Then the realization hit me like a hammer.
He said “throne and magic stick.”
What magic stick and throne?
I didn’t understand. My head was spinning from everything I’d just witnessed — Ethan kissing Anna, speaking of marrying me only to kill me after receiving some throne and magic stick. I had to know the truth. The only person I could trust now was my mother.
Without hesitation, I left the palace and ran straight to my mom’s room in the royal quarters. Thankfully, she was there, seated in her favorite armchair, knitting something delicate and pastel blue — maybe for the palace orphanage, as she often did.
"You’re back? So early," she said, glancing up with a gentle smile.
"Yes, Mom. Ethan wasn’t around, that’s why I came back early." I forced a smile, trying to hide my burning need
