Natalia’s POV
By the time evening came, I could barely keep my head up. My body felt heavy, like someone had filled my veins with lead. Every movement took effort. Even holding my baby felt like lifting a boulder. I was starving and exhausted and utterly terrified.
The King summoned me for dinner again. I didn’t want to go, but I didn’t have a choice. I wrapped my daughter in her makeshift swaddle and limped to the dining hall.
The King was already seated with a glass of wine in his hand. He gestured to the chair across from him. “Sit,” he commanded.
I did, settling into the chair and adjusting my baby against my chest. She’d stopped crying as much—probably because she was as exhausted as I was.
“You look unwell,” the King observed.
“I’m fine,” I lied.
He took a sip of wine and set
