THE NEXT FEW days passed in a blur of pain, forced smiles, pounding headaches and cold sweats.
It was made worse by her evening visits to Eli, who seemed unaffected by the poison. She tried a stronger solution after he hadn't expired seven sunsets later. It was a faster acting toxin. One that she chose specifically because it had an antidote that would leave her without adverse effects.
He remained frustratingly upright and healthy. And so she tried again.
His knowing smile every time she walked in the door frustrated her even more. It was almost as though his life was a game to him.
Worse still, he outright refused to say anything more about her mother. Not a single word. He spoke with warmth and fondness about distant lands and strange places he had seen. Places where the earth was covered in ice and night lasted for many blackmoons, then came the day for many blackmoons. Places where the sky was green and purple, and there were many suns in the sky.
Khethiwe often questioned his sanity.
He mingled in complaints about how restricted he was as the Black Sun. How he wished he didn't have the burden of rulership. But those times were few. He more often spoke about the great things he wanted for his people. The ways he wanted to better the lives of ordinary Quasar.
To add insult to injury, Khethiwe found herself enjoying his company. He made her laugh more often than she liked, and told silly jokes when he thought she was distracted. He encouraged her to try harder to achieve the things she wanted. That was after she walked in one day particularly dejected about his continued existence.
Khethiwe found herself spending longer and longer dinners with Eli. She was disturbed one day when she walked out of his hut and found herself in the darkness of night with only the stars to guide her off his compound. Which had alarmed her since it was common knowledge that the Black Sun's compound was heavily guarded after sunset. There had been no guards in sight. No patrols, no stationed guards, no watchmensh. Nothing.
It had annoyed her that she had felt a tinge of concern for his wellbeing — the man she was trying to kill.
Still, she'd found herself asking him why he had gotten rid of his tasters, guards, and other forms of protection. The smug sharta had laughed it off saying he was the Black Sun. As though it was the most obvious thing in the world.
After her sixth attempt at poisoning him failed, Khethiwe decided she needed to change her strategy.
But first, she needed divine counsel.
YOU ARE READING
Secrets of Kolini
Fantasy"Let me be clear. I never willingly discuss this. And the few people to whom I have had to are as twisted and wretched as I was back then; As blinded by their own light. They cannot see the light from outside. I want no part in this, but it is far...
