SEVENTEEN

Word Count: 2314

The autumn leaves crunch under foot as Elan and I walk through the forest toward the nearby village.

Having a Summoner as an escort to this town is bad enough, it just so happens I don't trust him, and he doesn't trust me either. I just have to remember that I'm doing this - going into the town to look for rebel sympathisers - for Kailor's trust, and to eventually take down Marek and Vaia.

"I was hoping we could be friends," Elan says from beside me, pulling a branch up for me to duck under. We may be walking a common track, but it isn't exactly a well-kept. If we took a carriage, it would be too obvious.

A lot of them already know what my face looks like...

"You think I'm working with the rebels. I doubt there is any room for a potential friendship," I mutter in reply, already irritated despite only having been in his company for a ten minutes now.

I keep comparing Elan to Marek, but in reality, Elan is quite different. He's bold and unbothered, knowing he's powerful, and not caring who knows it. Marek has always been more careful and calculated, never revealing anything unless absolutely necessary.

But a Summoner is a Summoner...They can't be trusted.

"I believe there is more to it. You don't trust me, either," Elan says, the humour in his tone causing me to grit down on my teeth, holding back a myriad of potential insults that I've built up for Marek, that I want to now direct to Kailor's personal bodyguard.

"You pretended to be Zavian," I grumble, remembering how I nearly fell for his disguise.

Although Zavian wasn't the one who tried to force himself on me, I still have my own problems with the new Noble. I woke this morning with the intention of finding him to talk to him about his problem drinking Tani blood. Instead, I was intercepted and sent off by Kailor. I'm still desperate to know what's going on, so I can then talk to Tai about it.

"I was ordered to," he reminds me. I give him a glaring look, letting him know that it doesn't change anything. "You don't like Summoners."

"What a wonderfully accurate observation," I mutter.

Elan skips ahead, walking backwards in front of me, awfully confident since we are weaving through the trees. The grin on his face is infuriating, even if he looks beautiful under the mid-morning sun, the light casting an ethereal glow across his skin, across his dark hair.

"I'm nothing like him," he attempts, trying to sound earnest, but my eyes only narrow in response.

"You don't know him," I remind him flatly, growling as a stray branch whips the side of me as Elan pulls it away, still facing me as he confidently stalks backward. I hope his foot catches in the undergrowth and he topples over.

"True," he mutters with a shrug. "Perhaps you can tell me about the mysterious man who broke your heart."

I glare at him. How much has spread about Marek and I? I thought only Tai and I knew about that, yet Elan is looking at me as though he can read my every move, like he knows everything about me.

"He betrayed me...There was no breaking of hearts," I snap, wiping sweat from my brow, despite the autumnal breeze that shifts through the trees. "But if you must know, he was clever, manipulative. I never bothered to wonder why he shared so little with me, why he only did when he felt I was losing trust in him."

That's all I'm willing to give Elan, out of hopes it will stop him prying. It may sate him for now, but I know my reluctance to speak about Marek will only have him digger deeper.

It makes me anxious enough that we are speaking to him outside of the manor's walls. I keep glancing through the boughs as if Marek is going to be here.

"You and Tai don't suit," Elan suddenly muses.

I glare toward him, strangely offended by his random observation. What does Elan know? After last night, I think Tai and I are officially bonded, officially belonging to each other. For once, I'm not afraid of being him, and what that might mean, so this annoying Summoner to try ruin everything is irritating me.

"How did you get that, our of that?" I question, wishing I could snap one of these branches back in his face, as pull ahead on him on the trail.

"I merely making an observation," he comments. I can hear the grin in his voice, knowing this is a sensitive spot he is probing at. Yet there is a sense of honesty tinged in his voice that is bothering me the most. "I also don't think Tai is the person you believe him to be."

"Why do you say that?" I ask warily.

I turn back to glance at him, watching him sweep a hand back through his dark hair as he winks at me.

"Summoner's do like to keep their secrets, don't they?"

Gritting me teeth, I concentrate on what is in front of me, knowing he isn't going to tell me anymore. He may just be messing with me, trying to make me distrustful of Tai, but now I don't think I'm going to be able to get this out of my head.

***

I walk into the town's small bar, letting the door rattle closed behind me.

No one bothers looking up, as I pull my hood further up my head, the edge brushing against my eyebrows. The last time I was in a bar I was with Marek. Now I'm here in attempts to shut down the rebel operation that him and Vaia are running.

Pushing that from my mind, I glide into a seat at the bar, resting my palms on the varnished surface. It's still midday, so they aren't many people mulling about. Those who are drink quietly among themselves. It's a small town here anyway, the population thinned out from conscription into the war.

"A drink?" the barmaid asks, appearing in front of me suddenly.

"That would be wonderful," I reply, knowing I'm not going to take a sip of it.

"And why are you drowning your sorrows?" she asks, raising a red eyebrow as she digs under the bar for a glass. She's a pretty, older women, dressed in worn clothing covered by a stained apron. She must be the owner of this place, since there's clearly no one else around here. If anyone is going to know what is going on around here, it will be her.

"I have many reasons, trust me," I sigh, watching her adeptly fill the glass before putting it before me. Her intent gaze doesn't relent until I raise the glass to my lips to sip. I takes all my self control not to wince at the bitter taste.

Suddenly the door to the bar opens, two young children and a teenage walking in. The owner beams at their arrival, as they bustle behind the bar.

"My babies, how I missed you," she gushes, enveloping them in a warm hug before waving dismissively at them. "Take them upstairs, would you?"

I swallow uncomfortably, listening until their voices disappear. The owner of this bar is meant to know a lot about the rebel presence. She's the one who has been allowing those who sympathize with Vaia to come in here and share information, while she also passes it around.

She's the one who needs to be rid of.

"I know about your involvement with the rebels," I say lowly, glancing at a man who has recently sat down at the end of the bar. He stares mindlessly into his glass, unbothered by our conversation.

The owners gaze flickers up to me, revealing nothing in her expression. "And?"

"You making it obvious that you align with them is dangerous. You are too close to Kailor for one of his men not to report back," I tell her firmly. She has children, she should be more careful...She should know the risk.

"His men are my greatest supporters," she retorts, polishing the counters in front of me. She's acting unbothered, although I see the tension in her shoulders, they way her eyes dart around for help. I'm not so worried about anyone else, with my knife strapped to my side. "What does it matter to you?"

"She's the King's wife....I've seen her face before," the man from down the bar mutters.

My attention flickers to him. He doesn't look at me, still staring into his glass. He sounds half drunk, but he's right about my ties to the Royals in the area, even if he's off about me being married to Tai.

"And what? It's not like he can do anything," the bar owner says dismissively, laughing lightly. On any other day that would irritate me, hearing her talk about Tai like he is completely useless, that he has no power at all. This is what Vaia and the rest of her rebels have been feeding the people of this village.

"Kailor can. And I happen to know him very well," I warn her.

She pauses, flipping her towel over her shoulder. I watch her jaw clench, as she sums up her options silently. No one here is coming to her aid, and she knows that my words are more than just a warning. They are a direct demand from the King.

I follow her eyes to the wall, where a poster of Kailor is slung up, a red cross slashed over it. I halt, unsure if I wished I had seen that earlier or not.

"I don't want any harm. I'll take it down," she mutters.

"And stop talking to the rebels? Stop feeding them information?" I question. Kailor doesn't just want this to stop, he wants names to reported back to him so he can off anyone who speaks against him. It's what I should plan to do, yet the thought of being the one to get this women killed, who has such young children...

She grits her teeth, weighing her limited options. "Yes...Okay."

"You have to leave," I demand, hushing my voice, not wanting to risk being seen by anyone else who is loyal to the King. "This won't be enough for Kailor. If you don't leave, he will send someone to kill you."

"I have nowhere to go," she breathes, cheeks flushing slightly. She's embarrassed someone might hear, although no one in the bar pays us any mind.

I glance over my shoulder. "Emerald Province will be safe."

"I can't afford to live there," she immediately dismisses. I don't know much about the Emerald Province, but it's where King Tyrien lives, and where the wealthiest live. I wouldn't be able to afford it either, but no one would follow her there, especially not Kailor. It's another King's territory...

Sighing, I think for a moment, trying to decide whether I can help her or not. If I can get her out of here, she won't be a threat, and her children's lives were be saved. I don't have any expensive jewellery to impart, although I do have one thing I was gifted that I wouldn't mind getting rid of.

"Have my weapons...They are worth a lot of money," I tell her, pulling two of my knives from their straps before laying them on the surface of the bar. She stares at them for a long moment, before grabbing them, tucking them away.

I was gifted those knives from Marek, who carved the handle himself. They will be worth enough to get her out of here, I imagine.

And I'm quite content ridding anything that's affiliated with Marek.

"Why are you doing this?" she asks softly.

"Take your children. And don't tell anyone you know of me. Do you understand?" I tell her firmly, knowing that if this gets back to Kailor, there will be nothing Tai will be able to do to save me.

The bar owner nods, tucking the knives behind her back before rushing up the stairs, not glancing back.

Leaning back in my seat, I realise a long breathe, wondering what I'm going to tell Kailor when I return. He's going to kill me when I tell him the bar owner left before I got here...At least that's what I've decided to go with, anyway.

Just as I get up to leave, my heart flutters, the smell of cinnamon and pine consuming me, alighting my senses. Slowly, I sink back into my seat, frozen in spot as I realise where this familiar scent is coming from.

I feel his body, as he comes to stand beside me, resting his forearms on the bar as he leans close enough for his scent to be intoxicating, for his heat to envelop me.

"He's not going to be happy..." Marek breathes from beside me, his voice effortlessly smooth, with a hint of amusement. I know he's referencing Kailor, but that's hardly my issue right now. The infamous Hunter is standing right beside me, and I couldn't be less happy to see him.

I turn my head to look at him. His side-profile is as beautiful as his front, the softest smile tilting his lips. Even under the dim bar lighting, his bronze strands glow brilliantly, his silvery-blur marking glistening on his temples.

"Get the hell away from me," I growl, knowing that if I stay a moment longer, he is going to entice me into a conversation that I can't be a part of yet.

He doesn't stop me from leaving the bar, nor does he stop me. I'm not going to stick around to find out why.

💚••💚

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

You'll will find it under KING'S POSSESSION on Radish, as season 2!

🦢••🦢

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 (:

Snapchat: midikacrane

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜🐼