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I’m about to argue with her that there is absolutely nothing she can say or show me that could ever warrant such a betrayal, but as we start to venture inside the colorful, dimly lit room, I thin my lips when I realize we’re in Zara’s personal chambers, little Zara fast asleep in her bed.
“You want a reason that would explain someone doing such an atrocious act? How about a brother’s love for his sister?”
“His sister?” My face blanches. “I thought little Zara was Teo’s daughter.”
“Well, you thought wrong. Not that I’m surprised. You’re big on believing your own assumptions instead of just asking.” Cleo rolls her eyes. “Zara is Teo’s sister, not his daughter. Queen Nahla died giving birth to her,” she explains, and suddenly I remember how surprised Teo was that I hadn’t heard about Zara’s mother’s death.
Stupid, stupid Kat.
Maybe Cleo is right.
Maybe I do make assumptions in my head without bothering to investigate if they are true or not.
Curse the gods.
“Okay, so we’ve established that I was wrong. Still… what does Zara have to do with the death of the king and queen of the east?”
“You really disappoint me,” Cleo mumbles on an exhale. “I want to think that if you just took the time to actually think about it, you would eventually get there, but since time is of the essence, I’ll have to spell it out for you instead. Also, I would rather be entertaining my girlfriend than spend the rest of the night watching you struggle to put all the pieces together.”
Cleo’s words cut like a knife, but if I were in her shoes, I’d probably feel the same way.
“When your cunt of a father ordered every king to deliver his wife to him, and King Yusuf had none to offer, what do you think your father said was an appropriate substitute?”
My gaze instantly falls on the sleeping princess in front of me.
“Now, you’re starting to see the full picture.” Cleo smiles sarcastically. “And what do you think Teo’s reaction was when his father informed him that he was going to ship his baby sister—his only link to his dead mother—to a madman bent on revenge?”
“Teo would never allow it. Never,” I whisper, hot tears starting to sting at the corners of my eyes with the idea my father would have demanded such a sweet child as sacrifice.
“No, he wouldn’t,” Cleo confirms beside me. “So he did the only thing he could—told his father that he’d sacrifice himself instead. Of course, King Yusuf wouldn’t hear of it. Teo was his firstborn son, next in line to the throne. So instead, he told Teo that he would negotiate with the northern king and ask him for an alternative. He offered to travel east so that he could persuade King Krystiyan to abide by King Orville’s command to hand over his queen. Of course, what Teo didn’t know was that the true forged deal between your father and his was the heads of both of Levi’s parents. Teo didn’t know, therefore he can’t be held responsible for his father’s actions. If that were the case, then you’d have to stand trial for your father’s sins too. Which are many.”
Oh Teo.
Why keep this from me?
Why not tell me the truth?
Did you think me so cold that I wouldn’t forgive such an error of misjudgment?
“Where is he now? Teo?”
“Last time I saw him, he was walking the garden. I’m sure you’ll find him there.”
I give her a curt nod and begin to walk out of the room. But then I stop and glance over to Cleo again.
“Thank you. Thank you for telling me all of this.”
“Someone had to. Might as well be me,” she retorts, offering me a sincere smile.
I smile back at her before I leave the room and go in search of the boy I fell in love with when I was just a little girl.
Like Cleo advised, I find Teo sitting on a bench at the center of his garden, head hung low while staring at what looks to be a daisy in his palms. When I take a seat beside him, I feel his body tense up, but he never moves from his forlorn position. I pluck the daisy out of his hands and twirl it around with my fingers.
“We don’t have these up north. They’re simple in their beauty, aren’t they?”
“Most beautiful things are,” he mutters softly.
“It’s astounding, isn’t it? How the simplest things are always the ones that make the deepest impressions on us. A sunset. A snowflake. A smile. Even a lie.”
