Fate's Dark Side Chapter 769

I entered the room. Though it was late afternoon, the sun shone bright, and the curtains were drawn apart to illuminate the room. My mother was sitting on the bed while Katya fed her oats. She did not seem interested in the food.

"Good afternoon, your majesty," Katya greeted me, and I nodded.

"Please excuse us, Katya," I ordered my sister-in-law, and she put the bowl of oats down on a table and headed out of the room.

My mother looked at me with lifeless eyes. She had also lost some weight. She slept a lot and ate little; she was bound to lose weight.

"How are you feeling?" I asked and went to sit beside her. I took her hand in mine and massaged the back of her hand gently. I felt her growl a bit.

"You kept me from Jake," She said and looked at me with teary eyes.

"You did not allow me to say goodbye," She said with tears streaming down her face, and I shook my head immediately.

"I will never rob you of that opportunity, Mother," I said, and she sniffled. She was heartbroken and scared.

I touched her cheek gently and made her look at me.

"I do not have a father, Mother. I could not afford to lose you too. Jake was in a terrible situation, and we did not know if he would make it, so we had to keep you away from the situation," I confessed, tears rolling down her cheeks. She was afraid; I could feel it.

"They introduced a poison that had no antidote into his system. We were not sure he would make it. We had been sustaining his life with Erik's serum. We needed our medical staff and chemists to focus on his treatment. I did not want you to see him when he was deemed hopeless. I am sorry if I hurt you with my decision, but if anything happens to you, Dominic and I will feel it too," I said, and she nodded and bowed her head.

"So how is he now?" She asked, sniffling. I knew she was bracing herself for the worst outcome, but I had good news for her.

"Well, Claudia got her friends to help Erik, and today, they formulated a medication that is helping his health. Currently, he is not in the clear yet, but there is hope," I said, and she looked at me with hope in her eyes.

"Seriously?" She asked me eagerly, and I nodded, and she smiled.

I squeezed her hand tightly and arrested her attention so she could listen to me.

"They are not sure he will pull through, but he has a fighting chance," I explained, and she nodded, telling me she understood.

"Am I allowed to see him?" She asked me, and I knew the question was coming, so I sighed to tell her what I planned to tell her before coming to see her.

"Yes, you can, but you must promise me you will be calm no matter what happens. If he doesn't make it, you will pick up the pieces and move on, for all our sakes. You will not break down, and we won't lose you in the process," I said, searching her eyes, and she lingered a bit before nodding.

I wrapped my arms around my mother, and she wept lightly. She knew I had come to prepare her for the worst, but I prayed deep down that Jake would survive.

I let her go and linked Katya to help her freshen up so she could visit Jake. I hoped her presence would motivate him better.

I left the room and was heading to my office when I heard Erik in my head.

"Your Majesty. The Stepanov Elders are in the North to meet with you. They represent the ten families of our clan. They are in the North to see you. I do not know where you would like to receive them," Erik said, and I wondered why some of the Stepanov family heads would be in the North to see me.