Chapter 69

Chapter 69 North King’s request

CA SSANDRA

A gasp escaped me, and for a moment, I swore I was about to faint. My head spun and a huge knot formed in my stomach.

Had I heard the king correctly?

Emmett? My Emmett?

“I was devastated to hear that Emmett had pa*sed away,” Kaleb continued without ski pping a beat. “But now I’ve found you. I thought it was a coincidence that your last name is also Keller, but then at the banquet, you said you were from the Wild Crawler Pack. Does that mean…”

His question trailed off and I knew I had to finally speak.

“Emmett was my husband,” I confirmed.

Kaleb nodded solemnly. “I figured as much.”

The room fell into silence as I processed all of this new information. Emmett had been to Yurene? He’d never mentioned he’d been to the North even once. In fact, most people in Wegalla never spoke about the North in general. Why had he gone there in the first place and what brought him to the former king of Yurene in the first place?

The room begin to tilt and I had to steady myself for a moment to keep from. swaying. Just when I thought I was past all of the secrets and mysteries, I was being dealt another.

Kaleb studied me but gave me a little bit to think about everything. I appreciated his patience, but I struggled to find the right words to say. I couldn’t betray too much. It would seem strange for a wife to know so little about her husband, though I could simply pa*s it off if I needed to.

Most importantly, I needed to find a way to convince Kaleb that my going to his country wasn’t a good idea.

“I’m not as talented a healer as Emmett was,” I said softly. “I want to help, but

I’m afraid I won’t be able to.”

“Please hear me out, Ca ssandra,” Kaleb pleaded in an equally gentle tone. “The disease is… strange.”

Before I could protest further, my l*ps curled into a frown. “What do you mean? How so?”

“It begins slowly enough,” he explained, and he got a distant look in his eyes. “My father first began to suffer some headaches. They were few at first, but then they began to progress and they became more frequent. His skin lost most of its color, and then these strange marks began to appear.”

“Marks?” I asked, and my eyes began to widen.

Kaleb nodded solemnly and gestured at his forearms. “All along here. Just like the headaches, they were few at first and then multiplied. Deep black marks.”

I gasped.

Black marks.

It was the same disease that plagued Wild Crawler and the Alpha King.

Kaleb’s

expression grew alarmed at the sudden sound, and his l*ps parted, but he didn’t say anything else. He waited patiently with a knowing look on his face.

I pushed all thoughts of Emmett aside. I needed to act like the healer I was.

“When was your father infected?” I asked him as I leaned forward. “And how?”

“It was years ago,” the king replied and he shook his head. “He started to grow the black marks after he returned from the battlefield. Back then, Yurene was fighting against a small Pack. There was a dispute over territory. My father returned

from the field severely wounded. Everyone thought he was going to die, but then, he recovered almost overnight. It seemed to be a miracle. But soon after, the

headaches and marks began to appear.”

“Was anyone else experiencing symptoms?” I wondered and Kaleb shook his head.

“As far as I know, there is no one else,” he lamented. “Which is not a bad thing, of course. The disease is dreadful and only grows more awful with time. But I worry that if left untreated for much longer, it may spread to others in Yurene and become something of an epidemic. I do not wish for my people to suffer as my father has, Ca ssandra.”

I nodded and tried to wrap my mind around all of this. If the disease had appeared in the North years ago, why didn’t it spread instantly to Wegalla? And Emmett… how did he know about the disease and how to treat it? This was all such a confusing mystery and I needed answers.

“Did you check the medicine Emmett left for you?” I asked. “Could you recognize what he used to treat your father?”

“We’ve examined it,” Kaleb replied, and then he frowned. “But none of the healers in Yurene could figure out what it is. I didn’t bring it with me or else I’d ask you to study it right now for yourself.”

I nodded. This was tricky territory and I needed to tread carefully.

I leaned back in my seat and considered it all. As far as I knew, Kaleb’s father could have been the first one infected with the disease. But that was only a theory.

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“Please, Ca ssandra,” Kaleb urged again. “I would not ask this of you if I wasn’t sure that you were a capable healer, I’ve hardly been in Wegalla for long, but I’ve heard multiple accounts from here in the palace that you’ve been detrimental. You healed both the Alpha King and his son when they were attacked by vipers-”

“Vipers are one thing,” I said slowly. “But diseases are another-”

“I don’t doubt your abilities for a second,” he interrupted again, and this time, he

gently touched my arm. “Listen, I don’t expect an answer right this moment. I know you’ve gone through a lot just now and this is plenty to place in your lap. All I ask is that you consider my offer. I will do whatever it takes for your help. Anything I can offer will be yours. Please, just think about it, Ca ssandra.”

His eyes glittered a little and much to my surprise, I could see them growing wet with tears. I was a little surprised. The king of Yurene had always been so playful and strange. This seriousness and display of softness when it came to the health of his father was unexpected and tugged at my heartstrings.

I wanted to help. I knew that more than anything. But how could I when I was so tied up in the Alpha King and life here in the palace?

Everything was so confusing. This web grew more and more intricate with every pa*sing day.

Suddenly, a realization crossed my mind.

If what Kaleb had said was true and the medicine Emmett had gifted to his father was effective, there was a strong chance that I could find the cure to this disease. I could administer it to Asher and all of my patients in Wild Crawler who were suffering from the illness. If I could cure the Alpha King, I could take Finnick and leave Anemond behind forever. The city, the Crescent Pack, the Moses family…. I could put them entirely in my past and go back to the life I’d built for

me and my

son.

But in order for that to happen, I’d have to do the unimaginable.

I’d have to go to the North and study the strange disease all the way up in Yurene.