The King's Prey (Unedited Edition)

Chapter 19 : Burning From Within

Agowilt • [a-go-will-t]
Unnecessary fear.

🖤

~+~

After being carried back into the main room, I find a steaming plate of food set on a tray on top of the bed. My stomach furiously growls again as if the scent of the dish is coaxing some greedy beast out of me.

Samuel leaves me to eat in peace, telling me that he's going to ask a nurse when I'm allowed to be discharged and if they need to check me over again. I don't mind the silence as I enjoy the warmth of the fresh food, this being the first time I've eaten in days.

From beyond the thin curtains of the lone window in the room, I take in the grey sky and how it darkens with each passing minute, indicating that it's nearly night time. Though I just spent what felt like an eternity being unconscious, drowsiness still decides to waver through me. I can only guess it's the exhaustion of my body trying to repair my torn leg back together.

Staring down at the freshly wrapped wound, I begin to wonder if it'll make a speedy recovery just as my hand had—or if it was just a mere coincidence since resting and cooking have been preoccupying my days for the past several weeks, giving it plenty of time to heal.

I finish my plate of food and chug down the new glass of water that had come with my meal just before loud yells echoes through the hallway from beyond the shut door of my room. I tense, an instinct telling me whatever—whoever—is shouting can't be doing it for a good reason. What I make out from the bitter tone is an enraged woman; maybe one of the nurses? Maybe an irritated family member of another patient?

Then again, from what I've made out, this isn't an ordinary hospital. It was built for a considerable amount of fatalities and heavy devastation—likely a precautionary measure established out of the fear of war. I have little doubt that it was built for any other reason.

The door suddenly barges open, revealing a female with extraordinarily beautiful and sharp features. Her red hair looks as though it's been set on fire, even under the luminescent ceiling lights. Her eyes contain a similar twin flame to her long locks that cascade until midway down her spine. But when that burning gaze meets mine, I feel as though my body chars to ashes under her scorching wrath.

"You fucking—" she starts, storming her way towards me as I scramble as far back as I can on the hospital bed, desperately wanting to create any distance between me and this wildfire of a woman. My leg aches in agony, but whatever adrenaline is pumping through my blood pushes down the pain.

"Sterling!" Samuel's voice booms off the walls as he follows her. As if his words hold the power to form storms, she stops in her tracks and clenches her fists tightly before turning to face him.

"You psychotic, lying bastard!" Sterling yells in his face. She goes to shove her hands into his broad shoulders, but he catches her wrists before they can touch the material of his shirt and deflects the blow back to her as she stumbles a couple of steps before regaining her balance.

"You've barely allowed me a second to explain!" Samuel growls.

"You don't need to explain a thing when the human bitch is sitting right there!" Sterling jabs a finger at me as I curl deeper into the blanket now covering my body.

Ouch.

My body heats, finding myself wedged in between a suffocating, crushing situation I never asked to be a part of. Besides, who the hell is this woman anyway?

I go to open my mouth, hoping that I can cease their bickering before it develops into an unnecessary misunderstanding—whatever the misunderstanding may be exactly—but my thoughts are cut short.