Word Count: 1966
I stare out the kitchen window, watching Marek and the stranger outside.
Marek has pulled the man's hood back, tearing the cloth from around his mouth, revealing his identity. From here I can't see the man's face, but I know I wouldn't know him anyway. The man sits on the steps of the porch, head bowed weakly as he holds a palm over the wound in his neck. Marek stands before him, twisting the rope intended for me in his hand.
Marek's presence alone has rendered the man passive. I can't hear what they are discussing, but at the beginning, it seemed awfully heated. Now it's calmed down, Marek's expression solemn as he listens intently to what the stranger has to say.
A warm hand on my shoulder makes me startle.
"What is he doing out there?" Tai asks, sitting with me in the window nook, wincing as he does so. He doesn't have any external injuries, yet he still appears weak and light-headed.
"I imagine he's interrogating him," I say softly, watching my breath fog across the window.
Marek is still, listening to the man speak with a strange intensity. What could the man be admitting to that is taking so long to understand? Marek is a Hunter, and knows what he is doing , yet I still can't help my curiosity. The rain outside glides across his stoic face, bronze locks plastered to his forehead.
"You don't seem so sure," Tai murmurs, tilting his head curiously.
"What else would he be doing?" I ask with a shrug, although something dark and sinister stirs within me, like a silent warning. I'm just shaken up, knowing he was here with the intention to kill me, and could well have succeeded. My hand is bandaged, thankfully only having sustained a minor wound.
"I don't know Akara," Tai mutters, looking out the window while I concentrate on him, grateful that colour has returned to his face. "I don't know anything about him."
"Neither do I," I sigh.
Tai shifts uneasily, wincing again. I'm not sure what is hurting him, although I suspect it's a headache. His wrist does have a burn mark from where his band had once been, torn off completely once he killed the Beast. It's a strange phenomenon I want to bring up, yet can't be bothered, knowing I don't have an explanation for it.
"How are you feeling?" I ask softly, reaching out to grab a hold of his hand for both my comfort and his own. I still can't wrap my head around the fact that I nearly lost him...
"Foggy, but better than I felt when I first woke up," he admits.
"Thank you...for saving my life," I say quickly and suddenly. He pauses, regarding me impassively, as if he didn't expect me to say that. Now I owe Tai my life, and not just my hand in marriage to starve off the rebel threat. Although now that doesn't appear to be working...
Tai shakes his head, dark curls dancing across his forehead as he does so. "You're insane if you think I was going to let you kill that thing."
"How did you know that's what I planned to do?" I ask.
Tai has pushed me out of the way with such surety, putting himself in that position without a second thought. When I had turned around in that cave, I intended to simply be there if Marek needed me, and that's exactly what happened. I was ready to die for him, without realising Tai was ready to die for me.
"I didn't. But I knew that the moment it became a possibility, I wasn't going to let it happen," he tells me assuredly. My heartbeat stumbles over itself, realising that reality of what he has done for me, and how no one will do that for me again.
"I was so scared, watching you die," I vent, trying not to let the emotion overwhelm me, recalling what he looked like with what appeared to be all his life drained out of him.
Tai's gaze softens as he squeezes my hand tightly, looking like he wants to pull me closer, but refrains. "I didn't die, Akara. I'm here."
The front door opens suddenly, making me flinch. Marek walks into the kitchen, looking solemn as he rests the piece of rope down on the counter. When I look back out the window, the stranger is gone. There's no blood, no sign that they fought or that Marek had killed the man. He's just...gone.
"It's done," Marek mutters hoarsely, meeting my gaze. His marking suddenly looks denser than usually, more blue mixing with the silver. The colour almost completely matches his atlantic blue eyes at his point.
"Where is he?" I question breathlessly.
"I let him leave. He has a message to send," Marek mutters, resting a shoulder against the doorframe. He regards Tai silently, not having seen him since he woke. I note the flicker of surprise there, then the momentary relief that fades away almost instantly. Marek may not want to admit it, but he didn't want Tai to die in that cave.
"You're going to have to explain," Tai growls, sounding both frustrated and tired. I had briefly explained to Tai and my father right after the incident, not even an hour ago, and they had been angered. Now to realise the man has been left to walk is disheartening.
"He's an assassin, working for that rebel group you hate so much, Taius," Marek says smoothly, although we all know what he is insinuating.
We all know why the rebels want me dead; for my connection to Tai. Marek couldn't make it anymore clear that he blames Tai for everything still, so easily holding a grudge. At this point I'm convinced he's holding it for me, mine having since melted away. I don't have the emotional space within my head to blame Marek and Tai for my fate anymore.
Tai's eyes narrow. "He wanted to kill Akara?"
Marek nods mutely.
"You should have killed him then," Tai snaps, suddenly on his feet, advancing on Marek.
The two are nearly equal in height, but Tai is far more slender and much less intimidating. My eyes land on the knives strapped to the sides of Marek's thighs, knowing more dwell beneath his dark hunting jacket. He wouldn't dare use them on Tai, not when he has had a chance to earlier.
One of Marek's hands, wrapped skillfully in black tape for the purpose of fighting pushes firmly on Tai's chest, a warning. "Back off, King."
He doesn't look angry, or even bothered that Tai is coming at him all aggressive and boisterous. Marek handles his frustration with ease, likely having endured far worse at a higher price. Tai is emotional - sometimes overly. Tai was never told to keep his emotions in check, and Marek knows that. It's likely why the hunter regards the King with the slightest hint of an amused smile.
"You hear that title on your lips? That's why you obey me," Tai growls lowly, the tone so thick and dark is makes me shiver. I haven't heard him speak like that, so angrily before...
"No need to embarrass yourself in front of the lady," Marek warns, gaze gliding to me, hand still pressed against Tai's chest. "We are all friends here."
I realise coldly that the only way for Marek to defuse the situation is to remind Tai I'm here too, witnessing his behaviour. At least he has the sense for that.
"Tai, it's okay. Let Marek explain," I breathe.
Finally, he backs away, turning around to face me. His eyes are tired, the dark circles stained beneath them only one symptom of his exhaustion. Today has pushed him too far, I realise.
"The message he's sending back to the rebel group is a firm one," Marek says finally. "I don't think there will be a threat to Akara anymore."
"You can't know that," I breath uneasily. It would be too good to be true, to know the rebels weren't coming for my neck any more. But what would Marek have over those rebels that would make them turn away and never target me again? Is he connected to them in some way, or is he using those magical powers of his I still know nothing about to threaten them?
"I do," he says grimly, those beautiful eyes of his frosty and cold.
"Well tell us how you did it," Tai demands, although the heat has been flushed from his tone, leaving it empty and weak. We have fought enough recently....we all need a break from this cruel reality, in whatever way that is.
Commotion from outside has all our gazes shifting out the window. Three carriages make their way down the small road to our cabin, lead by magnificently powerful horses with damp hides from the rain. The storm has let up enough for Tai's people to make it through.
"Finally, a proper healer for you," I breathe, finally smiling after what has felt like days. Tai doesn't share the sentiment, although his expression does lighten at the realisation that he can return back to his manor.
"I'm okay Akara, I don't need a healer," he replies.
"Go..." I tell Tai promptly, motioning him toward the door. When he doesn't move, I look toward Marek, who doesn't appear as elated. "Make sure he goes."
He nods coolly at me, nodding at Tai to follow him, who thankfully does, albeit reluctantly. Before I leave I want to say goodbye to my father, to look around this place one last time before I leave. I'm not sure when I will be back, if ever. If Tai grants me leave from his estate, I'm not sure where I will go...Most likely somewhere with Marek.
Turning around, I startle at the sight of my mother standing in the other entrance to the kitchen.
"Mother..."
"Are you leaving now?" she asks softly. She appears gaunt, like she hasn't slept knowing I'm in the same home as her. I'm not sure which of the three of us frightened her the most; the betraying daughter, the half-dead King or the ominous summoner.
"Yes," I say softly, swallowing the emotion that threatens to rise. "I wish I could have gotten to talk to you more."
A bruise already grows on her left arm and on the side of her left jaw. The crimson colour staining her skin makes my throat hurt, guilt pooling in my stomach, leaving a heavy feeling in its wake. She hates me. I stole away her faith, stole away her daughter. But how long can I continue blaming myself for what has happened? How long can I hate myself for doing what needed to be done?
"Is he dead?" she questions, glancing out the window. I know she is referencing the stranger, the man who Marek let walk.
Regardless, I nod. I don't want her to live in fear knowing that he may return. She knows, deep down that the man was here to kill me, but yet it doesn't bother her.
That's what hurts most.
I don't say anymore, and neither does she, as she turns and leaves the room.
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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 (:
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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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