The War God’s Favorite novel Chapter 48

 The Hungry Bitches
They were not bonded by blood, but at that very moment, and for the following hour, Kareen acted like a mother to Cassandra. As the young concubine was silently weeping, she caressed her hair gently, waiting for her to calm down.
She couldn’t speak for a long while. Her throat felt hoarse. Cassandra had heard too much in those few sentences. Phetra had cruelly reminded her how terrible it could be. That woman had a similar status to hers, that of a concubine, yet Phetra had gotten rid of her so easily. This was the power of an Imperial Princess.
“How did you do it?” she whispered. “How did you survive among them?”
“You mean among those privileged brats and hungry bitches? A lot of willpower and trusting no one but my own blood. Remember my words, Cassandra. No one gets to such a position with clean hands. Even myself.”
“I…I know but….”
“Cassandra, look at me. Now.”
Her order was clear. The young concubine had no choice but to look up, with tears in her eyes. Kareen’s stare was fiercer than ever. She took Cassandra’s face between her long fingers.
“Listen to this old woman, pretty flower. I grew up among merchants. Before I was ten, I knew how to lie, bargain, and steal. How to exploit the weak and be on the stronger end of the deal. My mentor took me inside this place when I was twelve. Not because he wanted to teach me, but because he was a snake, a snake who wanted to take advantage of a child that was smarter than he was. I was even smarter than he thought and made sure the Emperor knew, too. I did not expect that stubborn old man would take a liking to me, but I knew how wretched all of his women were.”
“I would have been terrified…if he had other women than me. Even just one.”
Cassandra shivered. In a way, she had been lucky to be picked by Kairen. When she was still a slave, she had seen how such jealousy could tear families apart, burn houses, and leave women homeless in the streets, even with their children. The minister she had served had kicked away two of his women to please the newer one, and Cassandra remembered all of the children Kareen had lost.
“Imagine walking in a room full of hungry tigers,” whispered Kareen. “Only one master is holding all of their leashes, so you can’t help but get a few scratches getting to him.”
“You lost children,” said Cassandra. “I don’t know what I’d do if I lost this baby.”
At that moment, the Imperial Concubine’s smile got even scarier than Phetra’s earlier.
“When that happens, you become something much more dangerous than those tigers, Cassandra. Trust me. You become a two-headed monster that won’t ever return to its original self again. I don’t forget and I don’t forgive. All his women know that. It’s exactly why they all fear me more.”
“I don’t want to become like you.”
The woman chuckled, caressing her cheek.
“I know, pretty flower, and I won’t let you. I promise. You have this old woman and her son to look after you. I want to see this child’s birth, Cassandra. If I have one thing to do before I leave this world, it is to see the face of my grandchildren.”
Cassandra slowly nodded.
She had stayed with Kareen only for a few weeks, but she admired that woman greatly, and trusted her. Like Kairen had said, she was probably their greatest and strongest ally in this Palace. Cassandra felt lucky she had come here with them. Despite Phetra’s threats or all the jealous concubines, she knew there was at least someone
willing to protect her.
Cassandra was not a fighter. She was among those women who had been born with a frail body, but had grown very wise.
“Wipe your tears, Cassandra. Don’t show them your weakness, ever. If they think you’re weak, they’ll enjoy your suffering twice as much. Don’t give them that.”
“Princess Phetra is…”
“An obnoxious little swine. Just like her brother. They hate me and my children to the core.”
“W…why?”
“Their mother made the mistake of trying to defy me. She shouldn’t have.”
Cassandra frowned. So this was all about some…revenge? Was that Phetra’s case as well? What had happened to their mother? Despite her curiosity, Cassandra knew Kareen enough by now to know that she wouldn’t say anything else.
“Well, let’s have breakfast now, shall we? I won’t let my grandson starve, and his mother is still too thin. Servants!”
Immediately, a horde of Imperial Servants hurried in, bringing endless gold trays of food. It was time for her to dry her tears indeed. The two women ate silently, but Cassandra knew things wouldn’t settle like this. She told Kareen about the snake after they finished their meal, but to her surprise, the Imperial Concubine didn’t seem worried or surprised in the slightest. She elegantly wiped her lips, nodding as if she had already known about it.
“It wasn’t a poisonous one?”
“No, I am sure. Unless they knew I was pregnant and had prepared ahead, but…”
“They’re just playing around then.”
“Playing?” repeated Cassandra, shocked.
Kareen stood up, walking further inside her apartments to get changed. Cassandra had seen her shamelessly change her clothes in open spaces in the Diamond Palace before, it was nothing surprising. As she had learned over time, the Imperial Family members shared loose morals, especially over nudity. Moreover, only women were allowed in here. Three servants helped her change into a dark pink dress, with purple and golden embroidery in it. Cassandra wondered if this was a gift from the Emperor.
“If they wanted to kill you, they wouldn’t have sent such a petty threat. Not into the War God’s room. My son won’t die of something so insignificant. His Dragon blood wouldn’t even have felt the difference. That thing was directed at you, most likely.”
“Me? Why would someone want to scare me?”
“You’re the new one and the only concubine of the Third Prince. All the concubines around here like to play like children. They fool around like this all the time, testing each other, seeing who’s the stronger woman. But you’re not a child anymore. You’re a mother.”
Kareen turned to her, crossing her arms, while the servants were struggling to do her hair.
“It’s time you show those women you are not to be toyed around with. Not because you’re protected by Kairen, but on your own.”
Cassandra shook her head.
“I doubt I’m strong enough to scare them.”
“You don’t have to be strong, you have to be smart. And we both know how smart you really are, Cassandra. A
woman with your past and knowledge is the one they should be most scared of.”
She didn’t even have anything to reply to that. She took one step back, shaking her head. How? How could she prove to these women they shouldn’t mess with her? Her whole life, Cassandra had struggled to stay out of sight, unnoticed, but things were different now. She had no more room to hide and all eyes were on her.
Cassandra knew Kareen had simply voiced the truth, but it terrified her. Not all of those women were like Phetra, hut some still were.
Later that same day, Cassandra left Kareen’s apartments, holding a basket in her hands. She knew where to go, but she only lacked a bit of courage. It was still early, and she only crossed a few servants on her way out. She was relieved not to meet anyone from the Imperial Family.
She walked all the way to the outer gardens.
It was the same place that she had seen her former and last owner face a brutal death: the Gardens. The Concubines’ favorite resting place. It was rumored to be the most beautiful place in the Palace, but Cassandra couldn’t care for it.
Most of the Concubines were gathered there for their breakfast; those who weren’t accompanying their masters, anyway. They giggled and exchanged sweets and pleasantries, seemingly getting along with each other. Cassandra didn’t believe any of those interactions were real.
As soon as she entered the Gardens, all the women stopped talking, their eyes on her. Some were showing curiosity, others were defiant or hateful. Cassandra did her best not to betray her emotions and walk to the middle of the place with her basket.
“Did you get lost?” asked one of the concubines with a naughty tone.
“Shall we bow to her?”
“I’d rather drown in the lake than ever bow to a slave!”
Cassandra took a deep breath and put the basket down. Some of the concubines who had remained silent, frowned. What was she planning?
“You… Why are your hands this color?”
One of the young concubines was pointing at Cassandra’s blue fingertips and nails. Turning to the young woman, she showed it better, raising her hands to show them.
“This? I got a little infection. A wild snake ventured into my room last night.”
Most concubines knew this snake was probably not simply wandering on its own in her bedroom, but of course, they all remained silent. They either thought she was too stupid to realize, or too smart to say it out loud.
“Luckily, His Highness caught it,” said Cassandra. “But…this type of snake’s skin can be extremely dangerous when it’s an impregnated female. The scales contain some of its venom, only in smaller portions. Just touching it can provoke someone’s death within a few days.”
One of the concubines giggled.
“Are you going to die? With those blue fingers?”
“This? Oh, no. Luckily, since we caught the snake, I managed to make an antidote in time. It made my fingertips blue from crushing the scales to make a broth with some medical herbs. I was lucky, though. While it will kill instantly with a bite, if you touch its skin, most victims would die in their sleep within a few days. The poison spreads slowly through the finger’s crevasses, making them more and more tired until they won’t wake up.”
“This is ridiculous! I’ve never heard of such a way of dying!” said one of the other women.
“I’m not surprised, this is a rare snake,” said Cassandra. “Back where I come from, we call it the sleep thief. Because the victim will feel more and more sleepy until they can’t stop sleeping and slowly die in their sleep.”
The women started gossiping between themselves, wondering if it was true. Cassandra took the basket back and slowly walked over to one side, washing away her hands in the little river that crossed the garden. She did her best to ignore all the eyes on her. It was a bet, but she knew she could find the culprit this way if everything went according to her plan.
She wasn’t proud of it, but she knew she had to be a bit like Kareen. Unforgiving.