“He said you two had a history.”
She barks out a laugh. “I don’t think that’s the kind of history he meant. Imenand was my best friend. He’s like a brother to me.” She crinkles her nose, and a laugh spills out of me. I hate that it’s bred partly from her disgust but also the relief flooding through my body.
Her eyes turn inquisitive. “Do you two…?”
“No,” I say hastily. “Of course not. I’m…a punishment to him.”
She cocks her head with a small smile. “He likes you, though.”
“What?” I gasp. A panicked laugh works up my throat. “We practically hate each other.”
She rolls her eyes. “Please. When you were sick, he was losing his mind. I’ve barely even been around the two of you, and I can tell—“
“He was just being…a decent person,” I mutter, shaking my head. I can feel a flush working over my cheeks and down my neck and I busy myself in my wine glass.
Her eyes grow wide. “You like him too!”
I choke. “No. Definitely not.” Another panicked laugh slips out of me. “I hate him.”
“You do! You like him!” she says gleefully. “Aww, and you guys are already married. How cute is—“ She breaks off with another gasp. “Of course you like each other! You were firebranded! It shouldn’t even be a surprise to me.”
“Vera,” I say, growing more panicked by the second. “Please. I’m a…nought. A punishment.”
“So what! That doesn’t matter. If the Gods didn’t fall in love with noughts then Magi wouldn’t exist at all.”
“Please,” I say, lowering my voice. “D-don’t say anything,” I admit, conceding. “It’s stupid. It’s a—he’s the only man I’ve ever known, so it’s just--.”
“I’m not going to say anything.”
“Besides, I get the feeling he likes everyone if they have—you know—the right parts.”
Her brows furrow like this is a genuine surprise to her. “He didn’t used to be like that.”
I pour myself another glass with trembling fingers. “Well, he brought someone back to his bed my first night here.”
Her face falls. “He did?”
I nod and avert my eyes. When I shift my attention back her face is appalled. “With you there?”
“It’s better this way. I mean, at least he’s not like forcing me to—“
Her face grows grim. “Of course. I’m sorry.”
“I mean, I barely even know him, and he barely tells me anything. But he was definitely not happy about being forced into this marriage. He’s made that very clear.”
She stares off, lost in her own thoughts. “Why…why did his mother do that?” I ask quietly.
She sucks in a deep breath before turning back to me. “No one really knows, of course. I never really wanted to believe Rhiannon would do that, but all the evidence seemed to point to the fact that she did. She admitted to it.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “King Pelias was not always a good person,” she says gravely. “He was known to get violent, but Rhiannon would never talk about it.”
Sitri’s scarred face flashes in my mind. Could that have been the result of his father? I almost mention it and stop myself short. It’s not fair for me to share that when Sitri took such measures to keep it covered.
She swallows audibly. “I always thought maybe she couldn’t handle it anymore. People say she was jealous. Pelias had just taken Morin as his second wife a few months prior. But I think it had to be more than that.” She shakes her head. “But Pelias was murdered, Rhiannon was executed, and Morin took the throne after only being here for a few months.” Her eyes turn glassy.
“After they died, Sitri quit coming around. It wasn’t just me, either. He had a pretty large friend group and he quit speaking to all of them. He’d barely even talk to Imen. She was a mess over it. And, then…he started working for Morin.”
“It doesn’t make any sense. Im really never believed her mother was capable of that…she really believed Morin somehow conspired it.”
“What do you believe?”
