Word Count: 2218

It only took Tai another week to find a way to get us into the Jade Province again.

I knew it was coming quickly, that he didn't want to waste time staying in the Golden Province. Yet this morning, when I was packing my small amount of belongings into our one shared bag, I felt sad knowing we may never return back here. At least not for awhile, until the threat of Vaia and the rebels is eliminated.

Staring out the window of the carriage, I watch the last of the Golden Province pass by. Tai sits opposite me. Despite the window extended to his side, he watches me.

"Marek won't follow us this time," he assures me.

"How sure are you?" I ask lowly, as I have my doubts. Will whoever has been following me chase us there as well? I have a feeling that this isn't something that is easy to escape from.

"Not sure, since it seems he's very much in love with you, and can't stay away from you," Tai admits with a shrug.

I watch him carefully, body swaying slightly which each pull of the carriage. There's a shift in his eyes each time Marek is mentioned, a darkness splaying over him, threatening to rapture through his calm facade. Tai doesn't even bother to hide the fact that he despises the idea that Marek could still be in love with me.

"I'm not in love with him Tai," I say, rather than bothering to argue back with him that he's wrong about that assumption. "I hope you know that."

He chews on the edge of his lip, thinking.

"I know. He was never good enough for you," he mutters, shrugging dismissively, although I know this is making him uncomfortable to talk about. "But if the rebels are waiting for us at the border, he will save you."

I'm not sure what frightens me more; rebels being there to intercept us, or Marek being there to save me. I'm not sure if Tai and I have the same idea of 'saving'. If I'm brought back to Vaia in any circumstance, I'm done, whether I have the hunter there to protect me or not.

"Is there a real chance of that? Of us being caught?" I ask, shivering despite the warm weather.

"They will be looking for us to sneak in here, not come in so boldly. I think we will be fine," Tai says, although he doesn't sound sure. It's not the safest bet, but it's all we have right now. Kailor has no idea we are coming, so we are completely on our own with this. Hopefully Marek doesn't even know...

"I wish I could be as confident as you," I sigh, resting my head back against the cushion. Tai is being optimistic since I can't. Right now, it seems too easy to just curl up into a ball and cry away all these problems.

Tai releases a long, steady breath. "You have an out in almost every situation."

"If by that you mean Marek, I would have to disagree," I tell him firmly. We still don't know what Marek's intentions with me are. "I don't trust him."


Tai doesn't look convinced, finally casting his gaze out the window instead of me. The burning light of the sun traces his skin, casting a pretty glow over his eyes. He really is undeniably beautiful. So much so it hurts.

"Perhaps after we reach my father you won't have to worry about seeing him again," he says.

I nod tiredly, wishing I could agree with him wholeheartedly. "We'll see."

***

We made it over the Golden Province border as the sun was setting, and into Kailor's territory with no issue before midnight.

The moment we crossed that border, Tai and I both shared a collective breath, knowing that Vaia surely wouldn't be foolish enough to follow us over. Knowing we wouldn't make it to Kailor's estate for another few hours, we decided on a small inn at the edge of the territory to spend the night.

Tai carries our bag into the building, not having give the receptionist so much as a glance before they set up our rooms. Being back in the Jade Province reminds me that Tai is a King, whether he rules here or his father does.

The inn here is small and quaint, reminding me a lot of the inn in the Azure Province that I worked at, with the red rug covering dark varnished wood and gaudy wallpaper.

"We will be safe here tonight, okay?" he says as he sifts through the bag in my room, pulling out some of his belongings.

I sit on the edge of the bed, watching him set his clothing neatly down beside him.

"I know," I breathe.

He stands, ducking slightly due to the low ceiling, curls hanging down around his eyes. The tension has eased from his shoulders slightly, knowing we made it safely over the border, and it is unlikely that we will be at any more risk here. I can feel it too, the fear bleeding away into nothingness. It leaves a cold, empty void in it's wake.

"Sleep well Akara," he says, giving me a departing nod before slipping out the door of my small room, closing the door tightly behind me.

I sigh, letting the silence glide over me.

I wish I told him to stay, to talk to me some more to chase away that dark feeling of loneliness. He would have, had I opened my mouth, even if both him and I are exhausted. He would have sat up with me until I fell asleep first, just to ensure I could get a good rest.

Instead of going out into the hallway to knock on his door, I pick up the bag and fumble through it for my own clothing, wishing I had the confidence to approach Tai again, even at this hour.

My hands brush against something hard in a side pocket of the bag. Frowning, I dig until I pull it out, realising what I'm holding.

Tai's diary.

I hesitate, staring down at the leather-bound book in my hand. I've seen this before, when I once rifled through his drawers. Back then, I couldn't care less what his personal thoughts were, but now the burning curiosity to know what is going through his head expands within me.

This is dangerously tempting.

Shaking my head, I discard on the bedside table, crawling back onto the bed. Staring down at the green and white quilt, I attempt to distract myself with a loose thread, until suddenly I can't take it anymore.

Silently cursing myself, I grab the diary, flipping it open at the middle. Pages upon pages are filled with sloped, uneven wiring, clearly done while rushed. Squinting, I attempt to read a few paragraphs, knowing I'm doing something so terrible wrong.

Most simply detail the events as they have transpired, with little having much to do with Tai's personal thoughts. Breathing out slowly, I turn the pages, gaze gliding along the sentences to gauge how Tai has been handling this situation. It's wrong to presume he's struggling, but if he is, I want to know.

My breath halts at my lips as I stare down at the words, trying to make sense of them. This part is about me.

'Everything has been harder lately.

Akara and I have made it to the Golden Province, and my feelings only haunt me at a far deeper level. I look at her and I feel like I could collapse, like I may no longer have the strength to pretend I'm okay just being her friend.

She doesn't deserve this, though. She doesn't deserve to shoulder my feelings, to act as though she cares about me as much as I care about her. She's still recovering from what he did to her.

She doesn't, and I've accepted that.

At this point, I can't tell if she laughs off my advances out of fear that she may feel something back, or that she truly doesn't desire me. Knowing it's the latter hurts. I hate myself for not being able to tell her, yet I would hate myself more for ruining this fragile thing we have...

But I don't know how much longer I can resist her.'

I set the diary down, letting the pages flutter closed. For one still moment, my mind is empty, anticipating the flood of emotions to accompany the words that still sink in. Yet the emotions don't come as I expect them too.

Everything feels clear, simple. There's only one way for me to deal with this, I realise.

Getting up, I rest the diary carefully on the bed before stalking out the door, checking to ensure no other patrons wander about the hallway. I don't bother knocking on Tai's door, cracking it open to glance in.

He's dressed in his bed clothes - a cotton shirt and loose pants - standing by the edge of his bed, drinking from a glass of water.

"Akara, is everything okay?" he asks, setting his glass down, green eyes sweeping over me uneasily.

I'm not sure what is compelling me in this moment.

Without a word, I step forward, advancing on him with a new sense of purpose. He doesn't react, a concerned frown etched between his brows until I grab his shoulders, drawing him down to kiss me.

The moment his lips meet mine, the whole world seems to freeze.

He's still beneath my hands for a long moment, my lips pressed to his, as if he can hardly gather why this is happening. That is until he finally relaxes beneath my grip. His hands come up to hold either side of my face, lips responding to mine with such an intensity I stumble back a step, bracing my hands on his broad chest.

His taste, his scent are intoxicating, his tongue delving sweetly into my mouth, my skin heating in response. His hands are firm on my face, thumbs pressing below my jawline while my fingers delve into his hair, touching the silken curls I've admired for so long.

Every thought vanishes from my mind as Tai steps between my legs, guiding me back until my back hits the wall. I hardly notice as he braces his hands on either side of my head.

This is his unleashing, I realise, the way he kisses me fuelled by overwhelming emotion and desire. I can't get enough of him either, running my hands down his face, shoulders and to his chest, gripping his shirt tightly.

His hand slides around my waist, touching my bare skin beneath my sweater, pulling me against his body, the hard planes of muscle I can feel beneath his clothing drawing delightful amounts of pleasure from my body.

I gasp as Tai's mouth falls from mine, gliding down my jaw to my neck, leaving a burning hot feeling in it's wake. My head tilts back, eyes fluttering shut as he kisses my skin, teeth lightly scraping along the surface.

I'm not sure where I want this to go, I just know I don't want it to stop.

My fingers play at the edge of the Tai's shirt, wanting it off. In fact, I want all of his clothing off, to feel his bare skin on mine. Yet before I have a chance, Tai raises his head to be level with mine, kissing me once more, far too briefly, before focusing his gaze on mine.

I'm breathless. I can feel how swollen my lips are, how flushed my cheeks. Tai's eyes are slightly glazed over, curls mussed from my hands raking through them, and unfortunately still wearing his shirt.

"I don't want to push you," he murmurs, slightly breathlessly.

I swallow, trying to regain my composure. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one who came onto you."

He smiles softly, thumb brushing my cheek tenderly. I'm not sure how we went from burning passion a moment ago to looking lovingly at each other. For the first time in the past couple months, he looks completely stress free.

"I am so happy I am that you did that," he murmurs. "You have no idea how long I've wanted to do that."

I don't dare ask him what else he desires, instead keeping my smile innocent enough. Because right now, I'm happy, and I don't want to ruin that.

💗••💗

Hey guys! I wanna apologise quickly for slow updates. I'm in the middle of end of year law school exams, but in a week I'll be done and I plan on writing full time over NZ summer!

That means more updates (: Have a good day!

💗••💗

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 💜🐼