"An emergency exit." His voice was calm, matter-of-fact.
"Why would you need—" I started, then stopped. The Duke of Temnes, first head of his family, an undefeated general in his own castle. The thought of him needing to escape seemed absurd.
Kaian looked down at me, his expression suddenly stern.
"You say you want to carry my child. If that's true, you need to understand something." His voice dropped. "This isn't a game. This isn't a safe, peaceful arrangement. If you're going to bear my heir, you need to know every secret, every escape route, every way to survive if everything falls apart."
The gravity in his tone made my breath catch.
"The Duke of Vermont still holds power in the North. Valquiterre still sits on the throne with his own ambitions. Political alliances shift like sand." He cupped my face, forcing me to meet his eyes. "A child—my heir—could be a target. You could be a target. If you're truly committed to this, to us, to our child, you can't go in half-heartedly."
I understood then. This castle, with all its beautiful hospitality and hidden mechanisms, was a fortress. And I was no longer just Claudel, the girl who'd almost died of Herzol.
I was the Duchess of Temnes. The future mother of his heir.
The weight of that responsibility settled on my shoulders like armor.
"Show me everything," I said quietly. "I want to know how to survive."
He pulled me close, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "Then we begin your education as Duchess."
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