Fifty-nine:
Imperator Zale
My mother and I managed to escape the palace. We ran and ran for what seemed like miles. “Where do we go?” I asked once we were far enough that it seemed like no one was going to be coming after us. “Anywhere we go, Father will be able to find us. He knows all of the people that might be willing to take us in.”
My mother looked at me, her head tilted to the side as if she were trying to think of something she didn’t want to say. “He doesn’t know everything.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I was younger, and I first came to this country, I didn’t…well, your father and I weren’t in love with each other. It took a while for us to fall in love. During that time, there was someone that I…”
I stared at her in complete shock. “Mother, did you have an af
