DAPHNE.
I was examining the plague victims one by one with focused intensity.
The symptoms weren't making any medical sense to me at all.
The disease was progressing way too fast through their systems. And it was affecting everyone in almost exactly the same uniform way across all age groups and body types.
I'd seen the bleeding sickness before in rogue territory over the past three years. I'd treated dozens of cases successfully with my methods. But this version was different somehow. The progression was accelerated beyond anything I'd seen. The severity was exponentially worse.
"How long has this particular strain been active in this village?" I asked the attending healer.
She was an older woman who looked absolutely exhausted beyond measure. There were lines etched deep into her face that spoke to months of constant stress and sleepless nights watching people die.
"Three months in this specific area," she answered with a hoarse voice. "But it mutated about six weeks ago. Got significantly worse after that point."
Mutated?
Diseases didn't mutate this dramatically this fast under normal circumstances. Evolution like that took years or decades to happen naturally, not just weeks.
I pushed the thought aside for now and focused on the little girl lying in front of me. She was burning up with fever that made her skin hot to the touch. Her body was covered in the telltale bleeding lesions that gave the sickness its name.
I used my technique to slow the progression down in her system. I applied the herbal paste I'd developed over years of trial and error. I monitored her vitals carefully while I worked with steady hands.
After about forty five minutes of intense focused treatment, the girl's fever finally broke slightly. Her breathing evened out into something more regular.
The active bleeding from her lesions slowed to almost nothing.
Her mother was weeping with overwhelming gratitude beside the cot. "Thank you. Thank you so much. I thought I was going to lose her today. I thought she was going to die."
"She's not out of danger yet," I warned her honestly. "But this treatment should buy her some time while her body fights the infection."
The mother grabbed my hand and kissed it. "You saved her life. The goddess sent you to us."
I pulled my hand back gently and moved to the next patient who needed attention.
But word had apparently spread like wildfire through the camp in those thirty minutes.
The King's mate had just saved a plague victim from certain death. The healer they'd all been desperately waiting for was actually here and working miracles.
I could hear voices rising outside the tent. Crowds were starting to gather.
People were talking loudly about what had just happened. Some were crying with relief.
Others were shouting questions.
"Is it true she cured the Wilson girl?"
"The Luna is here! She's actually treating people!"
"My son needs help! Please, someone tell her about my son!"
The noise level kept growing louder and more chaotic by the minute.
Rovian suddenly pushed through the tent entrance with force. His eyes found mine immediately across the crowded space full of sick people.
"Daphne, we need to leave this place. Right now."
I was covered in blood and sweat from working on patients for hours without stopping. My dress was ruined. My hands were stained red.
"There are more people who need treatment urgently. I can't just abandon them here to suffer and die when I can actually help them with what I know."
"You've been exposed to the plague for hours without any proper protective gear. You need to be quarantined yourself until we know for certain you're safe from infection."
Annoyance spiked through me like a flame catching. I was too tired and too frustrated to filter my words properly. "The disease isn't airborne. I've been treating this exact illness for three years across multiple territories. I know exactly how it spreads through contact with bodily fluids. So you can take your uninformed concerns and butt out of my medical decisions while I finish the work I came here to do."
The words came out harsher and louder than I'd intended.
I suddenly realized how quiet the tent had gone around us.
Every healer had stopped what they were doing and was staring at me. One of the younger doctors had actually covered her mouth with both hands in shock. Her eyes were wide like she couldn't believe what she'd just heard come out of my mouth.
Nobody talked to the Alpha King like that.
Ever.
Especially not in front of his own people.
Rovian's jaw clenched so tight I could see the muscle jumping. But he didn't argue with me further or try to assert his authority over mine.
I turned my back on him deliberately and got back to work on the next patient with shaking hands.
I heard him leave the tent a few minutes later. But I was too focused on saving lives to care where he went or what he thought about what I'd said.
Hours passed in a blur of blood and treatment and monitoring vitals. I treated person after person after person without stopping for breaks. I applied my techniques over and over. I gave detailed instructions to the other healers about proper dosages and timing for follow-up care.
By the time I finally finished treating the last critical patient for the day, the sun had completely set outside the tent. My entire body was aching in ways I'd never felt before. I'd done so much intensive work today that my brain felt foggy and slow.
I walked outside the clinic tent for some desperately needed fresh air in my lungs.
That's when I saw him still there.
Rovian was sitting on a wooden bench just outside the main entrance. His hands were folded in his lap. He was staring down at the concrete ground beneath his feet like he was completely lost in thought about something.
I frowned at the sight.
How long had he been sitting there?
He looked up at the sound of my footsteps on the ground. Relief flooded across his face the instant he saw me standing there alive and well.
I hated the fact that he had such a strong visible reaction to simply seeing me.
It was likely all pretense anyway.
An elaborate act as convincing as the one he'd performed during those first few blissful months of our marriage before everything went straight to hell.
I was far too exhausted to deal with him and whatever he wanted right now. I just wanted to find wherever I was supposed to be sleeping tonight and collapse into unconsciousness.
He stood up from the bench when I got closer.
I tried to walk past him without engaging in conversation. I genuinely didn't have the energy left for whatever discussion he wanted to have with me.
"Daphne," He called my name with concern in his voice.
I suddenly felt incredibly faint without any warning.
The world tilted sideways sharply, and my vision went blurry and dark around the edges like a tunnel closing.
I stumbled forward and couldn't catch my balance.
Rovian rushed toward me fast, he caught my body a split second before I hit the ground.
But my vision worsened, and everything faded to black in an instant.