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Word Count: 1804

~Akara

Nurses, not accompanied by Tai, helped me back up to my room. There's not much they can do for me, but with a few remnants of Tani blood, I've been able to get myself to a point where the pain has gone away and I don't feel as though I'm going to throw up at every second.

A knock sounds through the room, rousing me from my partial rest.

The door opens a crack, Tai looking through. I smile weakly at him, knowing that so much has transpired since I last saw him. I can't bring myself to be upset at him, not considering I'm on the verge of dying at every moment. I should be mad, I should yell at him and tell him he is the reason I threw up blood in the first place, and he should have known stress could do that to me. It won't help either of us though, and I know that.

"I apologise for not coming earlier," he murmurs softly, closing the door behind him. He looks exhausted, dark circles crowded under his emerald eyes. "Marek has escaped."

I push myself up into a sitting position."Of damn course."

I'm conflicted on how I should feel about Marek. Part of me wants to be upset that he escaped, for Tai's sake, but I'm actually not. Marek wouldn't have left until I told him to. He would have stayed with me to make sure I was okay, even if it meant sacrificing himself.

"But Kailor found Nesrin wandering around in a nearby village. She has been brought in," he notes grimly, coming to sit on the edge of the bed beside me, an unnerving amount of space between us? He must be worried I'm upset at him still.

"For questioning?"

"Interrogation." He rubs the back of his neck, looking uncomfortable. "She's been locked up."

He doesn't look happy about that, so I don't feel guilty for not wanting that. Nesrin may be known to be working with Vaia, but if she is brought in, it's likely she is going to deal with kailor's wrath, and he isn't going to be as merciful as Kailor. Even though it's not what I want, for anyone else to get hurt, Kailor isn't going to listen to me.

"Tai this isn't right," I whisper quietly, voice shaking. Tai may love me, but I could beg him to end everyone's suffering right now, and he wouldn't. He's a King, and he has a role to play in getting his territory back, no matter the cost.

He furrows his brows. "But we need to. You know that."

"What is she saying?" I ask him. I would go see her, but I would only make things worse. Nesrin is going to be Kailor's problem, since she was his Noble and he knows more about her than anyone else, which means she is going to be in the most amount of danger.

"Not much," he sighs. Him and I both know that the less she says, the more danger she is in of being tortured and eventually killed by Kailor.. "She's as hard to crack as him."

"This really isn't good," I whisper, looking down at my hands. I want it to end, all of this. I haven't even had a chance to think about what Tai and I's life could look like beyond all of this. Would we even get along spending more time together, living alone without all this on our backs? He spends most of his time in his office with his father these days...

He slides closer, but makes no move to touch me. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. The drugs the nurses have me really have helped," I smile weakly. I'll tell him that it's Tani blood keeping me alive soon. Right now, it will just be another issue he has to shoulder, and he will kill Zavian for supplying it to me.

"I'm really worried about you," he breathes. Concern and fear flood his eyes. At least that is real, I can tell. When we were in that room with Marek, with the hot bar in his hand, I couldn't tell if his emotions were real. "I can hardly believe that happened."

I clench my jaw, wishing I didn't have to bring it up, but it's going to plague me otherwise. "You were going to hurt me."

"You know I would never. I knew he would cave in," he assures me. He's right, and I should be convinced of that. But the words Marek growled in my ear have curled up inside me, leaving me with an unsettling feeling of doubt in my stomach. What had Marek not stepped in and demanded he stop? Would Tai really have allowed himself to look so weak in front of the Hunter and not hurt me?

"And had he not?"

His gaze flickers. "Do you not trust me?"

"Of course Tai," I shake my head, as if all my doubt and poisonous thoughts would just go away. I reach for his hand, but it's cold, fingers stiff in mine, reluctant to grasp back. "I'm sorry, I'm just shaken up from seeing Marek again."

"What bothers you so much about that? About seeing him?" he questions. His tone is soft, thankfully not accusatory. He wouldn't take it well if I said that I have a connection to Marek that is beyond reasonable words. It's one I hate myself for, but I'm sick of pretending it isn't affecting the way I'm living my life.

"That's too much to unpack right now," I mutter, running a hand back through my hair, Tai finally wrapping his fingers around mine. He's shaking slightly....He was worried about my reaction.

He stands, letting my hand fall from his, shoving his hands in his pockets. I frown, upset at him wanting to leave so quickly. He threatened to seriously harm me to scare Marek, and now he is willing to walk away like it was nothing? A chasm opens up within me, filling with darkness and worry.

His jaw tenses. "Maybe you should rest."

"You're leaving?" I reach out to him, wishing he could see that I was in so much pain only an hour earlier, and want him to stay here with me, even if he is busy. "I need a distraction right."

"I have a lot to get to that's time sensitive," he comments, glancing toward the door as if Kailor may walk in and demand he deal with Nesrin instead. If he does, I may not see him for the rest of the day, or maybe even the rest of the week. He has duties to attend to as King, but right now I need him. Marek's words shook me up enough to spark a moment of insecurity within me, and I need him to quell it.

I try my best to look hopeful. "Please, Tai."

"Alright," he sighs reluctantly, to which I smile broadly. He circles the bed, coming to sit beside me in it. I lay my head back against his shoulder, listening to the sound of his heart pattering in his ribcage. "How could I ever get you out of my head? How could I ever forget how beautiful you are?"

I look up at him, the tentativeness of his words, how sweet and honest they are has all my worries washing away, even if it's just for a moment. His emerald eyes are duller than usual today, likely from the stress, dark hair hanging down his forehead. He brushes my hair back, staring down at me.

"I hope I'm never out of your head," I joke, nudging him in the side playfully.

"Never," he murmurs.

There is something about the way he is pressed against me right now, the way he looks down at me like he truly loves me, that has me wanting him more than ever. "Kiss me."

"Maybe that isn't a good idea," he comments, furrowing his brows, although he doesn't make any move to pull away. Instead, his eyes drift to my lips, as if he is considering it, but against his better judgment he stops himself. Is it because he thinks I'm injured and too fragile?

"I'm perfectly okay Tai," I assure him.

He shakes his head. "Akara...Seriously."

I look up at him, not wanting to push him, although I can tell he's moments away from changing his mind about whatever is holding him back.

Sure enough, as if a leash within him has come untethered, he grasps my chin and draws his lips to mine. I melt into the feeling, having missed this kind of intimacy with him since he has been so vacant. And it feels so right, so familiar and soft. I want to wrap myself around him, keep him here against me forever.

However he pulls away, staring into my eyes for a long moment.

"Okay, I should be leaving now," he breathes, pushing himself away from me into a standing position, looking as if he is afraid of what he may do if he stays here a moment longer.

"Ugh, fine," I sigh, wishing I could convince him to stay longer, even though I'm aware that will be virtually impossible."Will I see you later?"

"I care so much about you, Akara," he murmurs, lingering at the door. "Goodbye."

He closes the door behind him, not giving me a chance to say goodbye also.

Settling back against my pillow, I let the thought of Tai linger in my mind a moment longer. I truly am in love with him, even if he seemed reluctant to kiss me...And hold my hand.

My eyes widen as I sit up. His hands were freezing even though he wasn't wearing his rings, and he was reluctant to see me, almost like being near me made him nervous. Did he have a chance to take them off? And now that I think about it, he called Kailor by his name, instead of father.

Dread trickles down my body, turning it ice cold, my fingers reaching up to touch my lips. That wasn't Tai.

That was Marek.

🤍••🤍

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 💜