Word Count: 2257

~Kiva

Moments later, a figure emerges at the window, clambering through.

I tense, watching Ark duck his head under the glass, snow dusting his shoulders and hair. I admire the ease at which he climbed up the trellis considering the amount of times I have fallen from it.

He removes his cloth mask, breath clouding in front of me as he meets my gaze.

His expression immediately softens. "Hey, are you okay?"

I look down at my hands, unable to face him. This is the most horrifying discovery I have ever made and I am still reeling from it.

"I...no."

He's crouched in front of me in an instant, grabbing my hands in his gloved one's. The ice still lingering on the fabric burns at my skin, but I welcome the distraction.

"What happened?" he asks gently.

"I found something. Bad," I tell him, fighting past the lump in my throat to say it.

I feel so stupid. How many years was this going on and I never knew about it? Ark allowed me to hate him for weeks, trying to protect me from the horror that I would ultimately have to face.

"What was it?" He sounds reluctant to hear it, knowing what it pertains to.

"A portrait of my father with...victims," I breathe, fighting back the nausea.

His comforting grip on my hands slips a little, his expression shifting from concern to distaste in a second.

"Oh."

"It was bad. Clearly it was depicting something that really happened." I shudder, the image of it still staining my memory. I fear that when I close my eyes tonight, it will chase me all the way into a sleepless night.

Ark frowns. "Did you destroy it?"

"No, I just left it. I don't want my father to find out I'm looking into his business," I tell him.

He nods, letting out a deep breath. Slowly he stands, sitting next to me on the bed. He's struggling to hear his, considering what his sister went through, but he is trying to keep a brave face for me.

"So you believe me now?"

"Yes I believe you." I would feel embarrassed if it weren't for the crushing weight of disgust that still shrouds me. "I'm sorry I doubted you."

He draws my hand onto his lap, kissing it softly. "Hey, it's okay. You had no reason to believe me."

"I found clothes too. And jewellery..." I break off, my other hand clutching my stomach. "He's been hoarding it all."

"Fuck," Ark growls.

He stands again, starting to pace. There's months worth of pent up energy in him, fighting to be taken out on my father. I can tell he is struggling with the fact that my father is under this very roof with him right now.

"I can take you there, if you want to find something of your sisters. I don't know if it would be there, but if it means anything to you-"

He holds his hand up, cutting me off. "I...I wouldn't want to see that."

Of course...

He turns away, burying his hands into his hair. I want to comfort him, I'm just not sure how. I feel dirty, like I'm attached to this.

"We are going to put a stop to this. Why don't we take my father down now?" I offer numbly, motioning to my door.

I haven't confronted the thought of my father being killed yet. He is the last family member I have left, and yet I don't know him or his true nature. He is a monster, who has contributed to the lost lives of many.

Why should he continue to live when they cannot?

"We can't. Not until we know where this business is based," he mutters, wringing his hands.

"You haven't found it yet?"

"We thought it was in here, but I haven't found any evidence of that," he explains, shaking his head. The snow has melted, dampening his hair.

"No, it won't be here." He may be bold but he isn't stupid. "Father goes away often. I'll find out where."

The thought that these places that he visited may be related to this horror only contribute to my nausea. I often celebrated when he left as I would not have to be subjected to grating dinners or social obligations.

I was so blind. So stupid.

When I shake myself from my thoughts, Ark is staring at me. His anger has melted, replaced with...admiration.

"I'm so proud of you my beautiful, stunning mate," he murmurs, grabbing my wrist to tug me up, nearly crushing me as his arms band around me.

Proud of me? I don't feel worthy of his love, of his kindness. Despite everything that happened to his sister, he has been looking out for me since the beginning.

"I just want to be with you. I hate this," I say into his chest, clutching the fabric.

He pulls back, holding my face between his hands. "Once I get my revenge, you're all mine."

The thought of that starts to fill the void that dread has carved into me. Beyond this there is a life with my mate...I don't want to wait another moment.

"Bathe with me? I need to wash this horrible day off me."

"Of course."

He waits patiently on the bed as I start to fill the bath, pouring some lavender scented salts into the water.

I glance back over my shoulder. He sits, head bowed, peeling the gloves off his hands.

"It's strange, seeing you back in this room when you're not my guard," I say through the bathroom door.

He is dressed so similar it floods me with memories, feelings.

My body yearns for that time. Ark was just my guard, but there was something more between us.

Now, I see a broken yet strong man who would do anything to avenge his sister.

"I was hiding a lot from you. And not just about the rebellion," he says, raising his head to look at me.

I smile, getting the sense I know what he is referring to. "Oh yeah?"

The cold grip of sadness melts from his eyes as something else sparks in his eyes.

"Each time I came into this room I wanted to rip your clothes off and have you against every piece of furniture. Even if I hated who built the place," he tells me.

I breathe in deeply, trying to maintain my composure. Just hearing him say that satisfies a deep part of me that hated the way I so desperately yearned for him at the time.

"I wanted that too, although you wouldn't give me what I wanted," I remind him, entering the room again.

He watches as I slowly remove each piece of my clothing, letting it fall to the floor. He doesn't move until I'm completely naked, then he starts removing his own.

"It felt wrong to be with you under such false pretences. I wanted you as my mate, who knew everything about me," he explains.

I raise my brows, remembering our night together before everything was revealed.

"And yet..."

"And yet I don't have as much strength as I thought I did." He shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck. "Eventually I couldn't resist you anymore. I had to have you."

"I'm happy to know I'm so alluring."

His eyes darken as they trace my body. "Most definitely."

He finishes removing his clothing before joining me in the bath. The water is deliciously hot and smooth, relaxing my tense muscles immediately. I let out a long sigh, the steam billowing around me.

For a while we just sit in silence, facing each other.

The quiet is peaceful, but it is also haunting. Despite having an excellent view of my stunning, naked mate, dark thoughts press at the edge of my consciousness, demanding attention.

"Can I ask something that is going to ruin the mood?"

His brows draw together. "I suppose."

"What was your sister's name?"

He shifts uncomfortably. "Ella."

When the time is right, I'm going to ask my father if he knows the name. It won't mean anything to him, I'm sure...there may have even been more than one Ella that fell victim to one of his clients. But I need to ask.

"I'm going to talk to my father tomorrow, and I'm going to find out where he is conducting this business from," I assure him, trying to offer any kind of comfort I can.

"The rebellion and I will do the rest after that."

He's purposefully being ambiguous. The rebellion has something planned, and I would be smart to avoid asking questions.

"And then what?" I ask.

Ark adjusts, sweeping his hands through the water. "What do you mean?"

"What will happen with us?" I'm almost too scared to ask, my voice coming out barely above a whisper.

"It depends. Am I still public enemy number one in your eyes?" His entire vibe shifts, relieved to no longer be speaking about my father and his business.

I let out a long sigh. "I suppose not...Now that I know what my father was doing."

He smiles weakly. "I'm glad you trust me now."

My heart flutters. There's a crack in his strong façade, his relief palpable.

I can't even imagine how hard it was to know I was his mate and not be able to do anything about it. He couldn't tell me about my father, and had to watch me marry someone else as the rebellion he led struggled to secure their plan quick enough to stop it.

That would have broken me.

"Looking back I wish I could have told myself to trust you, but after learning so suddenly about the rebellion and...well, it's my father. It wasn't easy to consider that he could be a terrible person since he raised me after my mother died," I admit, resting my head back.

"You had every reason not to trust me. I hated lying to you." He pauses, swallowing uncomfortably. "The moment I realised you weren't involved I wanted to tell you everything, but my hands were tied."

"If I had a sibling who went through what Ella did, I would be doing everything to get revenge."

He bows his head, looking down at his hands submerged under the water.

"Still, you're my mate."

I want to shake him, to steal away that guilt. But I know what it feels like. I wish I had made different choices.

"This was a complicated situation. I don't blame you, Ark."

He smiles weakly, shrugging. He rarely seems lost and broken, and yet he is here, willing to show me another side of him.

"So, do you have an answer to my question?"

"Once the rebellion is done with your father, there won't be any rulers here. Not for a while," he says tentatively, alluding to a horrible fate that will befall my father.

I shake my head a little as if it would banish the thought of his gruesome death.

"I assumed so."

Ark leans forward, seizing me with the intensity of his gaze. "The last thing I want is to take away your title, Kiva. But it is unlikely the people of this Territory will accept you after everything comes out about your father."

"I lost my title when he sold me off to Caspian," I remind him. "And I don't want this."

When I was a little girl I dreamed of taking my father's crown and ruling. He had plans to marry me off and pass the land to my future husband.

He never told me that he didn't want me, a female, to rule here, but now I understand his true intentions.

"Are you certain?"

"I am terrified of what my life will look like after this. Being a Princess is all I've ever known. But I'm also excited, in a way," I admit.

Ark smiles at that, grabbing my hands. "I'll take you anywhere you wish to go. We will live any life you like."

"What about your mother?" My mind flashes back to her in that bed, ruined after losing her daughter.

"As long as I can provide her with money, I will be happy. She is well cared for, and if I'm near her...I fear I will only contribute to her illness." He swallows his sadness, trying to paint a brave smile.

His problems with his mother will take time for him to overcome. They are something I understand, after losing my mother, and yet in Ark's situation, I couldn't comprehend how to deal with.

So, I focus on him, our future. "I want to travel. I want to see places my father never would have let me..."

"Then we travel. For as long as you want."

I'm so pleased by the thought that I don't even mind the cooling water we lay in.

"This is the first time in a long time that I've been excited about my future, even if we have to get through this next, terrible part."

Ark doesn't shift his attention from me, demonstrating how sure he is about our future. "We are doing the right thing, okay?"

I nod, pushing away the thought of my father, concentrating instead on the victims of his crime.

"I know...I trust you, Ark."

🖤••🖤

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! and as always it is available 10 chapters ahead on Radish!

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~Midika 💜🐼