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...
Before I have a chance to turn around, something strikes me behind the head, and I feel my body crumple to the ground, unconsciousness whisking me away.
I'm not sure how much time has passed when I finally wake.
My head pounds incessantly, as my eyes slowly blink open. I'm lying on a couch, facing a large window that shows of an impressive city view.
Scarlet Province.
Fuck.
"Grey?" I call out weakly, pulling myself into sitting position, resting my palm against my head. He hit me good...Or at least, whoever he had with him had hit me good.
I knew I shouldn't have trusted him. But this? He's brought me to an entirely different Province, for a purpose I'm sure I'm going to find out soon, as Grey steps into my field of view.
"Ah, you're finally awake." He approaches the couch, although pauses, as I flinch wildly.
"What's going on?" I question, looking around the room.
The apartment isn't exactly lavish, even if the view is. Nothing about Grey ever indicated to me that he was from here, that he was capable of this many lies. And now I'm stuck in an apartment with him, in a Province I know almost nothing about.
"Sorry I had to hit you. I didn't mean to hurt you," he says softly, looking over me.
"You took me to the Scarlet Province," I snap, motioning out the window. Of Province's he could have taken me to, why did it have to be the one I know the least about?
"I had to."
"How long have I been out?" It's daylight out, which it was when he hit me. My entire perception of time and space has been messed with, leaving me feeling vulnerable. I hate that feeling, haven't felt it far too much in my time.
"A day and a half," Grey mutters. I close my eyes. This is bad. Really bad. What is Marek thinking right now? I went into the forest and I haven't returned. Knowing him, he's probably spent all night in the forest searching for me. I just hope he doesn't think I ran, leaving him behind.
"Why...why hit me?" I question.
"I needed you far from the Jade Province," Grey explains. Far is an understatement. I won't be able to get back unless I can convince him to let me go.
"Why?"
He steps forward, crouching down in front of where I sit, clasping my hands with his own ice cold one's. "So I can tell you about what I've done for you."
"I knew I couldn't trust you. I should have listened to my past self..." I get to my feet, creating some distance between us. If he's hit me, or had me hit before, what's to say he won't again, once I speak out against him?
Grey winces, taking a long moment before he chooses what to say. "You only felt that way because I tricked you into killing a Summoner after we visited that woman who told us about you...issue."
I stare blankly at him, letting the information sink in. "You tricked me?"
"I made a plan, to get you to kill one. After that, you suspected it had a lot to do with me, which is why I assume you didn't trust me," he admits, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.
I look down at my hands, as if I could see the blood once staining them now washing away.
"I thought I was a monster..." My eyes squeeze shut. I thought I was so evil I had gone out of my way to murder a Summoner.
"You did it on accident, I promise," Grey adds.
Despite the overwhelming relief that overcomes me, I grit my teeth as I stare down the man who made me kill someone. It still stands, that I would have rather died than taken someone else's life so I could live
"I'm going to kill you," I growl, advancing on him.
"Wait, whoa wait." He stumbles back a few steps, trying to evade me with his arms stuck our defensively in front of him. "I brought you here for a reason."
"What is it?" I snap.
He watches me carefully, in case I try to attack him again. "I found her."
"Who?"
"The one you were desperately trying to find. I finally tracked her down," he tells me. I pause. He told me about my hunt for this woman, and for so long, it has been lost on me who she could be.
"Who is she?" I ask slowly, already feeling like my world is collapsing with just the look on Grey's face.
"She's the King's mother," he breathes.
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You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!
