THE KING'S ROYAL chamber was the most extravagantly decorated room in the palace.

White-diamond walls stretched high above Ravenna's head.The outermost wall appeared to consist entirely of glass.Through the crystal clear glass, a beautiful landscape was depicted. It was so clear and bright that it appeared hand painted — a masterpiece created from the hands of only the best artist. Lush evergreen hills rolled across the foreground, dotted with small bushy trees and patches of colorful wildflowers. White peaked mountains carved through the horizon line, creating a jagged edge to the vibrant azure colored sky. A thin turquoise colored ribbon stretched from the base of the furthest mountain to the very edge of the palace grounds — a freshwater river glistening in the sunlight.

The view caught Ravenna by surprise and she froze, momentarily mesmerized by it, until Eoin forcibly dragged her forward. Only when she found herself standing at the end of a massive, rectangular bed did she willingly pull her gaze away from the view.

The royal bed was a relic itself. Four thick column-like posts stood at each corner of the bed, constructed entirely of engraved gold. Floral filigree patterns decorated every visible surface. 

The mattress was covered in deep violet colored sheets. The color was so beautiful, something that Ravenna rarely saw. It was incredibly hard to create and expensive, and therefore was reserved exclusively for royal blood. She had only seen it a few times before — including a few violet dresses tucked away within her new wardrobe.

In the center of the bed, tucked beneath a thin layer of violet, laid the king. It reminded Ravenna of viewing a corpse during funerary ceremonies.

Ravenna noticed that none of the royal harem were present in the room. It struck her as odd, considering the scantily clad women seemed to accompany the king everywhere. Important meetings, extravagant feasts — there were always at least two women on either of his royal arms.

Instead, however, the room overflowed with servants of all genders. Each wore the same plain alabaster colored tunic like Alyss and Miera, only with light blue threads woven into the edges of their sleeves.

A slender woman stepped forward. Her attire matched the others, aside from the light blue pendant that sat atop her chest. She bent forward at the waist as Eoin approached. "Your highness," she greeted.

"Have you made any progress?" Eoin asked her.

The woman shook her head. Her expression was calm and collected, yet Ravenna noticed a hint of nervousness swimming within the woman's dark brown eyes. "I have never seen anything quite like this before," she admitted. "There has been no response to any of our methods. Not yet. His majesty hardly appears to even be breathing on his own."

Eoin's jaw clenched tight at that. He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. Then he glared at the woman, his expression fierce. "You are the head royal physician. You were hand selected, years ago, for this position with the expectation that you would be able to perform the necessary treatments to keep members of the royal family alive."

"I am aware," the woman responded. "This position is and has been an honor. I am going to do all that I possibly can to heal your father. But understand that I am not a god. I can not prevent all deaths."

Ravenna watched Eoin from the corners of her eyes. It appeared as though he was completely unraveling before her.

The royal physician continued to speak, not allowing for the prince to respond. "We are going to monitor his royal highness," she explained. "I want to test several different treatments and see if they might aid him. We have already examined his body for any visible ailments."

"What exactly do these treatments consist of?" Ravenna asked, genuinely curious.

"Our first and primary treatment will be bloodletting," the royal physician answered. Her expression brightened at the lack of hostility in Ravenna's tone. "It is a miracle treatment that aids many ailments. It was first discovered and initially practiced by our ancestors centuries ago."

The royal physician waved her hand — a small gesture toward the bed. One of the servants rushed forward, hands carefully clutching a glass box. As she approached, she placed the box gingerly atop the royal physician's outstretched palm. Ravenna peered closer. Hundreds of inky black creatures were crammed within the thin walls of glass. Light glistened against the thin sheen of water and mucus that covered their worm-like bodies.

A grimace formed on Ravenna's face. She watched, mildly disgusted as the royal physical reached into the box and pulled one of the slimy creatures free. She held it into the air, pinched between two fingers.

"These leeches are the highest of quality," the royal physician announced. A warm smile stretched across her lips as she examined the creature. "We have farmed them throughout centuries from only the purest of waters. These creatures have only ever touched royal blood. They are completely untainted by normal humans."

"Leeches?" Ravenna repeated. Her brow furrowed.

The royal physician nodded. She returned the lone leech back to the box. "Most ailments and illnesses are caused by an overabundance of blood in the human body. Treatment is simple — a small cut to the forearm or neck will allow blood to escape. Leeches are the far more civilized version of that treatment. Allow me to demonstrate."

Ravenna and Eoin watched as the woman walked toward the bed. As she moved, the other servants prepared the king's body. The violet sheet was pulled down to reveal most of his upper torso.They turned his arms upward, so that his open palms faced the ceiling above his head. Once he was exposed, the royal physician gently began to place leeches. A leech was placed on either of his wrists. One was placed at the center of his chest, near his heart. Two more leeches were placed on either side of his neck.

"There," the royal physician remarked proudly. "As you know, leeches feed on human blood through the skin. These leeches will be able to suck out the excess blood that is plaguing his body. Once his blood level reaches a more normal state, we should start to see improvement."

Ravenna pressed her lips into a firm line. She watched the leeches curl and writhe against the king's pale skin. It made her feel a little nauseous. Eoin seemed entirely unbothered by the leeches. He stepped closer and examined them. He reached out and gently poked at one of the leeches. It squirmed in response.

Shaking his head, Eoin straightened and returned his attention to the royal physician. She smiled at him. "I know that you are highly familiar with this particular treatment, your highness. Both you and your late mother have utilized it in the past to aid and treat migraines."

"Migraines are very different," Eoin said shortly. "They don't cause you to collapse."

"While that is very true, this particular treatment has been proven to heal multiple illnesses and ailments. I have high confidence that it will provide great relief to his majesty."

"It better," Eoin snapped. He jabbed a finger at the physician. "You best do all that you can to fix my father. Or you can consider yourself dead."

Ravenna flinched at his heated words. Anger burned deep within her bones. The royal physician was obviously doing the best that she could with the knowledge that she had. It was incredibly unfair to tie her own life to the life of a dying king's.

She folded her arms across her chest, hiding her knuckles. She could feel the ice of her magic dancing across her skin — begging to be released.

Eoin stormed past her and the door slammed shut behind him. The royal physician smiled kindly at Ravenna. Her eyes were sad. "I swear to you that I will do all that I can."

Ravenna smiled. She hoped that her expression read as understanding.

"Sometimes," she said, "It is simply impossible to fight fate."

~

hey friends! 

I just want to saw that I hope that you all are doing okay ❤ 

You mean the absolute world to me and I can't thank you enough for taking the time to read this book. You are seriously awesome! I really appreciate you all so much!! ❤