Word Count: 2290

It only took a few more days for me to find a job.

I've settled on the first place to agree to have me. Now, I'm officially a waitress, which ensures I see more faces than I am comfortable with, but if I'm kind enough, I can walk away with a good sum of money.

The only other downside is that I finish late at night, which means walking myself home in the dark, where everyone I pass by holds a suspicious air about them. That's what paranoia has done to me.

With my money tucked safely in my jacket, I walk home from an especially hard day at work.

The air is thick and balmy, heat gliding over my senses as I stroll beneath the lamplights. I can't get over how pretty this village is. It's simple in its architecture, yet so pleasing, everything having a purpose, right down to the sandstone streets. Tonight it's quiet, allowing me to bathe in the sounds of the sea in the distance.

Cutting down a side street and onto a main one, I clamber to remember which way home is. Usually I just follow the sounds of the sea, yet once I'm in the centre of this village, it's harder to navigate.

The sound of footsteps draw me from my peaceful delve into my own thoughts.

Glancing over my shoulder, I see someone else on the path behind me. Immediately my heart launches into an unhealthy pace, as I quicken my steps. It's not abnormal for anyone else to be wandering through the streets at this hour, yet my mind jumps to the worst conclusion possible.

I'm being followed. I'm going to finally be taken back to Vaia. It's Marek and he's here to kill me, done taunting me.

Looking behind me again, I imprint the appearance of the stranger following me into my mind. Their stature is large, shoulders broad with well muscled arms. Even in the darkness I can decipher their obviously Jade Province features, although that doesn't tell me much. All I know is that their gaze is trained on me, the collar of their jacket pulled up around their neck.

All of a sudden, a hand grabs my forearm, tugging me toward them. My senses buzz as darkness shrouds me. The echo of footsteps suggest I'm in a hallway as I brace myself on the walls that are suddenly around me, stumbling along with person tugging on me.

Before I manage a shout of protest, a few quick words hush me. "Quick, in here."

The familiarity of the voice floods me with dread. With another firm tug, I'm pulled into a small room and pressed against a wall. When my hands push out to either side of me, I feel the small, closet like space.

The light flickers on, revealing Marek standing right in front of me.

We are, in fact, pressed into a closet, Marek's back pressed against the door while mine is prodded by shelves laden with linen and cleaning supplies. I'm not sure what building I've been pulled into - all I know is the man standing before me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I hiss, pressing myself tightly against the shelves, ignoring the pain that lances through me in response. Due to the small space, there is only inches between Marek and I, the heat of his body flooding me, his cinnamon and pine scent invading my senses.

"Saving you," he responds, tilting his head keenly as if to hear through the door. "Someone was following you."

I knew it.

"Who?" I ask hastily, blood chilling at both being followed, and being in this room with Marek.

He looks slightly different to when I saw him in the Azure Province. The heat of the Golden Province has allowed more colour to grace his cheeks, the slightest sheen of sweat on his forehead making his silvery blue marking glimmer like the facets of a gem. The more I stare, the more frightening he appears, the shadows that quiver from the hanging light above playing on the sharp structure of his face.

"Someone who I doubt has the best intentions," he mutters, head tilting forward slightly in a way that sends his bronze strands raining down to his eyebrows, mussed and unkempt as if he's spent hours running his hands through it.

"How did you find me?"

"Are you really asking me that, Akara?" he questions, raising a single eyebrow. My breath hitches slightly, wondering if he has been on our trail since we left. "Someone was following you."

"You were following me. And I'm more scared of you than anyone else," I say without thinking. I'm not sure how true it is - all I know is that standing at such close proximity to him is unnerving.

He leans forward, resting his hands on either side of me, the wood shelves groaning softly under the weight of his grip. I freeze, his face so close I can feel his breath brushing against my lips.

"You don't mean that," he provoked, gaze unflinching, leaving me to compare how similar the qualities of his blue irises are to the frozen over lakes in the Azure Province.

Before my fear can escalate, I go to brush past him. "I'm leaving."

His arms don't budge from their rigid position, trapping me in. There's an uncompromising will in his eyes as he slowly shakes his head at me, the fear within me now turning to anger.

"Akara, don't," he mutters calmly. "We need to wait at least a few moments for them to lose track of you."

"And suddenly you're my protector," I growl flatly. There's a tightness in my tone, one threatening to let the past anger rise up to replace the current one. It bothers me that he is here right now, acting as though he is my saviour when I am in this position because of him.

And the way he speaks to me...As if I should trust him.

"Someone has to do it."

"I told you to stay away from me. If you truly mean me no harm, then stay out of my life," I hiss.

Marek doesn't desire my death, at least right now. That he has made clear, even if this is all an act. For all I know, he could have dragged me away from another rebel, just to gain my trust. I'm not going to be foolish this time...I'm not going to fall for any of it.

"I didn't exactly plan on us meeting like this again," he indulges, a coldness creeping into his eyes. Instead he just planned to watch from a distance, no doubt. Letting that thought consume me hollows out a spot in my stomach, filling it with uncomfortable worry.

"Are you not working for the rebels?" I ask breathlessly.

"I don't work for anyone," he replies, before hesitating. "But I do align with the rebels."

That hits me square in the chest again. Hearing it makes it real, more confronting than it was before. The weight of the fact that we are running not only from a highly skilled hunter, but also a band of rebels settles firmly on my shoulders.

The Marek I knew, that was soft and caring with me, would never have believed a word of the rebels rhetoric. What changed? What motivated him to see their preaching as the truth, enough to betray me?

"Why did you do all this? What happened to the Marek I knew?" I ask breathlessly.

"I told you, they have very compelling interests," he says, pinning with his gaze. I shift uncomfortably, trying not to wince as the hard planes of his body brush against mine, eliciting memories of that night in the barn, or in my room after Tai's party...So much has changed since then.

I can't help but wonder what is so compelling about what Vaia proposed to him. I'm still not sure when he turned against Tai and I, although it had to have been close to the time of the wedding. Did she promise to have his powers removed, or does he want more from the Forbidden River? I have so many questions that he isn't going to indulge me with answers from.

"Whoever was following me has been doing so for the past few days," I admit, thinking back to the moment when I was walking home in broad daylight and I swear someone was trailing me. The day after I felt uncomfortably watched, even as I was dwelling on the beach.

"Just try to stay home. Let Tai work, not you," Marek demands, the tone of his voice deep and firm.

"They looked like they were from the Jade province," I tell him, ignoring his suggestion. Tai and I both need to work so we can get out of here, but there's no way I'm going to divulge that to him. "Are they a part of your rebel group?"

He hesitates, brows furrowing slightly. He decides against sharing that with me, opting instead of lean imperceptibly closer to me, knowing that the limited space between us wipes all thoughts from my mind as I struggle to focus.

"Just promise me you'll stay safe, Akara," he murmurs, warm breath gliding across my skin. "It's dangerous for us to keep meeting."

"Then stop following me," I hiss, gritting my teeth to the point it hurts.

"I have to follow you Akara. Tai is doing a terrible job of looking after you," he replies, shaking his head slowly.

I release a long breath as he pushes himself up from where he had been bracing himself against the shelves, putting a small amount more space between us. The impact of his scent still strikes me, still has most rational thoughts seeping out of my head. I don't understand why he's still capable of making me feel that.

"I can look after myself," I growl under my breath, straightening my jacket. Marek rests his head against the door for a moment, listening for any movement outside. Not once does he remove his gaze from mine.

"Then hide. That's all you can do right now," he instructs.

I fight the urge to roll my eyes. As he opens the door a crack, peering outside of it for any signs of life, I get the feeling this conversation is over. Yet I don't want it to be. I want more information, and at the same time, I want this to be over. I've been thinking of how that may be, pulling dark thoughts away from me as much as possible, yet the urge to confide in Marek is suddenly overwhelming.

Reaching out, I grasp his forearm, feeling the hidden strength beneath. "Marek..."

He pauses, looking back at me, a coldness in his eyes that haunts me. I can't tell if it's directed at me, or if he's had that since he no longer had to impress me. It's as if he's summoned an unfamiliar mask to permanently take residence on his handsome face.

"If this is how it's going to be, then you should end it now," I tell him firmly, even if my voice shudders. I don't know how much I mean that, yet I know for certain that there are so many aspects of my life that a fear will come to fruition if we can no longer keep running.

I know I would rather Marek killed me here, than prolonged my death.

He flinches, momentarily startled before an icy streak of anger touches his expression. The door breezes closed again as he faces me.

"Why would you say that?"

"I can't have Vaia torture me to death, or watch her do it to Tai," I tell him. Part of this is to scope out his intentions with me, whether he truly wishes me dead. If he does, maybe all I can do is give myself over to that. Clearly running from him is not the answer.

Marek's entire stature is tense as he regards me as if my words elicited anger that's near impossible for him to quell. "If there is anything I am certain of, it's that Vaia is not going to hurt you. I won't let that happen."

I release a long, slow breath. "Why not?"

His lips part slightly, blinks once, twice. Why is he hesitating?

"It doesn't benefit me," is all he says after a long moment.

I'm wondering what does benefit him about all of this. What worth do I have to him being alive? Considering it haunts my mind with dark, dangerous thoughts. Or does he want me alive because he still cares about me? That's an even more dangerous thought.

He turns to leave, but before he does, look at me one last time.

"Don't go uttering such nonsense to Taius about self-sacrifice.. I don't want him considering it, however merciful he may think he's being," is all he says, before disappearing, leaving me standing in the closet, unsure of what to feel.

All I know right now is that there's truly no escaping Marek, both physically, and mentally.

💚••💚

If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S SEDUCTION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

You'll will find it under KING'S POSSESSION on Radish, as season 2!

🌵••🌵

I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! It will be following the same storyline with the same characters, but with revised scenes and some new ones!

I love Jasper's story so much that I wanted to go back and rewrite it. I hope you guys will enjoy it, you can find it now on Radish (:

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~Midika 💜🐼