THE KING'S SLAVE BRIDE

THE PALACE CALLS

*NA'IMAH*

“I think I’m dying, Na’i,” the sick girl I am attending to whispers. I shook my head rapidly, placing my palm over her forehead.

“Not on my watch,” I told her with conviction.

No one in this camp is dying on my watch, not if I can help them. Turning to Jodi and the lady who had called for my attention, “Get me a bucket of fresh water.” They both looked at me like I was asking for the impossible. I know asking them to find a bucket of fresh water was near to impossible. We are in a slave camp where we have to earn every single thing. If the Lycans who invaded my home could charge us for the air we breathe, they would. They are monsters.

But I am going to dwell on that right now. “I know that’s difficult to ask, but I need to clean her up. In the meantime, do what you can to get me that fresh bucket of water and Jodi, go to my tent, you’ll find a stash of herbs under my mat, bring it to me.” They nodded before leaving the tent.

Turning to the sick girl, “I need to undress you; is that okay with you?” I asked and she gave a weak nod. “Thank you.” Helping her into a sitting position, I maneuvered her body so she could lean on me while I did my best to take off her garment without causing too much strain to her body. In the meantime, I examined her body, checking for signs of what might have gone wrong in the one week she was under Jodi’s care. I had treated her last week, and she was fine before I left her tent that day.

“The water,” the lady announces, heaving as she steps back into the tent.

“Thank you,” I said as I began cleaning the teen, making a mental note of everything that stood out to me and what stood out to me the most was her scent and the discomfort she showed every time I put pressure on her stomach.

“Anything yet?” The lady asks, kneeling beside me.

“I think I have an inkling of what might be wrong, but I’ll wait for Jodi to retrieve my stash of herbs before making a conclusion.”

Once I have all the wounds cleaned, I instruct the attending lady to sit behind the teenager in order to keep her body propped up. Jodi soon returns with my stash of herbs, and I immediately start searching for a particular tree bark.

“Here,” the girl makes a face as I bring the dried tree bark to her lips.

"I know it doesn’t look appealing, but it would help me get answers about what the problem might be. You don’t have to chew much; just take a bite and chew as much as you can, then swallow," nodding, she takes a bite of the bark, and begins to chew.

I watched every reaction she made intently as she chewed the tree bark. It’s a rare bark found on spirit trees, and it is known to be effective for various ailments and also a source of diagnosis.

“It doesn’t taste awful,” she eventually mumbles after swallowing, and I nod.

“That’s good to know.”

“What now?” Jodi asked.

“Now, we wait.”

A few minutes pass, and the girl jerks forward, hands immediately moving to wrap around her stomach. “Ohh. Ahh,” she stared up at me with tears in her eyes. “There’s something in my stomach,” she whimpered.

I stood up, moving to the corner of the tent to grab a bowl before coming to crouch down beside her. “There is our answer, it seems you’re pregnant.” I broke the news to her with a small smile.

“Preg…” She glanced down at her belly. "I'm pregnant?" She asked as tears spilled down her cheeks.

I nod. “Yes, you are. I’ll need to determine how far along you are, as that will help me decide what route to take in treating your wounds. But I’m guessing the father isn’t here, is he?”

She shook her head at my question. “He was killed while we were under attack.”

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

“It’s not your fault, Na’i,” she whispered.

It was my family’s fault, though. Perhaps if Father had given in to the demands of the Lycan king, none of this would’ve happened.

“Is that the reason her wounds weren’t healing?”

I nod. “I’m guessing she was recently mated. A freshly mated pair needs to be around each other as much as possible, especially when the omega is pregnant. The loss of her mate must've caused a strain on her pregnancy, and her hybrids were doing their best to protect the baby. Which meant taking from her core, which was inadvertently draining her life source,” I explained, as I began applying a new suave to the wounds.

“But what will happen to her now?” Jodi asks.

“Once I figure out how far along she is. I can come up with a better treatment and put her on herbs that will help boost her immune system and also sustain her baby. We also need to increase her food ration. Inform Aunt Rory that we have a pregnant teen who needs to eat for two. In the meantime, I’ll take care of you today and see where we go from there.”

I spent the rest of the evening treating the pregnant teen until she fell asleep. I instructed Jodi to keep an eye on her through the night and let me know if there were any changes come dawn. With that, I made my way out of the tent only to stop short as two royal guards appeared out of nowhere.

Eyeing both guards as they looked at me with disdain. “What do you want?” I hissed as they grabbed my hands.

“The palace request your presence.” They responded as I struggled against their tight grip.

“Na’i,” Jodi’s voice rings through the evening air and I turn. “Why are they?” Panic fills her voice as she hurries out of the tent.

“No, don’t come, stay with the girl. I’m fine, it’s nothing, I promise, just look after the girl.” I tried to assure her even if I didn’t believe what I was saying.

The guards dragged me through the streets of the camp before Jodi could say another word. “What does the palace want from me?”

"You will find out when we get there. And stop fxcking resisting." The guard on my right snaps at me.

“Stop dragging me like I am an invalid,” I snap back at him.

“We were asked to bring you, and that’s what we’re doing.”

“Were you told to drag me to the fvcking palace, or did I tell you I won’t go with you?” I hissed at the female guard.

“No,” she replied, eyeing the male guard.

“Then let me go. I can walk; you don’t have to treat me like a freaking peasant.”

“But you are a peasant,” the male guard snickers. It took all my willpower not to hit him where the sun doesn’t shine.

“She is a slave. Peasants are free citizens; she is not a free citizen.”

I tuned out their words as they led me out of the slave camp. I have to hope that nothing is wrong. The palace has no reason to call me.

Unless they have news about my parents. Perhaps they want to tell me in person that they’ve killed them. Or… My heart slammed against my ribs as I realized there could be other reasons. Did they somehow find out that I'd been sneaking into the palace to steal supplies and food for the slaves in the camp?

Fuck! I’ve been very careful with it, and no one in the camp knows about my late-night activities. Is that why the palace is requesting my presence? If that’s the reason, I won’t make it back alive. I glanced back at the camp. What will happen to all these people? I am their only hope. I am the reason the majority of them are still taking each day as it comes.

Without me here to give them that hope.

I shake my head, trying to dispel those depressing thoughts. I can’t let it show on my face that I’m worried or scared of what the palace wants with me.