Having survived the River, Akara wakes alone, and with a decision to make.
Find Marek, the mysterious hunter who saved her life through deception and lies?
Or find Taius, the King, who's lies are coming to the surface.
And through the decision on...
"So you're going to cut him out of your life? What about Vaia?" Marek asks calmly. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he doesn't care about Vaia, or about what happens to Tai after this.
If I ask him to take me away right now, somewhere else, he would in an instant.
"You and I will kill her. I'm sure Nakoa and Zavian will help too," I decide. Not yet, she will see it coming. This time, we have to be smart about this, and not walk into anymore traps. Right now, Vaia thinks I'm dead, which gives us an edge over her.
And I want revenge. Desperately.
Marek sits up, and I try not to think about the fact that he is shirtless, but my eyes trace over the hard curves of his back and shoulders, dipping down to his muscled abdomen. He's never stopped being painfully beautiful.
"You're distracting yourself, to not face this issue," he exclaims softly.
"There's nothing more I can do, Marek," I remind him. I'm stuck, with numerous paths I could go down, and each of them are terrifying. I'm tempted to just run away, and leave everything I've ever known behind.
Marek watches me carefully. "Just know I'm not leaving your side. Through any of this..."
For a moment, we just stare at each other.
"Why? Why help me?" I whisper.
"After everything I've put you through, it's the least I can do." All of a sudden the proximity between us is strikingly obvious. Because of my rampant thoughts, it's been easier to stay as far from Marek as I can, so I'm not tempted to do anything I may regret. It's already bad enough that these thoughts exist, so I can possibly risk acting on them.
"Hmm, I suppose." I flop down onto my back, tilting my head to watch him still, both hating and secretly enjoying the way he looks at me. It's contrary to how I've seen him look at anyone before.
He looks down suddenly, brows creasing, deep in thought. "And...I know I shouldn't be saying this."
I know exactly where this is going.
"Marek-"
"I know, but you need to hear me say it," he insists. I wince, as he leans slightly closer. What he's about to say may change everything. I've been happily ignoring what I know is going on between us, and I've been pretending Marek isn't thinking about it as much as I am. If he voices how he feels, then it's only going to highlight how I'm feeling just as much.
"I'm in love with you, and have been since we were trapped in Tai's estate. And I never stopped loving you, Akara," he breathes quietly, so Tai can't hear in the other room.
I stare up at the ceiling. "I'm not sure what to say."
"You don't have to say anything. I know after everything you're not going to come back to me so easily," he says.
I tilt my head toward him curiously. "You think I'll ever come back to you."
"I'm going to stay by your side, help you and do everything physically possible of me to make you see that you can trust me. If you want to be with me at some point, then I'm all yours," I tells me honestly.
The heat in his gaze pins me to my spot, daring me to say the word. I know that if I told him I wanted him, right here on the floor of Tai's apartment, he would oblige me.
"And now I'm meant to sleep?" I laugh breathily, unsure of whether I will be able to calm my mind down enough. And him sleeping right beside me makes this even worse.
There is an amused flicker in Marek's eye. "If you want to stay up, I'll stay up with you."
"Marek...I did love you. In Tai's estate. And then I hated you, with every cell in my body, I hated you for your betrayal," I tell him honestly. "But then, I saw you again, and it felt like you were protecting me, that you still cared for me. And despite everything, I couldn't bring myself to hate you anymore."
"But you couldn't love me," he murmurs, looking down at his hands.
"I love Tai. Or I loved him. Now I think that's all gone," I mutter hopelessly.
Marek gives a half-shrug. "Good."
"And I think that's why I know that despite everything you were always the better one for me. Because after it all, I still felt something for you, and now I feel nothing for Tai," I admit.
Marek looks as if he has so much more to say to me, but he decides against it, settling back again. "Get some sleep, Akara. Before Tai gets back."
💙••💙
Remember that you can always find this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!
