King of Slaves (Jenna's Story) (The Slave Series Book 5) (30 page)

CHAPTER 27

Prayers

Jenna

“Who do you pray to?” Jenna asked Zurry, who sat with his head bowed and his hands folded. They had been given a private room to wait in, which had also offered Zurry the privacy needed to make calls to the palace.

Now, at one in the morning, they were impatiently waiting to hear news from the doctors.

“What do you mean?” he asked and looked up. “I pray to God, of course.”

“But didn’t Kioni ban the worship of the Masi god? So which god do you pray to?”

Zurry looked up at the clock. “They’ve been operating for almost three hours… do you think that’s a bad sign?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly and got up to stretch her legs.

“I pray to all gods…” Zurry told her in a breathy sigh, answering her question from before. “Any god who might hear me and have the power to save Kop’s life is the right god in my book. I don’t care about their names.” 

She stopped and looked at him. “Tell me again how you found us.” 

He spread out his hands. “As I said, I was informed that Kop had canceled your chauffeur for the night, so I worried something bad had happened between you and wanted to make sure he was fine… especially since I gave him a pretty hard time in the gym today. When I realized he wasn’t in the palace I checked with the guards and was told you had left the palace with one passenger and no security. Then I knew.”

“But how did you know where we were?”

“I know the cabin well – we’ve been fishing there plenty of times, and Kop mentioned he wanted to take you there. I’m just sorry I didn’t get there sooner.”

A soft knock on the door was followed by the appearance of a white-coated man with a grim expression.

Zurry pushed up from his chair and came to stand next to Jenna. For a few minutes the two men spoke in Spiri, and it was killing Jenna not to know what they said.

When the man left, Zurry turned to her.

“What did he say?” she asked impatiently.

“Kioni is still in critical condition. The bullet hit him in his chest and punctured his left lung. They are working on removing the bullet and stopping the bleeding, but it’s close to his heart and there’s been complications.”

“What kind of complications?”

“I don’t know, it was just a short update.”

Jenna sank down in a chair with a deep pained sigh.

“Did I tell you Kio was on his knees, asking me to marry him, when we were attacked?”

Zurry sat down next to her and took her hand. “Kop loves you, Jenna, at least you know that.”

“Yes… but I never got to give him my answer and now he might die, not knowing that I love him too.”

Zurry looked down. “I’m sorry, Jenna. All we can do now is pray and hope.”

Jenna dried away tears from her eyes and sat quietly with her own thoughts for a while before Zurry interrupted with a question.

“Are you sure you don’t know anything about the man who attacked you?”

He had asked her earlier, but she had been in shock and unable to remember. Now, however, she did recall.

“Kioni told me the man had been a slave at the palace and that he had recognized the car and knew who Kioni was. Maybe he lived in the woods… he looked homeless.”

“But why did he attack – did he give a reason?”

“I think he wanted revenge. Something about making Kioni suffer like he had when his girlfriend had been taken by the king’s soldiers; that’s why he wanted to rape me.   

“Slaves don’t have girlfriends,” Zurry said suspiciously.

“I wouldn’t know anything about that, but if two people love each other, it doesn’t really matter what status you give them, does it? Do you think it’s true that she was forced to sleep with the soldiers?”

Zurry looked away.

“Answer the question, Zurry.”

“Yes… it’s very likely,” he snapped.

“But I don’t understand. Your pleasers aren’t slaves; they are young women from the upper class.”

“That’s different, Jenna. We are men of status and women are drawn to our power. Before the ban on slavery, it was common practice for soldiers to use slaves to get sexual release. Today they visit whorehouses where many of the same women work for scraps.”

“That’s horrible,” Jenna exclaimed. 

Zurry shrugged. “I’m pretty sure Chicago has brothels too.”

“Did you own slaves?” She could hear the blame in her own voice but didn’t try to soften the question.

Zurry’s jaw tensed. “So what if I did? Everyone did, Jenna.”

“That doesn’t make it right.”

“And that is why Kioni banned it, but judging us for having slaves is like judging Americans for circumcising your boys.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

He gave an annoyed shrug. “People do stupid things without considering why. It’s just how it is… a cultural norm that your parents passed on to you.”

“Of course we drink Coca Cola – and why wouldn’t we circumcise our boys, it’s cleaner that way.”

He crossed his arms and leaned back in his seat. “Are you saying your men don’t have access to soap and water?”

“No, of course not.” Jenna frowned.

Zurry spoke again. “We don’t circumcise our boys, nor do people in Europe and many other parts of the world.”

“Some do…” she interjected.

“Sure, if they are Muslims or Jews, but then it’s for religious reasons… that’s different. Men in America in most cases didn’t even get a choice.”

Jenna crossed her arms too. She had never thought much about it. “I think American men prefer it that way.”

He scoffed. “You honestly think your men prefer to have reduced sensitivity and pleasure?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t see how it even correlates with you guys having slaves.”

“You point a finger at me for having had slaves, and I’m trying to explain to you that when you grow up in a culture where things are done a certain way, you just accept them.”

“Until someone challenges that custom.” Jenna pointed out.

“Yes, exactly. So do you even know why Americans started circumcising their boys?”

“Why do you keep changing the subject, Zurry…? I don’t want to hear about circumcision, okay?”

“No, you would much rather talk about how awful and primitive my people are.”

Jenna sighed. “Look, we are both stressed out here. I’m not saying my culture is perfect but I think you can agree that you have some pretty messed-up cultural norms.”

Zurry leaned forward and spoke softly. “Do you remember the time Kioni gave your back your vibrator?”

She narrowed her eyes. “You just had to bring that up.”

“You’re a modern woman who believes in your right to masturbate, right?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“My point exactly. It’s your business if you want to masturbate, and only yours.”

Jenna took a deep breath. “You lost me…”

“One of the reasons Americans started circumcising your boys was to prevent them from sinful masturbation, but now that you are all so educated and agree that it’s natural to masturbate, why do you keep mutilating your boys?”

“We don’t mutilate them, and we certainly don’t do it to make them avoid masturbation. That’s just silly.”

Zurry shrugged. “So you say. Well, to be honest, I don’t know how slavery started here, or when the practice of human sacrifices began either, except it was hundreds of a years ago. Culture is a funny thing like that.”

“Well, I’m glad Kioni banned the practices – they were barbaric and wrong,” Jenna concluded.

“I agree, just as slavery in the US was barbaric and wrong.”

“Oh, don’t you even go there.” Jenna hissed at him. “I’m done with you insulting my country. We fought a bloody war and lost thousands of our finest men to set our slaves free.”

He nodded. “So did we.”

Jenna looked away… tears welled up in her eyes. “Look at us, bickering over cultural differences when Kio is fighting for his life.”

Zurry drew a deep sigh and got up. “You’re right, I apologize. I’ll find a doctor and get an update… stay here and get some rest.”

Jenna looked around the hospital room. She didn’t think she would be able to sleep but she went to the couch and lay down anyway, feeling exhausted and miserable.

Jenna

“Wake up, Jenna.”

It took Jenna a while to break free from her dream and open her eyes, but then she remembered.

Kioni… danger… hospital…

Her eyes flew open to find Zurry towering over her, looking worn out, with stubble and dark eyes.

“Is Kio okay?” she exclaimed.

He nodded. “Yes, he just woke up; you’ve been sleeping for seven hours.”

She sat up and slung her legs over the bed to get out when Zurry put a hand on her shoulder and kept her in place.

“He doesn’t want to see you.”

Jenna blinked, unable to fathom the words he had just said.

“That’s not even funny, Zurry. Move away.”

Zurry didn’t budge. “Kioni woke half an hour ago and was able to communicate with me through text. He has a tube down his throat, so he can’t talk.”

“What did he write?” Jenna managed to ask.

“His first question was if you were okay.” Zurry gave her a reassuring smile. “He probably doesn’t want me to tell you this, but tears were running down his cheeks when I told him that you had been saved before you got raped and that you were sleeping in the next room.”

“Let me go to him, right now,” she insisted and dried her own tears away.

“Jenna… you don’t understand, it’s not that he doesn’t want to see you, it’s that he doesn’t want you to see him so helpless and hooked to a tube. It’s his pride.”

“Screw his pride, I want to tell him that I love him.”

“And you can… as soon as he feels better. But right now you need to respect that he doesn’t want to be seen in such a weak condition by the woman he wants to impress.”

Jenna looked down. “I understand.”

Zurry sighed relieved. “Thank you. I feared I would have to fight with you about this too.”

“I’ll just go back to the palace and focus on my work.”

Zurry tilted his head and narrowed his eyes a bit. “Really?”

“I could use a shower and some clean clothes, but you will let him know that I wanted to see him – and as soon as he gets the tube out and can talk, you will have him call me.” 

“You have my word.”

“All right.” Jenna got down from the bed and put on her shoes. “Did they say how long he has to stay here?”

“Not long. They are hoping to remove the tube tomorrow and transfer him back to the palace in a few days. He will have to stay in bed for a while, though.”

“All right.” Jenna opened the door. “What about you, shouldn’t you get some sleep?”

“Yes, Kop’s mother is on her way. She has a weak heart so I didn’t tell her until he was stable, but I just called her to let her know he’s awake, and she’ll be coming soon. Until then I’m staying here. Our people are working on keeping the press updated, and I have a car waiting by the back entrance so you can get back to the palace without starting rumors. I don’t want to explain why you and the king were at a cabin without any security, so officially he was alone. Okay?”

Jenna nodded. “Keep me posted, please.”

“Of course.”

With Zurry appeased that she would be a good girl and go back to the palace, Jenna walked into the corridor and didn’t bother holding the door for Zurry. He had said Kio was in a room next door, and it wasn’t hard to guess it was the one with the guard outside. Jenna calmly walked the seven steps to the man and said, “Zurry needs you.”

“Zurry?” the young man asked, clearly aware that Zurry had gone into the room she had just exited. He only made it three steps before Zurry came out and told him to stop, but it was time enough for Jenna to get through the door and into Kioni’s hospital room.