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“Did it glow?” I asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. Definitely elekium. And he knew how to use it. By the time he was done, the butchers could take away the pieces for processing.”
We didn’t waste meat in the desert. I’d just not had the guts as a child to take a chunk with me when I’d left my massacred family.
“He really did rescue me.”
Palla nodded. “Then he wrapped you in a blanket, face and all, and carried you out the back after having us ensure no one watched.”
I’d been upset about the lack of veil, and the entire time he’d protected my features. Why had he lied?
“I don’t know why he bothered, seeing as how he brought me right to his room.”
“Actually, there are a few stories running around about that. The first one”—Palla ticked a finger—“is you’re a victim of a monster attack whom the King saved and fell madly for.”
“Ha. As if anyone would believe he’d be so romantic.”
“Some think you’re Sharia and that he’s recaptured you.”
“IamSharia.”
“But not the version they got to meet, which is why there is another theory about Jrijori finding out one of his visits resulted in a daughter. He then had a spell cast to hide that fact and called you his niece.”
“Why?”
“Because it explains the change in appearance.”
“People don’t believe in magical spells.”
“Some believe if they don’t hop on a foot the night before a full moon, they’ll never get pregnant,” Palla pointed out, and I couldn’t fault her.
Not to mention, I remembered what the King had done. Freezing my best friend. His claim my potions used magic. That flash of light when he attacked those dragons.
I pursed my lips. “If Jrijori is supposed to be my father, then who is my Ulkruubian mother?”
“A noble woman who died in birth, making you eligible for the King.”
I blinked. “That’s quite the convoluted story for the same result. The King being so madly in love he would confine a woman instead of first marrying her.”
“Actually, you’re kind of married.”
“What?”
“According to rumor, it was a secret wedding by the statue of wonder outside the city walls. You’d no sooner bound yourselves than the monsters attacked, and the King spirited you back to the castle.”
“Me, married to a king? That’s beyond insane. No one will believe that.”
“You’d be surprised.” A pink hue filled Palla’s cheeks.
It hit me in that moment. “You started that rumor?”
A sheepish nod. “I panicked. Someone said the word whore, and I told Qynn who said not to tell the King because we couldn’t have him randomly killing people out of turn to protect your virtue. Jrijori said we should come up with a plausible reason for you to be in the King’s room.”
It would be a lie to say I’d prefer people called me a whore. But still, marrying me to the King?
“How long have I been here?” I asked, glancing to both ends of the hall with their closed doors.
“It’s been a day and a half. You hit your head hard.”
