by Celia Kyle
“I’ve had just about enough of you.”
Amy struggled uselessly against him and watched in horror as Hadad set the tray back in place, obviously prepared to “operate” without even sanitizing his instruments. Poor Nabila wailed beyond him, desperately trying to reach the straps holding her legs in the stirrups but unable to reach far enough past her belly.
If only Tahvo or Shon were there to explain to their brother, but they weren’t. Saving Nabila and her baby would be Amy’s responsibility, just as it had been all along. She was no match for Zafar’s superior strength, so she stilled in his arms and did her best to speak calmly.
“Zafar, tell me why you’re allowing this.”
Zafar’s hold on her relaxed a fraction. Not enough for her to break free and tackle Hadad, but at least she could breathe a little better.
“To save Nabila, of course! Nothing is more important than that.”
“Don’t you want to save Nabila and the baby?” She spoke calmly, but quickly, watching the doctor pick up his first instrument.
Where was Tahvo? He could stop all of this simply by walking in the room.
“Of course, I do,” Zafar snapped. “But it’s not possible. This is the only way to save Nabila.”
“Zafar, I know you don’t like to hear this, especially from a human like me, but you’re wrong. You have to listen. Tahvo will be here any minute, and he’s bringing something that we both believe will save Nabila and your child. You just need to tell Dr. Hadad to stop.”
Zafar stood stock still, not moving a muscle. His breath came fast and his heart was racing against her back. He was thinking, but they didn’t have time for thinking. Hadad was about to insert…
“Please!” Amy begged. “Just look at Nabila. Look at your wife, Zafar. She doesn’t want you to do this. Please stop this before it’s too late. Stop before you lose your child.”
“No!” he finally said, his voice tense and panicked. “You’re lying. Humans have always wanted to destroy our species, and you’re trying to kill Nabila!”
There would be no reasoning with his special brand of paranoia. She couldn’t wait any longer. Jerking her head toward the door, she gasped. “What’s that?”
When Zafar turned to see what she was talking about, Amy stomped so hard on his foot, he released her to grab it. She left him hopping around on one foot and lunged for Hadad, knocking him sideways before he could finish what he’d started. Amy worked quickly to unbuckle Nabila’s straps, but Zafar wrapped his fingers around her wrist before she could finish.
“No!” Amy cried, not even flinching away from his raised fist.
“Stop!”
Tahvo stood in the doorway holding a glass and panting heavily. He gave Zafar a sharp commanding look, despite the fact his brother was also his king.
“Release her this instant, Zafar.”
Without waiting for him to comply, Tahvo rushed to Nabila and held the glass out to her. “Drink.”
Still sobbing, she blinked up at him for a moment and then took the glass and drank it all down. Zafar looked at his wife and then at Amy. His lip curled back in a snarl.
“What have you poisoned her with?” he demanded. “Tell me!”
He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. His strength caused her head to wobble painfully, but then he released her. Amy opened her eyes to find Tahvo’s arms wrapped around his struggling brother.
“Zafar, stop this insanity. We didn’t poison Nabila.”
Shon burst into the room in his panther form and cornered Dr. Hadad, who held a gnarly jagged gadget over his head as if he’d been about to throw it at Amy. Zafar continued fighting against Tahvo’s grasp, and Amy resumed unbuckling Nabila. Ignoring the men, Amy turned her full attention on the woman in front of her.
“How are you feeling?”
Already color had returned to the queen’s face, and she smiled weakly. “Better, I think.”
Amy breathed a sigh of relief. She still didn’t know what was in Curly Leaf to cause miscarriages, but that didn’t matter for the moment. All that mattered was that the antidote had worked. She hoped.
“Oh!” Nabila cried, looking at Amy with wide eyes.
“What is it?”
“What is it?” Zafar echoed from behind Amy, his tone still worried but calmer.
“I think…oh!” Nabila squeezed her eyes shut and took several quick breaths. When she opened her eyes, she smiled. “I think I’m having a contraction.”
A strong sense of calm descended on Amy, clearing all extraneous thoughts from her mind. This was it. Go time. Glancing back at the men—all of whom stood frozen in place—she nodded toward the door.
“Time for you boys to either shut up and let me do what I came here to do, or get out. Your choice.”
Before she turned back to help Nabila bring her beautiful new baby into the world, she caught Tahvo’s eye and then Shon’s. Tahvo smiled at her and Shon purred loudly. The trust she’d crushed only hours before was back and stronger than ever. They were truly the two best men she’d ever met, and her heart had never felt so full.
Considering all she’d been through, Nabila should have been exhausted by the time she delivered a perfect baby boy, but when Amy placed him in the queen’s trembling arms, Nabila lit up like Paris at night. Her tears dripped onto the baby’s forehead, which set him to squalling. Nabila choked out a half-laugh, half-sob and grinned at Amy.
“He’s a yeller, just like his father.”
“Hey,” Zafar said softly as he sat on the bed next to his wife and baby. “I only yell when it’s really important.”
“Or when the price of oil goes down,” Tahvo said, joining Amy.
“Or when the chef overcooks your eggs,” Shon quipped, moving to her other side.
Dr. Hadad had long since excused himself. Probably the smartest decision of his life. If Amy hadn’t stopped him, Zafar wouldn’t be holding his precious son, and it wouldn’t take long for him to realize that. Who knew what form his wrath might take?
Nabila smiled at the three of them over the head of her son. “What was in that drink? It tasted awful.”
Tahvo smiled. “All you need to know is that it was an antidote to the poison you’ve been drinking for months.”
“I can’t be sure,” Amy said, “but I think one test result came back funky. The lab wasn’t testing for poison, and they didn’t understand what they were seeing.”
Zafar’s face clouded over. “Who would want to poison Nabila? I will kill them!”
“Down, boy,” Shon said. “I hate to break this to you, but it was Dalia.”
Nabila gasped, and Zafar lurched from the bed, only to be stopped by Shon. “Sit. Be with your family.”
Zafar glared at him for less than a second before his expression softened and his eyes glistened with tears. Giving his younger brother a curt nod, he returned to the bed and cradled his new family in his arms.
“I don’t understand,” Nabila finally said. “She was always so kind to me. She was always my favorite servant. Her tea—”
“Her tea is why you’ve never been able to carry a baby to term,” Tahvo interrupted. “Until today, thanks to Amy.”
Shon took up the tale. “Amy discovered the remnants of a poison plant in your tea. I remember you had a special fondness for Dalia’s tea, so I… paid her a visit.”
A chill pebbled Amy’s skin. Everything had happened so fast, she hadn’t thought to ask where Shon had gone or what he’d done. He’d been so enraged when he’d left the library, Amy couldn’t help wondering if he might have killed the woman.
He draped an arm over her shoulders and grinned. “Don’t worry. She’s not dead. Yet. And the only reason for that is because she confessed everything to me before I threw her in the dungeon.”
Nabila looked between them all, her eyes wide with confusion. “But… why?”
Shon shrugged. “It’s the strangest thing. Don’t ask me why because I really don’t get it personally, but she’s in lo
ve with Zafar. She knew he would never marry a member of the harem, but she hoped that if you were unable to provide him with an heir, he might choose her to carry his child.”
The room fell silent. It would have only been a very small step for Dalia to justify poisoning Nabila as she’d poisoned the queen’s unborn babies. If she’d never been caught, that very well could have happened.
Zafar looked at his brother with a solemnity that almost hurt. “I think it’s time to disband the harem. Any objections?”
Amy held her breath, waiting to hear what the twins’ answer would be. Nabila caught her eye and gave her a knowing smile. Then she bent low to press a kiss to her son’s head.
“Nope,” Shon and Tahvo said in unison.
Amy breathed a sigh of relief and then looped arms with the boys. Her boys.
“One more thing,” Zafar said, turning his gaze on Amy. “I owe you an apology. You saved my most beloved treasures. Name anything you want. It’s yours.”
Amy blinked in surprise. The apology was more than she could ever have hoped for from Zafar, but his offer… A ludicrously rich and powerful man like him could give her anything in the world without batting an eye. But as she gazed at her boys, she knew exactly what she wanted.
“I have an idea.”
Epilogue
Six Months Later
Can I get a time check?” Amy called to no one in particular.
The twenty or so women bustling around were far too focused on their work to bother with such trivialities as the time of day. Other bosses might get irritated their employees weren’t catering to their every whim, but the fact these women were as dedicated to their mission as she was, filled her with joy. Phones needed to be answered, emails needed to be handled, forms filled out, documents filed, and so much more it made Amy’s head spin. Every day she came to work, she thanked each and every one of her employees for being there. Without them, none of this would have been possible.
Craning her neck back to check the wall clock behind her, Amy gasped. Shit! The morning had slipped away, as it so often did, and she was already behind schedule. Glancing back at the stack of medical forms scattered all over her desk, she decided to just do a few more things. She wasn’t that late. The sound of her phone ringing jolted her back to reality.
“Prenatal Care for All, Amy speaking,” she muttered absentmindedly as she scanned the form sitting on top of the pile.
“The twins are looking for you.” Nabila sounded mildly amused.
“Crap,” Amy said with a sigh. “Did you tell them where I was?”
“Me? Of course not. I’m no… what do you Americans call it? Snitch! I’m no snitch. I just wanted to warn you.” Down the hiss of the phone connection, Nabila’s son Idris started crying. “Oops, that’s my cue. Just hurry up, okay? You know they were right about you working today.”
Amy rolled her eyes. “I know, I know. Kiss the baby for me.”
Even when she called to nag, Nabila was the sweetest person Amy had ever met. In the months since the old harem had been converted to PCA’s headquarters, the two women had grown as close as sisters. Nabila truly was one of a kind, and Amy never wasted the chance to tell Zafar he was the luckiest man alive.
Even though he didn’t love her like Nabila did, he’d at least warmed to her since Idris was born. In turn, she’d grown to honestly admire him as well—and not just because his enormous donation would keep PCA funded for the next hundred years. She wouldn’t have even needed it in the long run because after word spread through Adikar of what she’d done for Nabila, donations flooded in. She’d been able to hire more doctors who staffed mini-clinics all over the world.
Taking a deep breath, Amy looked around the busy office space and an immense sense of gratitude brought tears to her eyes. She now headed up one of the fastest growing medical nonprofits in the world. She hardly practiced medicine lately, but her role leading the organization was just as fulfilling, if not more so. Before, she’d only been able to care for a patient, maybe two, at a time. Now she had the satisfaction of knowing hundreds of women and their babies—humans and shifters alike—were receiving care they might otherwise have never been able to afford. It wouldn’t take long for thousands more to be added to their roster of happy customers.
As much as he might deny it, Zafar was directly and indirectly responsible for what her life had become. After Amy had watched the king and queen cooing over their newborn baby, clarity had flooded her. Standing with her arms looped with Shon and Tahvo, watching a new family bond, she’d realized that love mattered more than anything else in the world.
At that moment, Amy had recognized she loved Tahvo and Shon—equally and with all her heart. But she also loved her patients and their children. It wasn’t the same type of love, but it was love nonetheless. The idea of living with one and not the other had shattered her. So as Zafar had waited for her to tell him what her heart most desired, there really was only one answer.
“Boss,” called Efeema from across the room, “we need you over here.”
“Take a number,” said Shon as he entered the old harem.
Her two handsome men bent low next to her chair, each one placing a soft kiss on either cheek. Even now, after so many months, she still blushed when they kissed her.
“Hi,” she said sheepishly.
“You know it’s time to go,” Tahvo said, perching on the corner of her desk and raising a scolding eyebrow at her.
“I know, I just need a few more minutes. Here, help me up.”
Each man grabbed a hand and hauled her to her very swollen feet. “Ugh, I feel like a whale,” she said, cradling her immense belly.
Shon dropped to his knees and kissed it. “Nonsense. You’re the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“In the universe,” Tahvo corrected. “And not just because you’re carrying our twins.”
She rolled her eyes as if she didn’t believe their lies, but deep down she loved them for boosting her confidence. As she waddled over to Efeema, Shon walked beside her, twisting his head around to take in all the activity.
“You know, I didn’t do a half-bad job remodeling this place,” he said.
Amy shot him a dubious glance. “You? I seem to recall about fifty workmen in here turning all the sleeping chambers and baths into office spaces and conference rooms. I do remember you wearing a hard hat one day, but you also had on a very nice Armani suit.”
He grinned down at her, completely unfazed. “Someone had to come up with the design and keep the men on schedule. You didn’t give us a lot of time to get the job done, but look how beautiful it is.”
She nudged him with her shoulder. “It really is fantastic. You did a great job, my love.”
Not to be outdone, Tahvo trotted up next to them. “Oh, I meant to tell you I’m almost done digitizing the ancient medical texts. I would have paid a few of the women from the harem to index it all for easy searching, but it appears you’ve hired every last one of them.”
“Not every last one,” Shon said wryly. He didn’t need to say her name for them all to know he was speaking of Dalia.
After Amy attended to Efeema’s question, the beautiful young woman turned to Shon and Tahvo with a meek smile.
“Pardon me, Your Highnesses, but I want to say thank you.”
The men looked at each other and then Tahvo asked, “For what?”
“For releasing me and all the other women from our harem duties. Once you did that, we were able to start our real lives. When Dr. Sullivan hired all of us, we finally had a purpose in life.” Efeema blanched and then quickly added, “Not that serving the royal family wasn’t an honor!”
Tahvo smiled and patted Efeema’s shoulder, much as an older brother might do. “Yes, I’m sure lying around doing nothing and waiting for one of us to show up so you could entertain us was so fulfilling.”
Efeema’s cheeks blazed, but she pressed on. “I’m sure you wouldn’t have heard, but Saman, one of our long-time guards, proposed
to me yesterday. We’ll be married in the spring. I’ve never been happier, and I just wanted to thank you.”
The sound of Amy’s phone ringing interrupted them. “Oh, let me just grab that—”
As she moved toward her desk, Shon moved in front of her, blocking her path. “Babe, it’s time to go.”
She glanced past him to the ringing phone and then up at Tahvo, who nodded his agreement. Sighing heavily, she clasped both their hands and squared her shoulders.
“Let’s do this.”
Three grueling hours later, Amy stood on the palace’s grand balcony, looking down on a dark sea of adoring faces focused on her. She was dressed head-to-toe in the most beautiful and most uncomfortable get-up ever conceived by humans.
The rich red silk had been hand-embroidered with gold thread that made the gown stupidly heavy. Plus, since she was several months pregnant with twins, a lot of fabric had been required. A wide gold belt, studded with diamonds, pearls and rubies, had been snugged just under her full breasts, and the edge dug into her skin. A dozen or more strands of small pearls draped across the décolletage, with a stunning gold and ruby brooch drawing them together in the middle. An equally ornate tiara sat on her perfectly coiffed hair.
No fewer than four women had attended to her for the last few hours, carefully applying about a gallon and a half of makeup, a variety of lotions and perfumes, and enough hairspray to eat a hole in the ozone layer. She’d never been so made-up, or so breathtaking, in her life. The overall effect was miraculous, but also very fatiguing.
The only consideration the women had allowed were Amy’s shoes. They’d tried to cram her swollen feet into a pair of gold and ruby slippers, but they’d cut so deeply into her skin she’d refused to wear them. If there was one thing she’d learned in her time on this planet, it was that life’s too short to wear uncomfortable shoes. When she’d slipped her feet into her trusty—and ugly—pair of Crocs and the attendants had seen the gown covered them when she wasn’t walking, they’d shrugged and left the room.