Agony, panic, and an unprecedented wave of fear crashed over me like a relentless tide. My hands, slick with blood, trembled as I frantically pressed them against the gaping wound on her neck, praying for a miracle to stir her back to life.
"Don't leave me! Wake up, please! Mom, please wake up," I pleaded, tears streaming down my face in a torrent of grief. She was my anchor, my everything, and the thought of facing life without her was unbearable.
Numbness gripped me, leaving me hollow and powerless as I cradled her cold body against my chest. "Take me with you. Don't leave me," I whispered, my voice barely audible amidst the chaos of my emotions. I remained by her side, nestled against the riverbank, until Alao's strong arms pulled me away from her lifeless form.
My eyelids felt like lead as I struggled to pry them open, the world around me swimming in a haze of blurred shapes and shadows. Tears lingered on my lashes, remnants of the dreams that had haunted my restless sleep. It had been too long since that tormenting vision had plagued my nights, a relentless specter refusing to release its hold on my troubled mind.
With a heavy sigh, I dragged myself upright, the realization dawning that I was not in my own quarters but in the King's chamber. He lay sleeping on the nearby couch, his features softened in the embrace of slumber.
His eyes fluttered open with a mixture of concern and relief at my awakening. "Are you okay?" He murmured, reaching out to brush his palm against my forehead, his touch warm and reassuring. But I recoiled slightly, a surge of discomfort prickling at my skin as his proximity enveloped me in his masculine scent.
My mind snapped into focus, I forced myself to sit up, piecing together the fragments of memory from the previous day. How had I ended up here, in the King's room? And more importantly, what had become of Safiya? The urgency of finding her gripped me, my heart pounding with apprehension.
Would the King hold her responsible for my disappearance? Would he punish her for aiding me in my escape? The questions swirled in my mind, a tempest of uncertainty threatening to engulf me in its stormy embrace.
"You should rest, Agbé̩kẹ́," the King's voice was laced with concern, his expression adding to my confusion. Had he not been furious with me? The memory of torches flickering in the darkness flashed through my mind, leaving me with a jumble of fragmented recollections. Had he been the one to rescue me?
"I'm fine," I insisted, casting a puzzled glance down at myself. Only then did I realize I was clad in different attire from the garments I had worn the day before. "What happened to my clothes?"
"Agbé̩kẹ́, the real question is, what happened yesterday? Did you try to run away?" Khalid's use of my full name sent a shiver down my spine, a subtle indication of his displeasure. My throat constricted, my heart pounding in my chest as I struggled to find the words to appease him.
"No! I just wanted to see my people and explore the city; I got lost." I didn't see any way out of this situation other than being truthful. I forgot the part about Safiya assisting me because I couldn't return my promise to her.
"Why would you risk something so reckless? What were you thinking? If Khufu hadn't found you when he did..." Khalid's voice trailed off, his stern facade crumbling in the face of his concern. "If anything had happened to you yesterday, it would have been entirely my fault."
"You're my responsibility; when you arrived in Egypt, you became one of my people. he continued, a note of remorse tingeing his words. "I apologize for everything I said yesterday. If only I had provided you with an escort, none of this would have happened." With a weary sigh, he ran a hand over his face.
YOU ARE READING
Entangled
Historical Fiction"Do you have to only think about yourself? Do you even know how I feel being cramped up in this place? On second thought, you don't know, cause you have no heart. You took me away from my family, my loved ones, you ruined my life. Stripped me of my...
