21. Those filthy fishes

"Yeah, that would be wrong," Anna murmured after what felt like an eternity of silence. She kept her eyes fixed on the mirror that hung opposite the bed, too afraid to look Kael in the face.

Honestly, she wasn't even sure if she was lying anymore. She only knew one thing, that Kael was a demigod, and if he could read minds or detect truth from heartbeat that ahe was probably already caught.

"I'm not barren," she repeated, firmer this time.

"I just wonder… what you'd do to a woman who couldn't bear a child, even though it is not entirely her fault."

"I hope this hypothetical woman is aware of why I took her as my wife," he asked.

"It was for one purpose: to bear me a son. If she knew she was barren and said nothing... then Anna, tell me, would I not be justified in whatever punishment I chose?"

Anna said nothing as a bitter lump swelled in her throat. She hated herself for ever starting this conversation and wanted to end it already.