Word Count: 2419

Tai sits on the edge of his bed, a frown etched into his features.

Only five minutes earlier, we were downstairs, Tai have to have addressed the guests who he has offered rooms to here. He claimed that Marek has been obsessed with me for months, and that he has been taken into the prisons to be held. None of that is true, of course. In fact, Tai's guards have been unable to find Marek.

"You don't have to stay in my room tonight, even if our guests will want to gossip seeing you wander around the halls," Tai says softly, finally releasing his frown, breathing in deeply. The guests already have a lot to gossip about tonight after the incident with Marek.

After a long pause, I decide I need to address the issue at hand. "I'm sorry."

"No, you were right. It would have been inappropriate to continue the wedding after what happened," Tai admits with a sigh, slowly pulling each ring off his finger, letting them rattle before shuddering still on the surface. Each one of those rings are worth more than I'll ever see in real money in my entire life.

"No, I'm sorry about what he did," I tell him, hoping he doesn't think I put Marek up to this to put the wedding off. I could have never predicted that he would be so audacious. He knows that doing that could lead to another sentence from Tai. "I had no idea he would be that stupid."

Tai looks over me, making me suddenly grateful that I changed from my wedding dress and into something more simple. When I addressed the crowd earlier, trying to make them aware that it was all a misunderstanding felt odd, like I was lying to such a large amount of people. I suppose that's what it is. Lying...

Tai appears grim. "He loves you. I would have done the same thing."

"He acted so strange though, telling me that he was warning me, that I should stay in my room tonight," I say uncomfortably. Just admitting that to Tai makes my stomach turn, knowing he doesn't want to think about why Marek could possibly want me in my room.

"He was likely planning on sneaking in to...be with you," Tai days uneasily, his lovely green eyes a sudden tumultuous storm of darkness and uncertainty.

"We never..." I break off, suddenly embarrassed and unsure of what I want to say and how to properly articulate it. The last thing I want to do is hurt anyone's feelings, especially Tai.  "We never had sex Tai, if that means anything to you."

He glances away. "It's none of my business."

Releasing a slow breath, I come to sit next to him on the bed, staring down at the floor. It's hard to believe that had Marek not interrupted earlier, we would be married by now. It's not meant to mean anything, yet Tai and I both know that it does. Now we will have to redo it all tomorrow, which means another sleepless night with a myriad of strangers in the manor who whisper and gossip about what may be the reality of my relationship with the King and the hunter.

"So what will happen when they find him?" I ask softly, glancing at Tai. Despite the fact that he allowed Marek's release, the hunter is currently being sought after by Tai's guards.

Tai looks grim, like he actually does regret what needs to be done. "He will be detained. Because of the number of witnesses, there won't be anything I can do for him."

I have to physically hold back my wince.

"I understand," I say tightly, although at the same time, it hurts. Marek may never be brought back here...not if he is as smart and as cunning as I assume he is. Without me to weigh him down, he will be able to get away and hide far quicker and more efficiently. Will he even ever come back for me? "He's smart, he must know that. He will be out of the province by now."

"I have correspondents in a lot of places. I will find him," Tai tells assuredly. There's no anger in his tone, as he looks me over, seeing the sadness in my eyes as I fight the urge to cry at the thought of Marek leaving and never returning. Yet at the same time, I don't want to see him brought back here to live the life he hates so much.

Tai sighs, resting his hand on my knee comfortingly.  "Unless I don't..."

Blinking, I fight the urge to ask him why he is suddenly willing to have mercy on Marek, realising that I already know the answer to that. He's doing it because he cares about me, and he knows what would make me the happiest.

"Thank you," I breathe softly.

The words have barely enough time to pass by my lips when the lights above us flicker before turning off completely. With a fluttering heart, I tightly grip Tai's hand, suddenly unable to see him in the darkness.

"It's okay, it's likely just a power outage," Tai says gently, although I don't miss the edge to his voice. Shakily, we stand, my fingers entangled in his. The entire time I have been here, there hasn't been an outage, and there is no bad weather outside to suggest why there may suddenly be one.

The drape of silence over the manor seems suddenly interrupted by the sound of distant scream, all echoing throughout the empty hallways from downstairs. Tai's grip tightens on my hand.

"That doesn't sound like a normal power outage," I say shakily.

Without letting go of me, Tai reaches into his nightstand, fumbling around until suddenly I can see, the candle Tai having just lit balanced in it's silver holder, it's small flame offering a small amount of reprieve from the heavy darkness.

"Rebels," Tai murmurs lowly, the light casting looming shadows, creeping into each deep contour of his face. "They are breaking in."

"Are you sure?" I question, unable to reign in my shaky voice.

"Yes, this is a common tactic they use, so they can get in and out without being noticed, while disorientating their targets," Tai explains, nodding at me to follow him. I do so, our feet padding across his carpeted floor, accompanying the sound of the distant screams, which only seem to be getting closer. I hadn't thought the rebel presence had enough power to completely invade the castle...Especially tonight. Tai doesn't seem to be questioning where his guards are, since none of them have entered to protect him against the nearing threat.

On the other side of the room, Tai suddenly kneels down, resting the candle-holder down as he digs the tips of his fingers into the carpet, not stopping until a crack sounds in the floor, a small wooden door pulling up to reveal a dark casam in the floor.

"What is this?" I ask nervously.

"For emergencies. Every royal has to have something similar," Tai explains, shining the candle down to reveal a set of concrete steps which continue into the darkness. Exchanging glances with Tai, I know I have no other choice but to step down into his under-the-floor bunker.

Tai follows me closely down the steps, the flickering edge to the light guiding me until we reach the bottom. The area is small, wooden shelves stuck against the concrete walls stacked with a variety of supplies. Whatever this place is, a single person could survive in here for a while...Long enough to wait out an attack from rebels.

"It's cold in here," I note, rubbing my arms as I sit down on a short bench, watching Tai pace in front of me, checking everyone is in order.

Setting the candle in front of me, he pulls his jacket off his shoulders, handing it to me. "It will have to do. Not many people know about this."

I watch him carefully, hugging the jacket to me. How can he be so calm?

"What will happen if they find us?" I question, unsure if I truly want to answer. I can make a few guesses, and none of them will include us making it out of here unharmed. Tai's expression is a mask of impassive calm as he rolls his shirt sleeves up, becoming that stoic King in an instance. Panicking is not the remedy to this, as much as I want to. My limbs quiver, fear having wrapped tightly around my heart, leaving me near breathless.

"It will likely be just a scare tactic. I wouldn't worry," he replies.

I can't swallow past a lump in my throat, wondering if Tai knows more about why they are here than he is letting on. "Do they want what you're hiding?"

He pauses, his eyes a dark forest green.

"Sorry?"

"You're hiding something. It was enough for you to close off that access to the province, so it has to be important," I murmur, tucking my arms around me, unable to decide whether the cold or Tai's secrets are bothering me the most at this moment. Tai assured me he didn't want me too involved in the politics of his world, but now that I am to be his wife, I need to know.

He breathes in deeply, a cascade of dust dancing around him, lit by the flame of the candle. Wordlessly, he pulls a wooden crate full of water up in front of it, sitting down upon it to address me face on.

"It is," he notes grimly. "It's a weapon."

I lick my dry lips, refusing to be frightened. "What kind of weapon?"

"I weapon to end the war. It's close to being finished, using a technology I engineered myself," he explains solemnly, like saying the words make him physically ill. I had every inclination that Tai is an intelligent man capable of creating marvellous technology and inventions...but a weapon of that scale?

"War ending? How?"

"All the men who go to war are injected with a particular substance before they do so," he tells me slowly, making it clear he isn't going to bother explaining what the parameters of this substance are. "Even your father would have. Once this weapon is delivered to the right source, it will let out a deadly poison that Jade Province men will be immune to."

I wince, imagining the many men dying on the battlefield from the opposing side. I hardly know anything about the war, about why we fight it. All I know is that the Jade Province and the Scarlet Province have had issues over land, over the Forbidden River for decades.

"That's horrible."

"War is ruining this province. Something needs to be done to stop it, and this could do it," he tells me. His tone is soft and coaxing. Thankfully he isn't speaking to me like one of his delegates, or even his father. He knows that I don't want the war, the conflict. Yet I am not foolish enough not to guess the negative effects it's having on his reign...The land, the money, the resources. Even the men...A war is the biggest drain on a population.

My voice shudders as I speak. "How many people know about it?"

"Enough to make it dangerous. If the rebels get a hold of this place, they could find out where it is and use it for the wrong reasons," he admits, that calm mask suddenly dropping, the fear in his eyes becoming more apparent. There is more to this threat than I thought...

"Tai...This is bad," I exclaim, digging my fingers in my hair, wishing the faint pain will drown out the overwhelming fear that's growing inside me.

"I know," he breathes, grabbing a hold of my hands, although I'm too numb to truly appreciate it. "You need to get out of here. You're disposable to them."

I shake my head, already anticipating what he wants to propose. "I'm not leaving you here."

"You have to," he demands firmly, standing up with me. I want to fight against him, to tell him I'm not going anywhere, but I can't bring myself to. If I am caught here with Tai, they will kill me without mercy. "Go out the back way, they won't be expecting you to."

"What about you?" I ask anxiously. I can't decide whether I should leave, knowing that if I leave Tai here, I may never see him again. Yet if I stay here, and we get caught, there will be no saving me. They are clearly here for Tai, not me, which means that I need to escape and get help, rather than sticking near his side and dragging him down. I've done enough to risk his life already...

"It doesn't matter," he explains as he leads me back up the stairs, listening out to ensure no one is in the room before pushing open the top of the floor. "You're not helping me by being here."

"I won't go far. I'll wait and come back," I assure him, clambering out into the darkness of the room, handing him back his jacket.. I will have to use the shadows to conceal me, so I can slip out of here without anyone noticing. The commotion suggests that perhaps I will have to sneak out a window and make a break for it into the forest. Once I'm safe, I can contact Marek.

Tai kisses the top of my hand, looking as though he may ask me to stay, but decides against it."Thank you, Akara."

I nod, swallowing my fear as he closes the hatch again, the light vanishing from the room.

Now all I need to do is get out of here alive.

💗••💗

So KING'S POSSESSION is now completed on Radish! The sequel, KING'S SEDUCTION is now up and available to view.

Do no, and I cannot stress this enough, read King's Seduction without completing this novel. It will spoil everything!!

🐼••🐼

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 💜🐼