Page 163 of The Mad King and the False Queen

“What?” Magda asked, suddenly extremely confused. “Why is she in jail?”

Ravi sighed, “My sister Prisha got sick a few years ago. When the trade routes were cut off from Ilusauri, medicine became very expensive here. I knew Vex had the highest quality potions and herbs from Ilusauri that he traded on his black market, so Laila and I started making friends with the guilds. I traded secrets to get close to the guilds so that we could steal the medicine from Vex. Luckily, Prisha got better. However, when Vex found out that we had stolen from him, he wanted someone to punish. Laila took the blame and the entire fall for the goods we stole in order to protect me and the rest of our family. Vex manipulated the officers, and she went to jail for smuggling goods and the handling of illegal substances from Ilusauri. Which is ridiculous cause Vex was the one who brought those things to the kingdom in the first place.”

He paused, as if the story was getting to be too much for him.

“I’m sorry,” said Ravi.

“Why didn’t you just tell me?” asked Magda.

“Because it sounds crazy, and because I didn’t want to get you wrapped up into trouble that could cause you to get thrown in jail as well. I knew Vex was looking to punish me again one way or another. Please forgive me.”

“I do,” said Magda. She suddenly felt terrible for keeping all of her secrets from him. He had wanted to break into the jail to see his sister, and it was a noble endeavor. And all this time, she had kept her entire identity from him. She wanted to make it right.

“I’ll ask Princess Kiran to release your sister,” said Magda, “It’s the least I can do.”

“It’s my word against Vex’s,” Ravi shrugged, “and if I bring it up again, people will find out…,” he lowered his voice to an extreme whisper, “...that I killed him. I’ll be shipped off to a much worse place than the palace dungeon.”

“Trust me. You have my word she’ll be free.”

“How?” Ravi asked.

“Because my name isn’t just Magda. I’m Princess Magdalena Krol, heir to the throne of Azurem.” She let the words hang in the air, worried about his reaction.

For a second, she thought Ravi wouldn’t believe her. He stared at her with a dumbfounded expression, as if he was putting the pieces together, and then he finally said. “So you are a guardian?”

“Yes.”

Ravi’s face broke her heart. It was as if he no longer recognized her. Or maybe he finally understood why they would have no future together. “I guess that explains all the secrets, and it explains the magic. But you wielded Soul magic in the dungeon?”

Magda continued, “I’ll explain everything, but first it’s my turn to apologize. I’m sorry for lying to you. I’m sorry for not telling you who I was when I came here originally. I know this hurts tremendously, and I don’t have a good excuse. I kept telling myself that it was too dangerous to confide in others, but at a certain point I think I secretly wanted to keep up the charade so I wouldn’t risk losing you completely. It was never my plan to meet someone like you in Flaustra.”

Ravi spoke intentionally, “Are you done?”

His words cut through her like a knife. Of course he was mad at her.

Magda nodded.

“Good,” he said, “Because before you started accusing me of having a secret lover, I was rushing out here to make sure you weren’t hurt. Ishani said you were almost killed, and that Queen Sanyal was assassinated. And before that, all I was thinking about in the jail was you…that and hoping Odie wouldn’t bite my hand off,” he laughed. “Every second that went by I was furious with myself for betraying your trust and possibly losing you forever.”

Magda couldn’t believe his words. “You’re not mad?”

“I’m furious how these secrets almost made us look at one another completely differently,” Ravi said, “and how they threatened everything between us. But you underestimate how I feel about you. I told you before that when I saw you in the marketplace, it’s like one song was ending and another symphony was starting. You’ve made me feel alive again, and for once, I feel like I can have hope in a brighter future.”

“You’ve made me feel alive as well,” said Magda, “in ways that I don’t know if I can truly put into words.”

“But, I guess, the fact that you’re a princess does change things between us.”

“It does.”

“You’re betrothed to the Mad King.”

“It’s true.”

“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Ravi. “The Ilusauri royal wedding is taking place now. How can you be in two places at once?”

“...Because I sent my assassin in my place.”

Ravi’s hands flew to his head. Then he crossed to one of the walls surrounding a flower bed, and sat down on it. “By the guardians, Dagmara…Magdalena…whatever your name is…I don’t know how many more twists to this story I can take.”

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