Word Count: 1984

Evolet hasn't said anything to me in the four hours we have been walking.

I've been staring at the back of her buzzed head, a million questions halted at my lips. I figure that if she hasn't started to explain herself to me, she isn't going to if I ask, so instead, I try to make sense of it in my own mind...

She must be working with Tai and Kailor. Where she has been over the past few months, I'm too scared to ask. She looks as though she has been to hell and back, her perfect appearance has vanished, leaving behind an almost unrecognisable shell of herself. I suppose going from being a wealthy, well cared for Noble to being banished from Kailor's estate in such a short period of time is no easy feat to overcome.

Evolet pauses, pulling back the machete she has been using to clear a path for us to walk through. I have no idea where we are. All I know is I'm exhausted and night has fallen, making it more difficult to figure out where Evolet has taken me.

At least I know we are still in the Jade Province.

"This is where I leave you." Evolet sheaths her machete, violet eyes near black in the shadows of the forest.

Looking through the dense forest, I see glittering lights in the distance, which means civilisation is close. After walking through the forest for so many hours, all I want to do is sink into a hot bath, every muscle in my body aching at this point. Evolet doesn't seem bothered, having kept up a brutal pace the entire time.

"Why?" I ask breathlessly, bracing myself on my knees.

"I don't need Tai to see me yet," she admits calmly, looking over her shoulder toward the lights. When she turns back to me, her expression is blank, eyes cold. "Good luck."

She starts to walk in the opposite direction, done with me. There is no way I'm letting her walk away from me without at least telling me why I'm worth saving to her. Has she been caught, I doubt Vaia would have had much mercy on her, even if they were past lovers. She hates her father and wants to get rid of anything involving him, including his Noble's I assume. Unless she can use them to her advantage, although I doubt Evolet would be easily manipulated.

"Wait...Evolet." I reach out to grab her wrist but she pulls it away quicker than I can even comprehend. "Why did you help me?"

Her gaze is blazing hot, pinning me to where I stand. "That will be revealed with time. Right now, you should worry about keeping a distance with Kailor and remaining on Tai's good side."

"Are you on your own?" I ask softly.

"I have my allies, but ultimately yes, I work alone." She doesn't sound as though she wants to be sharing that information with me. There is so much more to know, I realise, but right now I'm not going to find it out. I could stand here in the cold, under the canopy of the trees and beg her to tell me everything, to give me the answers to the questions that are going to keep me up at night, but I know it will be for nothing.

"Thank you...For saving me," I murmur.

Evolet pauses, looking me over with a sweeping glance before nodding tightly, disappearing into the trees.

I stare after her, hardly believing how this day has transpired.

Summoning a breath, I head into the trees, weaving through the trunks and stepping boldly over the undergrowth, my destination at the lights in the distance.

***

By the time I cross over Kailor's formal lawn and drag my feet toward the back door, I'm near the point of collapsing. I can't remember the last time I've eaten or had anything to drink, and at this point, my vision is starting to blur. All of the staff stare as I wander inside, trying to gather why I just walked in through the back door and into the staff quarters, looking as though I've crawled my way out of the forest, which I suppose is what I've done.

I find Tai in his father's office, the two of them talking so in depth they hardly notice me walk in.

Kailor looks at me first, dark eyes roaming over me, causing Tai to follow his gaze. His stern expression melts at the sight of me, the relief to see me so obvious on his face it's overwhelming.

"Akara..." he breathes, approaching me to envelope me in a hug, despite his father sitting behind us. "You're okay."

"I'm not injured, don't worry," I assure him, pulling away from the hug. Tai continues to clasp my arms, looking over me with an intense gaze, searching my body for injuries. I don't feel pain, but I can tell I didn't come out of that walk without some wounds. "Just a little scratched up from walking through the forest all night."

"How did you get out?" Kailor asks from behind Tai.

Tai steps aside so I can face his father. Kailor doesn't look overjoyed to see me like Tai, just curious, only wanting the information he can get out of me. I want to hate him for it, but I know there is no point. No matter what I give him, I will never be enough for his son, and I will never be good enough to be a Queen. I've accepted Kailor is never going to like me, so I've given up on wanting his approval.

"You won't believe me when I tell you." I rub my arms, cringing at the feeling of the sweat and dirt smeared over my skin. "It was Evolet."

Kailor freezes, all the colour vanishing from his face. I watch warily, his reaction surprisingly as he licks his lip, running his hand back through his hair in discomfort. Tai frowns, as if he can't quite believe it.

"As in Father's Noble?"

"Yes, she got me out of there alive," I explain, hoping he can shed some light on why that happened. Their confusion isn't helping, since I assumed they were all working together. Evolet confirmed she doesn't want Tai to see her yet, but did she mean speaking about her? Right now I trust Tai more than her, whether she saved me from Vaia's clutches or not.

"Fine...Did you learn anything valuable while you were there?" Kailor questions.

I want to push him on why he is dismissive of the fact about Evolet. I assumed she was dead, and thought Kailor believed that too. I get the feeling he knows more than he is willing to tell me. I just hope Tai isn't keeping anything from me either.

Tai reaches for my hand. "Father, Akara clearly needs some rest. She didn't sleep."

"You need to tell me while your memory is fresh," Kailor insists. I know he is right, even if I am exhausted.

"Vaia is trying to find a way for everyone to drink from the river without the consequence of death. She hasn't got it yet, but she is planning to find people she can test on," I explain, examining Tai and Kailor's reaction carefully. "I think she was going to test on me."

It's a terrifying thought...What if she had tested on me? The percentage chance of me dying is high if I drank from the river, and I have no faith in Vaia's cure. Although I get the feeling death would be far more merciful. I don't want to become some flesh eating Tani, even if there is a chance I'll become beautiful and powerful like a Summoner. Marek feels cursed with his mysterious power, and I imagine I would too.

"We would have never let that happen," Tai assures me firmly, the tension in his tone making me shiver. It scares me thinking about what Tai would have done to come save me had Evolet or Marek not done so.

"Interesting," Kailor mutters, tilting his head back and forth. "Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of right now," I admit.

There are plenty more details I can feed him about Marek and Evolet and Vaia, but that can wait until tomorrow. Right now I'm tired, desperate for a bath and a chance to sleep. My muscles ache just standing here.

"Akara, you need to rest." Tai grabs my arm, not taking no for an answer as he leads me from the room. I look back at Kailor, a myriad of emotions on display for him to see before I walk away, not wanting to think about how haunting he looks under his mellow office lights.

Tai leads me upstairs toward his room, not mine. We don't exchange any words, careful of the staff that linger nearby, greedy for any information, and at this point, any of them could be spies on behalf of Vaia.

The moment we step into his room, he launches into his speech. "You have no idea how much I've worried these past two days. I haven't slept..."

"I'm here now, and I'm okay. No one hurt me," I breathe carefully, standing before him with my hands in his. He really does look near distraught. I knew this would be hard on him, but not like this. It's clear he hasn't slept, the dark shadows playing under his eyes so dark and deep it makes my heart sink. He even looks sick, his skin sallow and lips pale.

"Was Marek there?" he asks softly.

"Yes." I clench my fingers tighter around him, wanting to be honest with him, but at the same time, I don't want to hurt his feelings. "He told me that although he sides with the rebel, he still cares about me."

That haunts me the most about the entire experience.

"That I don't doubt. And he didn't try to get you out?" He sits on the edge of the bed, looking as weak as I do. I stand between his legs, enjoying the feeling of his hands on my hips, the firm grasp already melting away a lot of the tension within me. This has been a hard few days.

"He would have the next day, I imagine," I reply simply. Would he have? He didn't get me out most of that day...

"Well, it went perfectly at least," Tai murmurs meekly, to which I smile. It did go well, even if it has left me with a lot more questions that I want answers to. I imagine I'll see Marek again soon, though.

"I'm just happy I'm back here with you, Tai," I admit honestly. If anything good came out of that experience, it's that I'm grateful I can come back here to someone I trust, someone I love and who I know loves me. The comfort here is like nothing I've experienced before, even when I was living in my home village. And it's all because of Tai.

Tai pulls me closer, resting his head against my stomach, allowing me to wrap my fingers in his curls. "I'm never letting you go again. I don't care for what reason."

I just hope he never has to.

💛••💛

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 💜🐼