Page 75 of The Ruler
“That’s okay,” Kya assured me and smiled. “Lord Khan is turning out to be charming company.”
My eyes flew to him and he looked mild and relaxed. Just like he had the first time I’d met him.
This man was a jigsaw puzzle with pieces of colorful flowers and dangerous cliffs in the same picture. He was a little bit of everything: deep dark water, clear blue sky. You never knew what piece you were going to pick up and I doubted that I would ever see the full picture, even if I patiently put down piece after piece for years.
Strangely enough, that thought excited me.
For someone used to analyzing and making sense of most things very quickly, I found Khan unpredictable and fascinating.
“Miss Janae,” Khan said and smiled at her. “What’s the worst you’ve heard about us men of the north?”
Kya looked to me a bit uncertain. “I’m not sure I should mention that; I don’t wish to upset anyone.”
“Please do,” Khan said. “I’m always highly entertained by the stories told about us.”
“Okay.” Kya looked away. “There are stories that you rape women, and keep women chained and naked in cages.” She shook her head. “I never believed that you were truly cannibals or the one about the woman being boiled alive for refusing to sleep with a man.” Her eyes went back to Khan. “It’s not true, is it?”
Khan looked undisturbed by the nonsense. “He would need a big pot to boil her whole,” Khan said dryly. “We only have small pots here.”
Kya smiled nervously. “I know you hunt animals and you kill each other in tournaments to get women,” she said softly. “Christina told me that.”
“That much is true,” Khan confirmed. “We also curse and swear a lot. In fact, one of our favorite words is fuck.”
She blinked as if it physically hurt her to hear that word.
“Do you think you can live with that?” he asked.
“I won’t allow my students to use that sort of profanity in school,” she said quickly.
He shrugged. “If we choose you and you get to influence ten Nboys then what would you like to teach them?”
“Emotional intelligence,” she said quickly, clearly prepared for the question.
He raised both brows. “And what is that exactly?”
“The skill set to control your emotions and not be ruled by them.”
Khan shook his head as if to say she was talking gibberish.
“You know that feeling when strong emotions wash over you?” Kya asked.
“Yes.”
“The difference between someone who masters his or her emotions and someone who doesn’t isn’t how they feel,” she explained. “They both feel angry, upset, hurt, sad, or whatever comes at them. The difference is how they react. There are constructive ways and destructive ways.”
“Can you give me an example?”
“Sure.” Kya moved to the edge of her seat and her eyes lit up with passion. “Yesterday at school, Louisa, who is one of my students felt left out and as you know, rejection creates pain here.” She pointed to her chest. “A group of Louisa’s friends were playing and had built a house from branches and sticks and when she was told she couldn’t be part of the game, she kicked their creation into pieces.”
“Okay.” Khan nodded like that made complete sense to him.
“Well, obviously that didn’t make them like her more. So my job is to help Louisa come up with strategies on how to deal with rejection in a better way, because after all it happens to all of us from time to time.” She brushed at her pants. “I’m sure you wouldn’t appreciate my kicking you for rejecting me for this job.” She chuckled.
Khan laughed with her. “I doubt you could harm me, but I get your point.”
“How good are you at working with others who have different viewpoints from you?” I asked her.
“It feels like that’s all I do.” She smiled. “Students often feel we should be doing something else and I’ve developed ways of getting them on board.”
