39

Word Count: 1576

~Kiva

A throbbing in the back of my head accompanies as I wake.

For a moment I'm just still, reabsorbing my memories. Ark drugged me after I revealed his plan to kidnap me.

Something deep within me is staring to rot. Trust.

I blink my eyes open, fighting the temptation to remain sleeping. I'm not ready to face this new reality. The only thing that prompts me is my gratefulness that I'm alive and that he didn't just kill me.

Taven sits at the edge of my bed, looking down at his hands.

"What's going on," I ask shakily, pulling myself up.

My skin is clammy, my mouth dry like I've woken from a nap. At least I'm in a bed, my legs under stiff covers. The room we are in is unconventional though, with no furniture and no windows.

Is this a prison without the metal bars?

"Ah, you're awake. Good." Taven turns to me, round blue eyes examining.

If I'm with Taven I'm with the rebellion. Ark, the guilty, untrustworthy monster has taken me to the rebellion that I assume he also works for.

When I see him I'm going to kill him...

"You sound surprised," I note, shaking some feeling into my quivering limbs. Whatever Ark dosed me with still lingers within me, keeping my lids heavy and my body weak.

"Not surprised," he immediately amends, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably before his shoulders deflate. "Okay a little. I wasn't sure whether you had been injected with something to put you to sleep or to kill you."

"Kill me?"

How lucky am I to be alive? Taven's unease is scary, but if I'm not dead now, there has to be something else going on. In the back of my mind I remember Ark begging me to trust him, but right now, I can't scrape together a reason why.

"I didn't think they wanted you dead, but you never know." He shrugs casually.

"Taven. Tell me where I am," I say steadily. Wherever I am, I need to put as much distance between Ark and I as possible.

"I can't tell you our location exactly, but you're here, with the rebellion."

My head falls into my hands. "Fuck."

I thought that if I ever came to be in the hands of the rebellion, it would be through another break in. Little did I know I would be decieved from inside the palace walls.

"If you're not dead now, it's not likely they will kill you at all," Taven assures me. His awkward manner of speaking isn't very comforting.

"You do work for them?" I don't even know why I'm asking. I know he does, but I want to see him say it here, while I'm sitting in a place filled with people who want me dead.

He nods. "I do."

"You lead?"

"No!" His eyes widen as if I just said something ridiculous.  "I mean, not even close. I'm bottom of the rank really."

I sigh through my nose. That's both a good thing and a bad thing. I don't want my mate to be working with the rebellion, but it would be much more convenient if he did. Then, he could get me out of here and punish Ark for drugging me.

"So there will be consequences if you let me out?" I clarify.

"I'm not going to do that. It's not part of the plan," he tells me decidedly, smoothing his hand down the front of his shirt.

I know he is my mate, but I've come to the conclusion that I really do not like Taven. He seems to have a hard time holding eye contact, he does not seem interested in protecting me at all, and overall it feels like he would rather be anywhere else than by my side.

"What happened to trying to protect me?" I growl.

"I was just doing what I was told when I said that," he tells me simply. He keeps glancing at the door like he suspects someone will walk in at any moment.

"What? What is going on?" My head is still so fuzzy...nothing is making sense.

"You should keep calm. He will want to see you soon," Taven murmurs lowly. His unease suggests that someone may be behind the door, listening in.

My blood chills, knowing who he is referencing. "Ark is here?"

"Yes. He asked me to keep an eye on you until he is ready to see you," Taven explains.

I roll my eyes, my fingers rolling up into fists. I'm sitting in this room because Ark is too busy to see me? I surprised speaking to his kidnapped victim isn't high on his priority list, whether I am his mate or not.

"Seriously? He can't even be bothered sitting by my bed waiting for me to wake up?" I snap. I don't want to get away from him now. I want to see him so I can end our relationship before I escape.

Taven doesn't seem as bothered. All a long he knew Ark...the two acted as though they had never seen each other. This betrayal runs far deeper than Ark pretending to be my personal guard.

"He's a busy man," Taven muses.

"I can't believe you know him," I growl, narrowing my eyes at him. "How long did you two know you were both my mate?"

He frowns, looking confused for a fleeting moments.

"Huh? Oh...we aren't mates," he says, waving his hand dismissively as if he isn't telling me world changing news.

"What?"

"We staged that night, when you ran into us both. Ark will explain it to you-"

I'm out of bed in an instant.

Ignoring my spinning head and cloudy vision, I pace back and forth. I can feel my breathing increasing, a sense of panic gripping me, but I refuse to acknowledge it. If I do, I'm only going to tumble down into a dark, endless hole.

"This can't be happening," I say past gasping breaths.

I can't even look at Taven. I'm trying to make sense of every interaction I had with the man in the black clothing who met me in the middle of the night. I knew when I saw Taven that something didn't feel right...I just couldn't make sense of it then.

When I kissed him, it felt like Ark, but my foolish mind refused to put the connection together.

"Look, I'll prove it to you." He hops up, grabbing my hand. Sure enough, there are no spark, just the feeling of clammy skin touching mine.

My fear immediately melts away into a cold, frigid anger.

"The lies run deep, don't they?" I growl.

"From what I can tell, Ark really cares about you. He can be quite emotionless and hard to read, but it's only because of his job," Taven explains to me frantically. Now that it has been revealed he isn't my mate, he appears nervous around me.

He should be. There is no reason why I shouldn't hurt him now.

"Working for the rebellion?" I bet he's good at deceiving and hurting people.

He scratches the back of his neck. "Well-"

"Look, I don't want to talk anymore. I want to be alone," I snap, sitting down on the bed, folding my arms over my chest.

I want him out of here so I can figure out a way to escape. The problem is, I have no idea what I waiting for me outside the door.

A knock on the door stops Taven's attempt to leave. The door opens and someone peeks in.

"He's ready to speak to her now."

Taven looks back at me, grim. "Come. It's time."

Swallowing tightly, I don't protest, following Taven out the room. He leads me out into an exterior corridor that reveals an atrium of sorts. We are up at a relatively high level. I'm the centre down below, people mull about. Some train, some just lounge around listening to music.

There's a whole community here.

"I hope you know that my father is going to find out about this, and he is going to have you all killed," I tell Taven and the other man who leads up down the hallway.

Taven glances back at me. "If I were you, I wouldn't talk about your father around here."

"You've got to be kidding me," I mutter.

These people will pay. They can hate my father and I all they like, but they will never be able to change the success of our reign. Whether they like it or not, we have done a lot for the people, and I intend to continue doing so in Caspian's territory.

"Is Ark going to kill me if I mention my father?" I ask. Considering Ark's past reactions to my father, I wouldn't be surprised.

"You'll see, I suppose," he responds.

"Where are you taking me?" It better to be see Ark. I have a lot to say to him before I get out of here. I'm hoping this will be the last time I have to see his lying, cheating face.

"I think you know," Taven responds darkly.

I steel myself, trotting down the stairs. I need to learn why Ark did this.

I need answers.

💗••💗

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

THE DARKEST TEMPTATION— OUT NOW ON WATTPAD!!

~Midika 💜🐼