“What does it say?”

“Not much I wasn’t already taught,” he said, flipping to the next page. “It’s mostly just about her reign, with the same known story about the gods bestowing her with the gift of health and fortitude to share with the Bhasurians. All in thanks for their unwavering belief and protection of their resting place.”

He turned the next page, his fingers freezing over the next painting. She leaned in closer, moving his hand out of the way. It was a smaller depiction of Queen Alean. She was kneeling, grateful tears streaming down her face while a hand held a crystal above her upturned hands.

The visual was quite different than the agonized scream that had erupted from Alean’s mouth when she’d violently ripped it from the wall and stashed it in her cloak like a thief in the night.

Jaren twisted his face toward her, and his breath tickled her ear. “If my education hasn’t failed me, I believe it was only a decade or so later that the name Magyki was adopted. Only history texts use the term ‘Bhasurian’ anymore.”

She nodded, remembering that being mentioned even in the Aleronian history texts she’d read. Though those had discussed it in a negative sense, citing the Magyki as prideful. Considering the name ‘Magyki’ literally translated to “gifted people,” they weren’t wrong.

“Anything else?”

He closed the text, shaking his head. “Nothing more about the crystal, no. Just pieces of her reign and who she married. She had three children but only one daughter. Queen Alyana was the first queen on record to notice something was wrong. She eventually died in her sleep, as did almost every queen after her.”

“Comforting.”

“Indeed.” He set the book back on the shelf—not at all in the correct place—and pulled her in close, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

She sighed, leaning into his touch. “All this did was confirm what we already knew. Queen Alean was never blessed. But even Emperor Sulian had assumed as much, so it doesn’t change anything.” She shoved a few loose curls from her face, frustrated.

Something wasn’t adding up. Everyone seemed to know the truth, but purposefully ignored it, determined to believe the lie with every fiber of their being. Because there was no way their people believed Queen Alean was cursed right after being blessed.

The queens just started up and dying in their sleep too young, and no one batted an eye. It didn’t make sense. She couldn’t stop thinking about what Jaeros had said. That her mother had suffered so much, she hadn’t wanted a child.

That was Vera’s future. And Jaren’s future if he chose. Because as much as it had hurt to hear, she couldn’t blame her mother’s choice. She wasn’t sure when she’d start to notice, or even if, she’d start to notice the affects, but she couldn’t imagine wanting to pass it on to an innocent child.

“Come on,” Jaren said, pressing one last kiss to her temple, “let’s find you something more substantial to eat before we deal with Virnorin.”