Chapter 19

• It felt like every muscle in her body went numb, a heat moved through her, and she wondered if it was from the shock. “It’s been that long?” She whispered it, more to herself than him. “Eighteen years.” She lifted her hands and put them over her face for a second while processing that. Dropping them, she leaned forward, “I was gone eighteen years?” She looked at the wall behind him and did the math quickly, “I’m twenty-six years old?” Sitting back, she shook her head. “I thought ten, maybe twelve. It was so hard to keep track without winter and snow.”
• “You didn’t know how much time had passed?”
• She shook her head and then shook it again. “No. It was so hard to tell.” She motioned up and down her body. “I mean, I knew I was maturing, but didn’t think it was that long.” She looked at the plate and wanted to eat more, only because you never knew when you were going to eat again, but her stomach was in knots right now, and she wasn’t sure if she could eat. Reaching over, she stacked the meat and then the other two items in neat piles and hoped that when she was taken out of this room, she could fit it in her hand. “I didn’t,” she looked at him and slowly shook her head, “I didn’t know it was that long. I really need to speak with the King, please. He needs to know.”