The night was cold and Kral carried me across the hall in my long white bathrobe. The ladies-in-waiting on the road all bowed their heads in surprise when they saw us. I kept my head down and didn't dare to look at their expressions. I only felt my ears turn red.

"How long are you going to hide?"

Suddenly, there was a deep voice over my head, and I looked up. Kral's jaw was taut with anger, and a cold stare was fixed on me beneath his thick black eyebrows.

"I. . . I don't know what you mean." I ...