They shared a glance.
Mr. Evergreen said, “Her Highness was followed in the market.”
Elías looked at me.
“It’s true,” I said. I crossed my arms.“And,had it not been for Mr. Evergreen’s quick reaction to their attack, I would have been robbed!”
“Attack? From what angle did they attack?” he asked.
“It wasn’tan attack,”Cyrus replied. “Her Highness and I wound up in a dead end. It was a robbery not an assassination. More about opportunity than who she was. Though, I’m sure they had their eye on her from the moment we arrived.”
“You didn’t see thembeforethey spotted her?” Elías asked.
“No.”
“That’s hard to believe. A decorated soldier, are you not trained in tactics? What did they want?Onlyher purse? Did they ask foryourcoin? What else?”
“Elías,”I huffed.
He continued and Cyrus listened carefully to his questions, answering them the same way.
“Your story has flaws,” he said. “It sounds fake.”
“It sounds fake because itis. He’s lying to you, Ser,” I said.
“How is that helpful?”Cyrus asked.
“I think it’s very helpful,” Elías said.
My Sword cocked his head. “It’sfine,Your Highness.”
“It’snotfine. My knight thinks you’ve endangered me, but it was I who endangered you. Don’t paint yourself anidiot. You deserve the credit here.”
“Credit? For standing near you?” Elías choked on the retort.
I scowled, conquering the final steps to my chamber and pulling the door open for myself and their escort.
“Hewasn’tstanding near me,” I explained. I sat on the vanity stool. “Mr. Evergreen withholds information to protect me, but I was, at points, a good fifty feet away. At least. Around a corner, too.”
Elías barked. “You let her around the corners? Out of your sight?” he asked.
Mr. Evergreen parted his mouth.
I said, “IabandonedSam almost as soon as we’d gotten to the market. Cyrus was sharp enough to keep close to me, but… but there was a moment in one of the shops that I let my pride rule my movement. I can only imagine he thinks he is doing me a service by omitting that, but it’s the truth.”
Evergreen and I stole a few fractions of a second of each other.
“I left in a hurry because I was embarrassed by…by something I picked up. A bra.”
“Abra?”Elías asked.
“At the modiste,” I added. “She thought I was there to order my… garments.”
“What garments?” he asked.
“For the honeymoon,” I said.
Elías’ face paled. He sat down.
