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As night has fallen, Marek has left me with guards outside my door, not telling me much about what he intends to do from now.

At this point, I'm incessantly pacing through the room, checking to find the window is locked - it's not as if it would be worth it to escape now anyway, not with the guards swarming the grounds. I need information to go back with anyway, otherwise this black eye isn't going to be worth it.

But how am I going to get information when I'm stuck in here?"

I pause in the centre of the room, hearing the sound of hushed voices outside my door. Narrowing my eyes, I stalk closer, leaning against the door until my ear is pressed against the thick wood. Beyond, what sounds like two guards are talking between each other.

"Don't," a light voice proclaims, sounding awfully close to the door. Pulling away, I take a deep breath, worried one of them is going to step inside any moment now.

The other voice is deeper, rougher, coming faintly through the door. "Come on."

When the door doesn't open, I press my ear back to the door. "I have a family to protect man, I can't the Hunter killing them, and then me."

"He wouldn't," the deeper voice mutters irritably.

They are fighting over whether they should come into my room or not. I bristle, wondering whether they plan to kill me. My gaze drifts over the room, looking for anything that I can use to protect myself from them. There isn't much, so I'm going to have to rely on my own words to dissuade them.

"He threatened me," the lighter voices notes, and even through the door, I swear I can hear his voice shakes. So Marek has already warned them to stay away from me then. "I've seen him fight, I'm not taking that risk."

"Why does he care so much?" the other questions irritability.

"I don't know, but Vaia isn't going to be happy," the lighter voice mutters. Shuddering, I keep my ear pressed against the door, silently praying they remain fearful and Marek and keep out of my room for tonight.

By what I'm picking up, Vaia is already suspicious of how Marek has been treating me. I don't believe him when he says he cares about me, and that he is protecting me so I don't get hurt by everything else going on with the rebellion, I have to admit that Vaia being wary of him does aid his claim.

"I'm more scared of the Hunter than Vaia right now," the deeper voice claims boldly, although he keeps his voice hushed as if he's worried about her overhearing. "She's all talk."

"I get the feeling she isn't telling us everything," the other admits softly. I almost don't catch it, as they are whispering right now.

Are they having doubts about joining the rebellion.

"What happened to the promise it would be less than a month before we could safely start drinking from the river?" the deeper voice questions. I startle, having had no idea they were planning to start drinking from the river so quickly. That doesn't give Tai, Kailor and I much time to figure out what we plan to do.

"She's still testing it, apparently. I don't know how much I believe that,"

"It seemed like she had a way for us to drink from it when she first made her speech to us," the lighter admits, almost begrudgingly. If I were to convince anyone to change sides, he would be the hardest, since he seems regretful even criticising Vaia and the rebellion.

"I heard from someone that she is still looking for test subjects," the other notes.

More innocent lives will be going toward this cause, I just know it. Vaia will be scouting those willing to make the sacrifice from local villages, and knowing that it's unlikely the magic of the river can ever be negated by technology, these lives will be lost for nothing.

"She needs as many people on her side as possible," the deeper voice claims. "There is no way she will be testing on anyone that's already on our side."

I shiver. Does that mean she is taking people against their will? If so, then we need to intervene immediately.

"Once she has gotten everything out of this girl, I think she will use her," one of the guards claims, to which they both laugh. My stomach turns, imagining what would happen if they did try testing on me.

I would die.

Drinking from the Forbidden River will give you a low chance to gaining power, of becoming a Tani that is a reflection of your inner soul. But there is a much higher chance of dying, and by the sounds of it, Vaia doesn't have a cure.

I'm done for.

***

I didn't get any sleep all night.

The guards went quiet soon after I pulled my head away from the door, but I still sat against the wall until mid-morning, when Marek sauntered into the room. We didn't exchange anything more than a glance as he grabbed my arm, the look in his eyes enough of a warning to keep quiet.

Now downstairs, he leads me into the dining room where Vaia sits, her guards at the corner of the room. She smiles at Marek, the glow in her eyes making my stomach turn uneasily. I wouldn't be surprised if she's over Jessa and has been sleeping with him.

"Isn't this how Tai wooed you to begin with? Inviting you to breakfast and being charming?" Vaia questions, motioning to the table laden with breakfasts foods as Marek pulls a chair out to sit.

It's not an invitation. It's a demand.

"You're not exactly charming, Vaia," I mutter as I sit opposite her, hating how cheerful and unbothered she looks in her yellow sundress, dark brown hair braided back behind her.

"That's why I invited Marek," Vaia purrs, gesturing to the Hunter, who sits down beside Vaia, not taking his frosty eyes off me. Seeing him next to her fills me with a renewed sense of rage. I never intended on trusting him, but now that's cemented for certain. "Maybe he won't lie, this time."

"I told him everything I know," I tell Vaia, trying not to look at Marek.

"I'm sure you have more to spare," she says, tilting her head back and forth. IN reality, I don't want to share much more, otherwise Vaia is going to benefit from this mission more than I am. "Where were you for the past few months?"

I watch Vaia fill her plate with food, deciding I should eat if I want enough energy to get out of here. "Azure Province, then briefly in the Golden Province before going to Kailor."

Vaia almost visibly flinches at the sound of Kailor's name.

"Has my father said anything to you?" she asks bitterly, the burning curiosity in her eyes something I can take advantage of. Vaia is smart and manipulative, but can be awfully transparent. She sometimes doesn't notice when she is either.

"No, he doesn't trust me. He thinks I'm working with you," I tell her, knowing at least this isn't a lie. "Him and Tai have been very secretive."

Catching Marek's gaze for a moment, I'm almost pinned beneath the steadiness of it. Can he tell I'm not lying about the last part of that statement either? I know Tai is trying to tell me everything he can, but I do get moment's when I feel he isn't being completely transparent about his plan for what to do about Kailor.

"Welcome to my life," Vaia grins, although her eyes are cold, even as they drift down to my hand, which now serves food onto my plate. "Who made you that ring?"

I fight the urge to clench my fingers against my chest, pressing my thumb tightly against the message engraved into it.

"No one made it," I mutter dismissively. "Zavian gave it to me."

Tai and I have already discussed our plans with using Zavian. Him and I may just be friends, but from an outsider looking in, it could appear like more may be going on. Vaia needs to think there is more than one reason for me to want to get out of Tai's clutches. It even seems Marek is partially believing it, his eyes narrowing a touch.

"Are you fucking him?" Vaia asks deviously, not even trying to pretend that she's trying to get a rise out of Marek by looking at him. He doesn't react, although the crease between his brows tells me there's a lot going on inside his head.

I swallow, trying to keep my voice steady. "Yes. Tai doesn't know."

"Is that so?" Vaia says with a giggle, clapping her hands together excitedly. Is she seriously celebrating the emotional turmoil of her own brother? I suppose it's the least horrible thing she has done in regards to Tai so far.

"Him and I got close after I found out he was feeding himself on Tani blood," I say, wishing I didn't have to divulge Zavian's secret, but Vaia isn't going to let up until she finds out enough information to sate her. "I pitied the addiction, so he confided in me. Him and I have a lot in common."

"And he's okay with you leaving? He may never see you again," Vaia notes, watching me eat my food.

"He knows how important my family are to me," I breathe, looking back at Marek.

Marek already knows this. I wonder if he knows if my family is okay, or if Vaia targeted and killed them already. My heart sinks in my chest at the thought of that, and suddenly I can't stomach my food, letting my fork clatter down onto the plate.

"You really want out of this, don't you?" Vaia says calmly, tilting her head with the coldest smile on her face.

"Ideally."

"Luckily for you, I have your out," Vaia offers. I don't allow myself to feel excited or relieved, narrowing my eyes suspiciously on her. This isn't meant to be easy. Vaia is meant to want to use me to get to Tai, giving me more time to gather information. "Tomorrow morning, you can go."

"Seriously?" I gape, not even bothering to hide my surprise. Even Marek looks shocked, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.

"You are no longer worth anything to me," Vaia says dismissively.

Maybe I believe her. But something about this feels too good to be true.

🖤••🖤

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 💜🐼