12. CARING FOR HER MALE.
Chapter twelve
CARING FOR HER MALE.
Reacting on pure instinct, Emeriel leaped onto the bed and collided with the intruder, her hands closing around the dagger’s hilt.
They struggled for control of the weapon, muscles straining as the blade wavered between them. With a fierce cry, she rammed her fist into the assassin’s stomach.
The blow landed hard, forcing a grunt from him as he staggered backward, his grip on the dagger slipping. Emeriel wrenched the weapon free from his hand.
"Who are you?" she demanded, advancing on the intruder.
The assassin recovered quickly and lunged at her, his hands clawing for the dagger.
Emeriel twisted, keeping him from reaching it. Each time he made a grab for the weapon, she pulled it just beyond his grasp.
His frustration mounted, and with a rough growl, he swung a fist at her face. Emeriel deflected it with quick reflexes, and seizing her chance, she drove the dagger deep into the assassin’s chest.
He let out a long, ragged breath as his body tensed. Then, with a slow heave, he collapsed at her feet. Lifeless.
Emeriel straightened, dusting off her hands, when a faint groan reached her ears.
Her eyes shot to the grand king just in time to see his eyelids flutter… more flutters… Then his eyes opened.
He was awake.
King Daemonikai was awake?
Emeriel rushed to him. But before she could reach his side, the chamber door swung open with a loud crash, and Lord Ottai hurried in. "I heard noises—he's awake!"
"Shhh," Emeriel hushed in a low tone. "Too loud, Lord Ottai."
"Right, right,” he whispered, though his eyes sparkled with unbridled joy. “We mustn't overwhelm him. True, true."
Lord Ottai looked like he wanted to shout the news from the rooftops.
Until his gaze dropped to the floor, where the dead assassin lay. All traces of elation vanished. "What is this?"
"He posed as the herbalist, gained entrance, and tried to kill King Daemonikai."
Lord Ottai bent down to inspect the body. Picking up the bloodied dagger, he sniffed it, and his face paled.
"Poison." He looked at Emeriel. "Deadly poison. Aimed at the heart, it would have been fatal.”
Emeriel gripped her clothes so tightly her hands turned white.
“Guards!” Lord Ottai bellowed.
Two soldiers entered. "Fetch Wegai. Now!"
They returned with the head soldier in tow. Wegai's eyes darted to the dead assassin, flared sharply, before landing on the grand lord. "Your Highness."
"An attempt was made on your master's life tonight. He would have died under your watch." The grand lord flung the dagger toward Wegai, and he caught it mid-air.
Wegai brought the blade to his nose, his face draining of color.
"What were you doing neglecting your duty? You were supposed to protect him!" Lord Ottai shouted.
Jaw locked taut, the head soldier held the dagger in a death grip. "I was at the training fields with the new recruits, My Lord. I left Zan and Ham in charge. They are competent and have been reliable for months."
"Yet an assassin slipped past them. Disguised as a healer, no less, and came to murder the king under your watch,” Lord Ottai barked. “Investigate this matter thoroughly. I want to know who this man was—his family, his friends, everyone he’s come into contact with in the last forty-eight hours. No one is to be spared from questioning."
Wegai gave a solemn nod. "As you command, Your Highness."
"Leave no stone unturned. Take your men and raid his dwelling. We must find evidence of who sent him," Lord Ottai ordered, dismissing him with a curt nod.
After Wegai departed, Emeriel stepped closer to Lord Ottai. "Do you truly believe the assassin wasn’t acting alone? The humans here aren’t exactly known for their fondness and loyalty to the monarchy."
"If there's a mastermind behind this, they want us to think it was a lone act. We’ll rule it as such only when there’s no evidence to the contrary. And we’ll make it clear to the court—the investigation will be thorough, and no one is above suspicion."
They turned their attention back to the grand king. His eyes remained open but… distant. Unseeing.
He hadn’t moved, nor had he blinked.
“What’s going on?” Emeriel asked.
“Those eyes are vacant. He is not awake, Emeriel.”
Her hope waned. “But—”
“But it’s progress, perhaps.” Lord Ottai glanced at her. "You saved his life. Thank you."
Emeriel shook her head. "You don’t need to thank me."
"How did you manage to disarm an assassin on your own?" he asked, his curiosity piqued.
Fairly easy. "It wasn’t easy. But I’m glad I was able to help."
Unable to hold back any longer, she leaned down and touched King Daemonikai's shoulder. "Your Grace, can you hear me?"
No response. No movement.
"His body is burning up again. "I need to sponge him down again," she muttered, her gaze drawn to the dark veins standing out against his pale arm.
"Perhaps this time, he will stay with us, right?"
Lord Ottai looked so hopeful that Emeriel nodded. "Yes, I hope so too."
She sat beside King Daemonikai and picked up a washcloth, dipping it in cool water. Carefully, she ran the cloth down his scathed arm.
The room fell into a heavy silence, broken only by the soft sound of water dripping from the cloth.
Lord Ottai lingered for a while, keeping her company, before duty pulled him away, leaving Emeriel alone with the grand king.
She continued sponging his heated skin for hours, refraining from undressing him completely. Slowly, gradually, the fever began to subside, until it broke.
Exhausted, she finally allowed herself to rest. Laying her head beside his ribs, she closed her eyes, the rhythmic rise and fall of his shallow breaths lulling her into a much-needed sleep.
***
Emeriel stayed by the grand king’s side, barely leaving his chambers except for brief respites to refresh herself.
Everything she needed, from food to fresh linens, was brought directly to the royal residence.
There was no world beyond the king’s chambers, her life revolved only around the still figure in the bed.
Madam Livia visited occasionally to assist Emeriel in preparing the herbal remedies. Each visit she patiently guided Emeriel, teaching her how to concoct medicinal teas and brew potions to reduce the fever and stave off the symptoms of soul death.
Afterward Madam Livia blended fragrant oils while Emeriel ground roots into fine powders, using their rich, earthy aroma rising for incense.
Male Urekai servants handled the king’s bathing and changing of clothes, and the maids came to replace the bed linens and tidy the chamber. But for the most part, Emeriel was left alone with her unconscious king.
She would often choose books from the grand library, reading aloud to him tales of epic battles won and lost. Stories of distant lands and gods.
Along her wanderings, Emeriel had encountered rooms, sealed like tombs with heavy locks, that she eventually realized held the memories of his late bondmate and children. Out of respect, she never ventured near them, honoring their space.
On the fifth day, after sponging his fevered skin, and applying drops of medicine into his open, unblinking eyes, Emeriel knelt by the hearth.
Clutching the worn leather-bound book of religious texts and ancient prayers, she opened it to the page she had left off the day before, and resumed praying.
"Grant, O Great Ukrae, the restoration of health, and healing hands, both to body and soul," she read, tending to the flickering flames in the stone fireplace with her free hand. "Almighty and powerful Ukrae, who heals all and saves all, may thine blessings restore strength and life."
She lost herself in the sacred texts, time drifting away unnoticed as always.
It wasn’t until Madam Livia entered to administer his night medicines that she stirred, gently closing the prayer book and rising to join her.
"Have I thanked you for returning to Urai?" Madam Livia asked, as she prepared to depart, pausing at the threshold. "I know it couldn't have been easy, considering everything that's happened."
"You don’t need to thank me," Emeriel said.
The truth was, despite her desire to leave the past behind, Aekeira had been right. She needed to know her male was healthy and hearty, even if they were halfway across the world from each other.
"During his brief return, I understood why his people are so devoted to him," Madam Livia confessed, her hands resting on the doorframe. "They all hated us humans, but he was the only ruler who treated us like living beings."
The head maid's gaze drifted to the bed. "Lord Ottai ignores us at best, Lord Vladya would harm any human who got in his way, and Lord Zaiper… well, he treats us worse than dirt, killing us like vermin."
She smiled. "But King Daemonikai? He sees a child fall, and he helps her up. Did you notice the kitchens started making better meals for us when he returned. He included us in festivals as attendants, not slaves. And when we were sick, he made sure the healers tended to us."
Emeriel stared, speechless.
She had been aware of some of the grand king’s benevolence to the humans, but not the full extent.
Much of her time had been spent in Lord Herod’s home, too preoccupied with her own struggles.
"The Urekai aren’t the only ones praying for his recovery, you know," Madam Livia added. "We all are. That’s why I'm convinced that assassin was sent, he didn't act on his own just because he was human."
Emeriel shifted a look to the grand king. The faint rise and fall of his chest the only sign of life. "He’s showing improvement, but without the frostfever…"
"…we cannot be certain," Madam Livia finished sadly.
They both knew the importance of the frostfever. King Daemonikai had already moved to another chamber the day before, everyone in anticipation of its arrival.
It was a sign that the soul was crossing the Cold Sea, the final boundary between the living and the dead.
Emeriel had checked the legends, read every history text on it. Many souls had been lost during this crossing, swallowed whole by the merciless ice-cold waters.
But the spirits who survived the frostfever returned safely to their bodies.
The thought of it chilled Emeriel to the bone.
What if he does not survive the crossing?
What if she lost him to the icy depth of that unnatural water?
As usual, she breathed deeply, trying not to show her worry. Emeriel could only hope to be by his side when it happened.
To do all she could to guide him back to the land of the living.