Chapter 38: The Exagerrated Truth and Other Horrors
Chapter 38: The Exagerrated Truth and Other Horrors
(Elyn’s POV)
Kethra stared at me as if I had just told her the sky would crack open and pour out flaming goats.
"Is... is that true?" she asked, her voice trembling with genuine fear.
Her eyes flicked to Zorathys, as though expecting his head to suddenly expand like a balloon about to pop.
I nodded slowly—calmly—like someone announcing the weather.
"Yes. It is."
Kethra’s hand flew to her mouth.
I folded my hands primly. "If he doesn’t eat, it gets worse. Much worse."
"W–worse?" Kethra whispered.
"Yes," I said, leaning back, very at ease with the absolute nonsense I’d just presented as a scientific discovery. "Far worse. He wouldn’t be able to walk properly at some point. His legs would give out. His fingers would start falling off. His hair would be gone, and the worst of it all"—I turned to Zorathys, who had been listening with a mildly amused smile on his face, like he could not believe what I was uttering—"you wouldn’t be able to sleep peacefully. The air wouldn’t be comfortable anymore, you’d get a massive headache anytime you tried to sleep, and you’d start hearing voices. Even closing your eyes would be a hassle, and you’ll be tired every day... which is no different from how you are now, to be honest, but it’ll be worse because you wouldn’t be able to rest at all."
That caught his attention. The smile slipped off immediately. He no longer looked amused—he looked curious and, dare I say, scared.
"Wait," he said with a frown. "I wouldn’t be able to sleep?"
"Yes," I told him somberly.
"How will I be tired but unable to sleep?" he asked.
"It’s not a rule I made; it’s just how it is. I’m surprised you guys have no idea. This is common knowledge."
"Are you certain of this?" he asked me.
Oh, how the tables have turned. Time to tell him my lie... okay, that’s a stretch, because everything I’ve said so far was a lie.
I mean, it wasn’t fully a lie; it was just an exaggerated truth—which was better than what Zorathys did before.
"I am absolutely certain. It happened to someone I knew," I told him.
It did not happen to someone I know. I had seen pictures in books in my past life—pictures of children suffering from kwashiorkor and other nutrient deficiencies.
I’m not that smart, so I cannot recall everything I read years ago.
"Are you trying to mess with me because of what I did, firefly?" he asked.
I looked at him evenly, my voice dripping with righteousness. "Why would I mess with you? Unlike you, every word I speak is the truth."
His jaw dropped slightly.
Ha. Good.
That’s what he gets for using lines from a How to Woo Humans handbook on me.
I turned away before he could accuse me again, focusing instead on Kethra, who was still gaping at Zorathys’s perfectly normal head as if it would start expanding any moment.
"Kethra," I said, smoothly shifting tone. "You and I will be working together in the kitchens."
Her head shot up. "Y-you... you will join me, my lady?"
"Yes, I will," I told her.
"You know how to cook?" she asked excitedly.
Before I could answer, Zorathys muttered under his breath, lips twitching with amusement he didn’t bother to hide, "If you can cook... I’d actually love to try it. Maybe I’d be able to stop being picky."
I rolled my eyes so hard my soul briefly left my body. As if.
"I cannot cook anything at all," I announced.
Kethra’s excitement froze mid-air.
Zorathys blinked at me. "Then why...?"
"I will be assisting," I cut in. "Not cooking. Maybe my knowledge of food can help you figure out combinations he can actually stomach."
Both of them blinked at me at the same time.
"And besides," I added with a shrug, "it’s not as if I have anything else to do in this castle."
At that, Kethra frowned. It was like she did not understand why I would say something like that, but she didn’t question it.
She just gave me a nod. "If... if that is your wish, my lady."
"It is," I said firmly. "I’ll make sure Zorathys works with us too, because I suspect that his reluctance to work with you is one of the reasons why you have only been able to prepare, at most, eight dishes he actually likes."
"Who said I didn’t cooperate with her?" Zorathys asked.
I just stared at him with a raised eyebrow. His brows twitched, but he didn’t say anything more.
"You may leave now, Kethra," I told her.
Kethra bowed. "Yes, my lady."
She gave me and Zorathys one last lingering look before she finally left.
The moment the doors shut behind her, the air shifted.
I didn’t even have time to breathe before a deep voice murmured—
"Firefly...?"
He said it softly.
Sweetly.
Suspiciously sweetly.
I turned to him with a glare. "What is it?"
Zorathys leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, his ruby eyes fixed on me like I was the most fascinating thing in the realm.
Which I am—but that wasn’t the point.
"Who," he asked slowly, "told you that you weren’t going to be doing anything while you’re here?"
I snorted. "I’m your fiancée. A guest in this castle. Obviously I won’t be doing anything. Where in your thousands of years"—I made a dramatic gesture toward his ancient face—"have you ever seen a queen working?"
Zorathys considered this.
And then he smiled.
A slow, knowing, oddly satisfied smile.
He nodded. "Hmm."
Then he leaned back in his chair, relaxed completely, and took a sip of water.
I rolled my eyes again and went back to my food, pointedly ignoring the way he kept glancing at me like he had just discovered a new toy.
The thing is, I should have known there was something else in that stare. I should have known there was a reason why he asked me that question. But I wouldn’t find out until days later...