Page 176 of The White King's Favorite

Krai answered him with an angry growl, suddenly turning its red eyes on him. Darsan jumped and immediately stepped back, cautious.

“If I were to bet,” Tessandra whispered to him. “I think Uncle is still upset with you...”

“Not funny, Tessa.”

She chuckled, but they quickly walked past the pair of dragons to follow Cessilia and Naptunie in the streets. There were still refugees from earlier, who raised their heads, curious to see them again, with the King lying on Darsan’s back. Thanks to that, though, the word quickly traveled to their allies still there. Bastat was the first to appear at one of the doors and quickly invited them inside.

“What’s going on? Is that... His Majesty?”

“A lot of bad stuff,” groaned Tessandra.

The brothers quickly cleared a table to lay Ashen down, and his state was immediately revealed to Bastat, so shocked she put a hand to cover her mouth.

“Are the d-doctors of the Hashat T-Tribe still here?” asked Cessilia.

“I-I believe they went back when they announced the doors were going to be closed... Lady Ishira thought something odd was happening, so she went to check. But they did leave plenty of medicine behind.”

“G-good. I will need it...”

“I’ll send someone to fetch it right away,” nodded Bastat, immediately gesturing to one of the servants present, “but... by the gods, what happened?”

“Actually, you can tell us that while we heal him,” added Kassian, walking to the other side of the table Ashen was lying on. “I think I have a lot to catch up on.”

However, Nana suddenly stood up, still looking upset.

“I… I think I should go and warn my uncle.”

She left without adding a word, and a heavy silence followed her departure. It was as if now that they had finally found a place to stop, all the tension was getting even heavier. Seeing even the usually cheerful Nana so upset was depressing too. Tessandra sighed, and sat down in one corner of the room, exhausted. Darsan decided to stand by the door, glancing through the window from time to time with his arms crossed.

Lady Bastat’s servant quickly came back, arms full of medicine and as many medical tools as they could find. Once the water was hot and both she and Kassian had washed their hands, with her brother’s help, she immediately began providing the best help she could to Ashen. His state was terrible, but while his chances of survival were low, they weren’t nil, and she had to focus on that. Cessilia began to explain the whole situation to both her brothers and Bastat, everyone else listening in complete silence. She spoke with a monotone voice, not raising her eyes once, as if speaking helped her remain focused and calm. For a long while, only her voice filled the room, with the rain quietly pouring in the background. Naptunie didn’t return, but a younger cousin of hers did come to deliver some food for everyone, and say she had fallen asleep at her uncle’s.

When Cessilia was done explaining, they were still doing their best to save Ashen. She had her arms soiled with his blood up to her elbows, but she was confident he’d make it. It was already impressive that he was still alive and breathing, and she was prouder than ever of him.

“Those wretched Yekaras...” groaned Bastat. “They will definitely pay for this. I won’t recognize a king that is no better than the tyrant.”

“...I’m so s-sorry about your f-father, Lady Bastat.”

“Do not be.” She shook her head. “He met an honorable end... Our tribe believes death is the opening of a new life, in which our actions in the previous will help the gods decide our next destiny. I will mourn him later, but first, I need to be sure his spirit can be avenged. This fake king will not be recognized by my tribe.”

“I doubt they will be going by the popular vote,” scoffed Tessandra. “They wanted to end him and use force against all the other tribes to comply. The Pangoja probably already fell, and they corrupted enough Royal Guards too...”

Her voice broke with those last words. Cessilia felt sorry for her cousin. Even if they kept hoping Sabael had survived the fight in the cave, not knowing about his whereabouts was too hard...

“They won’t be able to take the city if all the tribes resist,” insisted Bastat, “and I know most will. No one is foolish enough to believe in a king supported by the Yekara Clan, of all people.”

“B-but what can we do?” muttered Cessilia. “Ashen’s heavily injured, and we c-can’t keep him hidden here for long. Once they r-realize he’s not in the Inner C-Capital, they will c-come for him here...”

“...Unless someone can offer you all a safe place.”

They turned their heads to see who had spoken.

That person had arrived from the door behind Bastat, completely silent. Everyone became on edge, Tessandra even putting a hand on her sword, but before she could draw it, the stranger started to remove their hood. Cessilia immediately recognized the woman. It was the one who had stared at her while she helped with the flood earlier, with the peculiar dot and lines tattooed on her face.

“Greetings, Princess,” she said with a polite smile.

“You...” muttered Bastat, staring at her tattoos. “You’re... from the Cheshi Clan!”

The woman nodded, as she slowly removed the rest of her hood, revealing tattoos that went all the way around her completely shaved head.

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