Dionne
A sneer twisted his lips, revealing a flash of sharp, white teeth. "I didn't think you'd be so foolish," he said, his voice a low, menacing rumble that vibrated through my bones.
Tears welled in my eyes, hot and fast. "N-No," I stammered, clutching Nora tighter. "No, I wasn't… I wasn't trying to run. My daughter… she's sick."
A tiny whimper came from the bundle in my arms. Nora shifted, her fevered body trembling.
The King's cold gaze drifted down, and a flicker of something unreadable ran through their depths before it vanished, almost as quickly as it'd come. Making me question if it'd even been there at all.
"Please," I begged, taking a half-step forward before his sheer presence forced me back. "She's burning with a fever. I wasn't running away. I was just looking for help."
His voice was calm, but the cruelty lacing it was sharper than any blade. "You're not a guest here," he said, the words falling like chips of ice. "You're a stray I've chosen not to kill. Your presence in this kingdom is a privilege, not a right, and I can revoke it at any moment."
He took a step closer, and I instinctively recoiled, pressing myself back. He smelled so strongly of blood that it filled my senses and made me gasp for air.
"I don't care about the child," he continued, his voice dropping to a low, menacing whisper. "Her fate is of no concern to me. Now, take her and go back to that room. And don't leave there again."
The finality in his tone was like a slap. The utter lack of compassion in his gray eyes stole the air from my lungs. I thought of Nora's shallow breaths, the heat radiating from her skin. If I took her back to that room, she'd die. I couldn't just let her die.
"Please," I sobbed, the word tearing from my throat. "I'm begging you. She's just a little girl. She's my everything. Please, just a healer—"
"Another word," he interrupted, his voice dropping to a deadly purr, "and I'll grant your child a swift end to her suffering, but you won't be so lucky. Do you understand me?"
The threat hung in the air between us and I saw the truth of it in his eyes. He'd do it. He'd kill us both without a second thought.
Emotionally shattered, with a fresh wave of nausea washing over me, I could only nod. The fight went out of me. I turned, stumbling back the way I'd come, clutching my daughter to my chest as if my love alone could heal her.
Sobs racked my body, silent and gut-wrenching, leaving me breathless. I could feel his eyes on me. But I didn't look back until I rounded the corner and he was gone from sight.
Back in the suffocating comfort of our room, I gently laid Nora on the bed. The red on her cheeks seemed brighter, her breathing more ragged. I stroked her hair, my tears dripping onto her flushed cheeks.
I moved into the bathroom to get a bowl of water, dipping a towel into the cool liquid and began to bathe her forehead, whispering her name, murmuring the lullabies I used to sing to her.
The tears I'd held back now came in a flood, hot and silent. I cried for my daughter, for our helplessness, for the fool I'd been to hope for even a shred of mercy. I felt that intense, bitter anger that I'd felt that day those kids had bullied Nora flare up within me once again.
I thought I had no more strength left in me. But then… that old fire started to fan to life.
It started as a flicker, just a spark in my chest, somewhere behind the pain and grief. Then it became a low thrum beneath my skin, steady and hot. My hands clenched at my sides, my nails digging into my palms until I felt warm pinpricks of blood.
My teeth ground together. My breath came hard and fast, no longer from sobs, but something deeper.
A wild, furious growl coiled at the base of my throat. My vision blurred, but not from tears this time, from the sheer force of the fury overtaking me. The scent of blood from the King still clung to my senses, but it was no longer nauseating. Instead it fed something inside me.
My wolf, who'd been silent for days, since that collar had sat on my neck, stirred. My limbs trembled with the sudden flood of strength, my back arching as my muscles tensed like a bow pulled too tight. A strange pressure filled my chest, expanding, tightening, threatening to burst through my skin.
I wanted to scream. To break something. To kill.
I looked down at Nora and all I could think of was how close I was to losing her. How easily that monster had dismissed her life like she was nothing.
The heat inside me surged. My ears rang with the sound of my own heartbeat.
And I wanted it. I wanted blood. I couldn't explain where the overwhelming need was coming from. I pulled myself to my feet and headed toward the door.
But then, a soft, hesitant knock came.
It jolted through me like a slap of cold water. The fire inside me hissed, choked, and recoiled. I froze, every muscle in my body tensing.
The knock came again, still soft.
My heart thundered, but the pressure inside me slowly pulled back, slinking away like smoke into the corners of my soul. My vision cleared. My hands shook, fingertips tingling as the rush of foreign energy faded away.
The silence that followed was deafening.
Who was it? It couldn't be the serving girl, she wasn't due for hours. My mind flew to the King. Had he changed his mind? Had he come to carry out his threat? I stayed silent, hoping whoever it was would go away.
The knock came again, a little louder this time.
Holding my breath, I crept to the door and pressed my ear against the wood, but heard nothing. My hand trembled as I reached for the handle. I pulled the door open a crack.
A woman stood in the hallway. She was dressed in a simple, plain white dress, and her hair fell around her gentle face. She held a cross body leather bag.
"The King sent me," she said. "I'm here to help your daughter."