Word Count: 1824

~Akara

"We are going to get through this, okay?" Tai assures me steadily. "I'll see you on the other side."

A hole has gauged itself within my stomach, filled to the brim with cold, bitter doubt. The look Evolet gave me only a few moments ago was heavy with warning as she fills up the garage with everything they need. We are separating now, with Zavian and I going opting instead for a secret entry while they make their obvious entry to hopefully succeed in gaining all of Vaia's attention.

"I know. I'm just worried for you," I say. And I am. It doesn't matter what happened last night with Evolet and I in his room, I still care about him, still want to trust him. And yet I can't shake the burden weighing heavy on my shoulders, nearly crushing me.

I'll talk to him once we are back...

"You can trust Evolet. I trust her," I hear him say, breaking me from my chain of thought.

"I know she can get you out." At least that much is true. If she can get me out of Vaia's estate without a single trace, then I have no doubt she will be able to protect Tai. "But what if Vaia tries to kill you right from the moment she sees you?"

"Then Evolet will kill her," he says with a simple shrug, running his hands down my arms in an attempt to comfort me, but there's no chasing away the coldness, the darkness. I won't feel better until I see him again, safe, but even then...What will I have to say to him when we are reunited? Surely he will just laugh off my suspicion and open the small door in his work room, showing nothing is beyond Evolet's curious imagination.

I narrow my eyes. "Before or after you die?"

"Akara...It's okay," he sighs, glancing over his shoulder at Evolet, who impatiently taps her foot at the door of the carriage, cleaning her knife with a rusty rag. "I'm more worried about you. What if all the stress makes you start bleeding again?"

"Trust me, I'll be fine," I assure him tightly. Zavian, who lingers somewhere behind me, doesn't go anywhere without Tani blood.

"Once we are done with this, we find a cure. For both of us," he promises. "Just think of that if you're scared."

It doesn't make me feel better, but regardless, I fall into his arms, resting my head against his chest. With his arms around me, the feeling of fear doesn't even begin to erode, but at least for a moment I feel safe. And then it's gone, as he pulls away, kissing my forehead, and then each of my cheeks.

"I love you Tai..." I whisper, watching him back a few steps toward the carriage, eyes solemn, expression grim.

"I love you too," he murmurs, before closing the carriage door behind him.

***

Zavian and I rode in the carriage for less than an hour before we made it to the entrance of the underground tunnel system, which has essentially just been carved from the many Jade province caves that litter the area.

"How did I not know these were down here?" I question as we pick our way carefully through the mouth of the cave and deep underground, wincing as thick drips of ancient water splatters against my jacket as we walk. The last time I was in a cave like this, Tai nearly died, the emotions of that exact event lashing at me, but I can do nothing but push them away.

Now is not the time to break down.

"Tai trusted very few people," Zavian admits through a rushed breath, struggling across the uneven rock. His body, more frail than ever, is not equipit for such adventures as this, but there is no one else I trust to the same degree as him. "He may have been in love with you for a while, but he wasn't about to impart this information so easily."

I frown, hardly noting Zavian's need to flicker on his light to guide us, the light of day dimming to nothing more than a gentle haze, completely vanishing the more we walk. Tai has no reason to keep anything from me, including this, if he truly trusted me...I can't blame him for not. With Marek lurking, I can't blame him for not wanting to indulge me in anything high risk. And now Marek is gone, I'm here, aiding in a mission like I have been begging him to allow me in on for the past few months.

"Does anyone come down here?" I ask warily, shivering as an icy thrill dances through me. My breath puffs in front of me, the air thick, laden with dampness from this disturbing environment.

It's obvious it's man-made though, with walls forged clearly through the natural sediment and rock, the ceiling only just high enough for Zavian to not have to duck his head.

"Soldiers use it to move around," he explains. "Doesn't look like anyone has been down here in awhile though."

I dodge a particularly deep looking puddle with an inky surface. "Do you think all of Tai's army betrayed him?"

Tai was distraught earlier in the year when the rebellion first happened. Many of his men had stayed with Vaia, not caring for the ruler, and the cause. We half suspect many of them believed Vaia's rhetoric about the Forbidden river, so many greedy for power in these lands.

"A lot dispersed, I imagine, whereas the ones who needed the money, the shelter stayed here," Zavian half shrugs, nose scrunching up at the sight of a particularly thick clump of green sludge hanging off the wall, muddy coloured water dribbling down from it. "And some came to Kailor. But none recently enough to tell us Vaia's plans."

I exhale through my nose, an ache gathering in my chest. "You know a lot more than me."

"I think Tai is scared to involve you in this all. If you're involved, then you're in danger." I stare at Zavian's back, blinking slowly. Zavian is a far too good friend to both Tai and I, always taking the diplomatic option rather than siding with either of us. If it came down to it, though, I know he would always adhere to Tai's wishes, even if he and I share a unique friendship.

"I hate that," I grumble, trying not to lose my footing on the slippery ground.

Zavian doesn't respond for a long while, the silence stretching between us making me far too aware of our footsteps, or the faint drips splattering on the slick floor, and every so often on my head, making me growl lowly.

Eventually Zavian glances over to me. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay. How about you?"

"I'll be okay for a few more hours. We should be quick, though," he prompts, voice weighted with anxiety. If he's claustrophobic, I can't tell. Thankfully being raised in caves like this makes this trek easy. I just wish it wasn't accompanied by such a foul smell.

I fall into step right beside him. "Trust me, I don't want to be here anymore than you do."

For a few more hours, we do just that. Walk. Eventually my heels start to ache, my knees and hips on the verge of collapse from repeated walking on hard ground. I'm near the point of breaking when Zavian finally draws to a stop, motioning to a tight set of stairs that lead up into the rock.

"The camps are up this way," he affirms.

Swallowing, I follow. All we need to do is get one soldier and demand answers from them. If they don't know anything, we will have to go deeper, but Zavian and I are only armed to deal with a small diversion, not one involving many skilled soldiers.

However, as we emerge onto the surface, I'm made aware very quickly that my doubts don't matter.

The camp is empty.

The camp blends into the forest, tents set up atop moss carpeted floor, all with their flaps open, billowing in the wind. Fires set about are all dead cold, not so much as smoldering. From recent rain, belongings left strewn about are damp, kitchen items filled to the brim with dingy water. And the entire place smells rancid, the sweet yet foul scent making my stomach turn over.

"Woah," I half gasp. "Where is everyone?"

"I have no idea. It's empty," Zavian wanders, taking a few wary steps in, looking around. Usually a place like this would be bustling with soldiers, but yet the only thing here is us and an eerie wind that rustles my hair, sweeping some of the smell away with it.

"These tents haven't been lived in for weeks by the looks of it," I note grimly, stooping down to examine one. In it, a bed roll is strewn about haphazardly, odd bits of clothing rotting into the floor of the tent, some ravaged by animals.

"Don't come over here," Zavian announces, voice quivering. "There's a dead body."

Despite Zavian's warning, a wander over. "That's horrible...What's coming out of his mouth?"

It's a man, his head tilted back, brown eyes stuck open, drying and rotting in his head. His mouth is agape, a coloured liquid having dried against his stubble, looking like it was once foamy. His death looks days old, his body already well into its decomposition.

"It's blue," Zavian shivers, as distuburbed by the sight of a dead body as I am. He continues to closely examine it but I have to step away, battling nausea that rises up in my throat. "It could be from the river."

"Do you think they were all forced to drink from it?" I ask. Forced may be a strong word...Has Vaia gotten so desperate to try her supposed cure to the river's negative effects that she has had to coerce her own men? The thought of that disturbs me nearly as much as the mans rotting body only a few feet from me.

"Well, look who decided to show up," I hear from beside me.

I know the voice before I even turn around. And when I do, I'm faced with the familiar face of an old friend.

Jessa.

🖤••🖤

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 (:

Snapchat: midikacrane

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜