For years, even before she became queen of Virelia, stories about Aurelia had spread throughout the Five Realms like wildfire.
And when she truly did become queen, the whispers only multiplied because now a title had been attached to the mystery surrounding her.
The cursed queen.
The ruined queen.
The disfigured queen who was once hidden away from the public eye by her own father.
The woman supposedly too monstrous to stand before her people.
People spoke of her in hushed voices, and those who had never laid eyes upon her imagined scars horrific enough to frighten children.
Some claimed her face had rotted beneath the curse. Others whispered that one side of her body had become twisted beyond recognition.The more dramatic rumors even claimed servants fainted merely from looking at her.
And yet—the woman walking beside Valerian now looked nothing like those stories. If anything, she looked worthy of standing beside a king.
