Those four words had flowed to her ears without their meaning at first, and she nodded casually till her head paused mid-nod and she looked right back at him, feeling herself weaken at the impact of the news.
"That is--- when?"
He shrugged. "Yesterday."
"Was it---" she could feel the tears well up in her eyes. For some reasons, she was blaming herself.
"It wasn't the dragon. It was a peaceful sleep."
"H---how?" She shook her head. "No, I don't think that is true. We all thought the King was dead before and---" she gulped, feeling a knot in her throat. "Where is she?"
"Cremated."
"What?!" She half-yelled, half-whispered, shocked.
"She is my wife. I did what was necessary."
Belladonna gulped, looking around her yet not really seeing anything, she could feel the hurt in her heart though, how heavy and painful it was.
