Page 15 of Nanny for the Demon's Twins

I clear my throat. "I didn't know you could knit."

But I had noticed that the girls and I had more clothes lately, none with the botched sewing patches that they had pointed out before. I merely thought he had bought them.

The needles falter for a moment before resuming their dance. "The needles do most of the work." His deep voice rumbles through the quiet room. "I just guide them."

"May I?" I step inside, gesturing to the chair across from him.

He nods, the copper strands of his hair catching the low light as they fall loose from his tie.

"The dresses - they're beautiful." I lean forward to examine the intricate patterns. "Is this because of their heritage?"

"Half-demon children grow differently." His scarred hands adjust the fabric's flow. "Human clothes stretch wrong, demon clothes bunch up. Their magic makes it worse - burns through fabric like acid sometimes."

"That's why Luna's dress dissolved during her tantrum yesterday?"

A rare smile tugs at his lips. "Exactly. My brother had the same problem growing up. So I went and found some needles that could help…" His voice trails off, fingers brushing over the delicate stitches.

"You're good with them," I say softly. "Better than most would be."

"Most days I feel like I'm failing them." The needles slow their dance. "They deserve someone who understands both sides of their heritage. Someone who can teach them about their human mother's culture too."

"You're teaching them love," I counter. "That's the most important part of any heritage."

His eyes meet mine, the violet depths holding something I can't quite name. "So are you."

The silence stretches between us, broken only by the soft whisper of needles through fabric. My fingers trace the brand on my wrist - a habit I can't seem to break.

"My last master's wife used to make me untangle her yarn when she was angry." The words slip out before I can stop them. I reach for a skein that's twisted into knots beside his chair. "May I?"

Karn's hands still. His jaw tightens, but he nods.

I focus on the copper-colored yarn, similar to the twins' hair. "She'd throw it across the room, tangle it up on purpose. Said watching me fix it reminded her that even broken things had their uses." My fingers work through a particularly stubborn knot. "I got quite good at it, actually."

A low growl builds in his chest. I peek up to find his violet eyes blazing, but not at me. His gaze fixes on my hands as they work, on the brand that marks me as property.

"You're not broken." His voice comes out rough. "And you're not a thing."

"I know that now." I keep my tone light, though my heart pounds. "But I did learn some useful skills. See?" I hold up the partially untangled skein. "Though I admit, this is the first time I've done this sitting in a comfortable chair instead of on a cold floor."

Karn pushes himself up, his impressive height casting a shadow over me. For a moment, I tense - old habits die hard. But he only grabs his chair, dragging it closer to mine.

"Here." He picks up another tangled mess of yarn. "Show me how you do it. The twins keep turning their magic practice into impromptu cat's cradle sessions, and I end up with these."

I hide my smile at his clumsy attempt to change the subject, to ease the weight of my revelation. His large fingers fumble with the delicate strands, so different from the metal he usually works with.

"Start from the outside," I demonstrate. "Work your way in. Sometimes the knots that look the worst are actually the easiest to undo."

The yarn slowly untangles beneath my fingers as we work in comfortable silence. A flash of purple light from the hall makes us both look up.

"That's the third time tonight." Karn's shoulders slump. "Their magic's getting stronger."

"Luna turned her sister's hair green this morning." I set down the yarn. "Nova retaliated by making Luna float to the ceiling."

"Shit." He runs a hand through his copper hair. "I should've been there. What if-"

"I caught Luna before she fell." My fingers brush his arm. "And Nova's quite good at reversing her spells now."

His violet eyes fix on the floor. "I don't know how to train them. Demon magic is... different. More chaotic. And their human blood adds another layer I don't understand."

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