Word Count: 1779

Where Marek is being held isn't exactly pleasant.

Shadows guide me down a hallway bathed in smooth concrete, the dim lights above me doing little to ease my anxiousness. Despite it being a holding cell at the edge of Taius's property, it was easy to access. The Guards simply watched me, as I ran, distraught to the entrance, as if they knew their was little point in stopping me.

The Nobles had quickly retired to their rooms after the incident. Taius couldn't stop me, as I ran out to where Marek is being held.

Turning the corner, I look through the line of cells, looking for a figure. All are empty, except one, which I stop by, peering in warily.

A dark figure leans against the far wall, devoured by darkness. Despite hardly being able to decipher who dwells there, I immediately sense it's Marek. Kneeling down, I reach through the bars to place a bottle of water upon the floor.

"Are you okay? I brought you some water," I offer softly, nudging it closer to him before I settle into a sitting position. The floor may be soaking up the last of my warmth, laden in questionable substances that I don't spend much time considering, but I'm not going anywhere. Marek may have pinned me against a wall and threatened my life, but I in no means blame him.

"You shouldn't be down here," he mutters, voice strained. He's in pain, likely from the way the guards handled him out of the room earlier.

"How could I not? What do you think he's going to do?" I ask warily.

Tai has proven to be a weaker King than I thought, and those that live in fear are more inclined to react in vicious, unpredictable ways. I abhor him to the point it hurts. I'm not sure what I would do if he tried to have Marek sent to prison, or anything worse, but I know it would not be pretty.

"Kill me, maybe. King's don't like being embarrassed," Marek admits, finally pulling his body closer to the bars. I rest my head against one, feeling the silent thrum of vibrations that pass through it, likely from other inmates that dwell deeper into his facility.

"Thank you, for not..." I break off, not wanting to say this words. Thank you for not killing me.

Pulling himself forward, he leans against the wall close to me, his face finding the dull butterscotch tinted light that dribbles pitifully through the small barred window behind me. I can't retain the gasp that escapes past my lips.

"So you don't hate me?" he asks, head dipped forward, knowing exactly what I'm confronted with seeing.

Indigo and ebony shades his face, especially concentrated around his right cheekbones, which has a nasty gash sliced right through his skin, the blood having since dried. The bruises continue on the left side of his jaw, creeping up dangerously close to his mouth, the corners revealing where blood had once bubbled up and been spat out.

Despite an overwhelming sense of anger and disgust that twists in my stomach, tormenting me, I don't look away. "What did they do to your face?"

"Beat me and threw me into this cell," he admits, sweeping his hand back through his hair, only to reveal another bruise, the black and blue hues cutting into the powdery silver tint of his marking. "If I fought back, the Noble's would have killed me themselves."

"I'm sorry this happened. These royals are poison," I growl, my anger beckoning me, demanding my attention.

"Don't apologise on their behalf. They wanted me to kill you," Marek reminds me.

I allow myself to get lost in the blistering blue hues of his eyes, cornflower and cobalt blending together, tinted with pain from both his wounds, and the reality of the situation we have fallen into. Part of me wants to reach out and touch him, to feels another touch and know that despite what has happened, we have each other.

"For a second there, I almost thought you would," I admit, instead hiking my legs up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them. Marek's eyebrows dip, leaning forward until the stale air between us is buzzing with tension, leaving me wishing there ere no bars between us.

"Akara, I would never hurt you. I know you have no reason to trust me, but that was all an act. I wanted Taius to be scared. I had to make it look real," he tells me assuredly.

I loosen a breath. Of course.

"He wasn't. He doesn't care about me," I assure him. My mind wanders back to Tai's reaction, or lack thereof. If I were giving him the benefit of the doubt, I would consider the option that maybe he knew Marek wasn't going to kill me, or that he was moments from interfering. But I'm not.

"Then you are very much mistaken," Marek mumbles gruffly, wincing as he adjusts himself, likely hit somewhere I can't see.

I shake my head, not wanting to consider the idea of Tai caring about me. His affections are the last thing I need right now. If Marek sees it, the Noble's must have as well, which may have been another reason why Evolet threatened my life, to test his reaction.

"We need to get out of here. Soon."

"I'm working on it, although you could help me," Marek remarks. "I know Taius is the King, and an unsavoury man, but perhaps you could get to know him, his weaknesses. Maybe where his Guards prowl in the thinnest groups, or when deliveries come in and out. Anything."

The idea of getting close to Tai, delving deeper into his life is a frightening concept. His company is poisonous, his intentions misty and is shrouded with twisted nature you would expect of a King. Admittedly, I would prefer to leave with his permission, since he will likely send his full wrath after if we escape.

"Of course. I can act," I comment, despite how Tai read through my façade last time. However at this point, I feel as though I know him well enough to make him trust me, how to balance our relationship.

Marek smiles, despite his injuries, eyes darkening. "Oh, I know."

Footsteps echo in the distance, the hurriedness of them suggesting it's Tai approaching. Sure enough, as I get to my feet, Tai rounds the corner, appearing from the shadows with a devastated look upon his face.

"Akara," he breathes, a myriad of apologies and excuses falling short on his lips. I could look at him, into the pine green hues of his irises and forgive him, or at least begin understanding why he did it, yet I can't bring myself to do it. Right now I'm angry, for Marek's injuries and for his opportunity to step in and help me that he completely ignored.

"Get away from me. You don't get to come near me after you nearly allowed Marek to kill me," I growl, the brio in my voice clearly alarming him, as a frown dips into his brows.

Thankfully he obliges me, at the very least, lingering back a few steps.

"I know it's hard to believe, but I knew he never would have hurt you. I can assure you of that," he explains, eyeing Marek behind the bars, who still leans back against the wall. If he regrets throwing the Hunter in there, it fails to show in his eyes.

"And then you threw him into this prison to be beaten," I growl. With Marek's own magic, it will take him only a few days to completely heal, but that doesn't change how I feel about it.

"I had no other choice. I couldn't let those Nobles see any vulnerability here," Tai explains desperately. "That includes me being soft with my mistress."

I refuse to flinch. "I'm not your mistress."

Tai falters, delving a hand into his hair. He takes a deep toward me, which I match backward, not intimidated by him, but disgusted. His eyes are searching, looking for a way to make me trust him, for me to see it from his perspective. And I do, see it how he does, but that doesn't mean I respect him for it.

"You know what I mean," he breathes. I shake my head, knowing he could turn me into one with only a few words and there wouldn't be much I could do about it. As much as I have the confidence to openly despise Tai right before his face, I am at his mercy at all times.

"I'm not sure why I act so surprised. I don't know you, and you don't me, and we don't owe each other anything," I growl, my voice reverberating viciously through the concrete hallway that extends into shadows, swallowing up any other cells from our sight.

Tai takes a large stride forward, which this time, I don't match backward. "I could have thrown you and him in the prisons the moment I met you. I took pity on you."

I glance down at Marek, who stares at his open palms, brushing away at dried blood.

"I wish you had," I snap. Tai flinches, eyes fluttering as he lets that sink in. I didn't mean for this much anger to bubble up within me to the point I'm almost yelling at the King. "Then I wouldn't have to spend time around you."

"You mean that, which must be why it hurts so much," he murmurs, finally broken, finally accepting what he has done wrong. I'm not sure which of his actions hurt me more; letting me get pinned to the wall, or throwing Marek in here.

I'm mad at both Marek and Tai, for their involvement in the situation, for causing that much fear within me. But being that Marek and I are experience the same pains, the same fears, I can see why he acted out against the Noble's, wanted Tai to feel what we feel.

"Let him out," I order, as I brush past him, leaving the two behind in the thick, unforgiving shadows.

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If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

🐞••🐞

I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radiah! 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 💜🐼