Word Count: 1903
~Akara
The air in the cabin of the carriage is ice cold and tense as we head into the Jade Province.
After last night, I haven't felt very much like talking. Tai sits beside me, a manoeuvre he made when getting in that made me want to jab him the ribs with my elbow, but I've kept quiet, not wanting anyone to ask questions.
Although, it's painfully obvious something happened last night in our room. Marek has been watching me carefully ever since I got into the carriage this morning.
"Everything okay?" he eventually asks.
"I'm fine," I murmur, looking out the window.
"You don't look fine," Zavian notes. I turn to look at my friend, annoyed that he is so good at reading me now, that he can see that something is plaguing my mind. Zavian knows what it is like to have something weigh on you.
I shrug, letting out a breath I didn't realise I had been holding. "I just didn't sleep very well."
That's an understatement. Despite being tired, I couldn't stop thinking about the kiss with Tai, and what it meant. Knowing that our relationship is truly over is hard, even if it's the right thing for the both of us now. So I just lay there, staring up at the ceiling while trying to find my missing memories to distract myself.
"Something happen last night?" Marek asks, glancing at Tai, who is looking away, not entertaining this conversation.
I swallow tightly. "No."
"You two didn't talk?" Nakoa prompts. I'm not sure why she wants to know what happened between us that night, but I'm assuming it's because she doesn't want Tai back in my life, and were I to establish a romantic relationship with him again, she may be expected to become a Noble again.
"We talked," Tai merely says. I shoot a glare toward him, but he doesn't look toward me. He knows I want this conversation over.
Zavian frowns, looking concerned. "About?"
"Nothing important. Why are you all so curious?" I mutter distastefully. I wonder if they would have sated curiosity if they were able to peer through the window last night and monitor our entire conversation.
"I think it's obvious," Zavian drawls, all the ire in his eyes focused on Tai, who stares back at his old friend. It's strange to think that they were once close friends, with all the secrets Tai kept from him. Now he hasn't just lost me, but everyone else he cares about.
"Nothing happened, okay?" I snap.
"Akara is truly over me, aren't you?" Tai says sardonically, twisting his head to pin me with his gaze. His smile may portray one thing, but the contempt that leeches from him betrays his true feelings. "That was fast."
"I never said that," I remind him curtly, aware of everyone watching us, trying to garner as much information as possible, just from the words we share.
"You made it very clear," he murmurs.
Marek shifts, leaning forward ever-so-slightly, like a silent threat. "What exactly are you saying, Taius?"
I sigh, frustrated, knowing he's not going to let up until he knows what happened between Tai and I. "He kissed me."
"Really?" Zavian's eyes widen.
"It doesn't matter, it didn't last long," Tai says distastefully. I jab him in the ribs with my elbow, unable to stop myself. It's not like I don't expect him to be upset that our relationship has come to an end, but I hate that he is angered, when it was mostly his actions that caused our bond to split.
"Don't listen to him," I tell them, feeling my cheeks flush with embarrassment. I'm glad I kissed him though, because it cemented that the love for him I once had has diminished, and I was only feeling a desire that I could have felt with someone else.
"It lasted enough for Akara to be conflicted, although ultimately she decided she doesn't desire me anymore," Tai mutters.
It takes all my self-control not to open the carriage door and shove him out onto the road so I don't have to hear him talk anymore. "You're only doing this because you're emotional."
"Emotional? How should I be acting?" he demands.
"Tai," Marek warns, tone nearing a sinister growl. I'm surprised Marek has exercised this much control so far, as I'm sure he would delight in causing Tai immense amount of pain right now. For some reason, I feel bad that I kissed Tai, and now Marek knows about it. He's still in love with me, and it feels wrong to advertise it in his face.
"I died. I actually died, and now my future isn't guaranteed. So I'm sorry if my feelings are changing." I'm not even sure I've got much longer to live, so is there really much point to worrying about my relationship with Tai?
"You also lied, to all of us," Nakoa adds.
"Whatever, it doesn't matter," Tai mutters dismissively, casting his gaze back out the window, signalling that he doesn't want to indulge in this conversation anymore. "Marek, you can have your turn again."
A dark storm consumes Marek's gaze. "I will kill you."
"I dare you," Tai growls.
"Stop it, both of you," I snap irritably. If they do fight right now, I'm going to be right in the middle of it.
"We are nearly there," Nakoa assures us all.
Looking out the window, I see we are in the depth of a Jade Province forest. The familiar tone of it both soothes me, and concerns me. Vaia is on the other side of the Province, believing I'm dead, and that Marek and Tai are in hiding. But the memories of everything I've gone through here still haunt me.
Nakoa was right, as only twenty minutes later, we arrive at a small cabin tucked into a clearing in the forest.
I can't get out of the carriage fast enough, breathing in the fresh, crisp air of the Jade Province. This was once my home, and now, I don't think I want to live here ever again. There are too many bad memories that haunt me.
"Nakoa?" a shrill shriek sounds from the house.
Turning, I watch Clea charge from the cabin and toward the cabin. I haven't seen her since when I was still living with Tai. She was one of his staff members, and very close to Nakoa. I'm glad she made it out alive after everything that happened.
"Clea!" Nakoa launches herself into Clea's arms, the happiest I've seen her since she came to me that morning over a week ago. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"What happened to you?" Clea asks, holding her at arms length, looking over her worriedly.
"I'll explain soon, but we need to see your mother. Something has happened to Akara," Nakoa explains, stepping back so Clea can look at me. Her and I may not know each other that closely, but I always like Clea, enjoying the way she stood up to Tai and Kailor with all the confidence in the world.
She frowns. "Are you okay?"
"I'm not sure..."
"She's inside. She will be happy to help," Clea insists, motioning back to the cabin where he mother is. She then turns to Nakoa. "You and Zavian can stay out here and explain everything to me."
Summoning a deep breath, I make my way toward the cabin, followed by Marek and Tai. I may finally get answers. If Tai is right, I'm doomed, but if he isn't, there may be something more sinister going on inside me. Drinking from the river and surviving, with the cure or not, goes against the nature of these lands, and there must be consequences.
Inside the cabin, a middle-aged woman lingers in her kitchen, turning at the sound of footsteps entering her home.
Her eyes widen. "Akara."
"You know my name," I whisper, shivers rattling down my spine. It's clear that this woman isn't completely normal, that whether she will admit it today or not, there is something magical about her.
"I sense is. I sense there is something wrong between you all," she says, looking at each of us in turn. I can feel Marek shift uncomfortably beside me. He's unnerved by her.
"We are fine," Tai grumbles. That couldn't be further from the truth.
"I drank from the river. Now I'm unsure what is happening to me," I tell her, motioning over myself as if it's visible. To her, it may be.
"Come sit down. Quickly," she encourages, pulling a chair out from the dinning table for me.
"What are you going to do?" I ask, watching as she pulls one out for herself. Her house looks entirely normal, and so does she, despite her abilities. She looks just like Clea too, which makes me wonder if they share whatever abilities she has.
"I knew of someone, who drank from the river and suffered the consequences. I know what your fate will be," she tells me, brows furrowed. This isn't good news, I can tell by her expression alone.
"What is it?" I ask warily.
"You will turn into a Tani, but only the one you take the life of," she tells me solemnly.
The crushing reality that Tai's theory has been confirms shatters my insides in an instant. That means only one thing, that I'm going to become a Snow Demon, otherwise my friends will have to kill me, so that never happens. I would much rather die then face that reality.
"I knew it..." Tai murmurs, turning around as he digs his hands through his curls.
"I killed a Snow Demon. I'm going to turn into one, aren't I?" I whisper, trying not to look at Marek, knowing that I'll start to cry if I do. It takes every ounce of strength in my body not to break down right now.
Tai turns around, eyes wide. "You never told me that."
"Yes, you likely will," Clea's mother says. She looks guilty, having to impart this information, but there is only two people in this room who I blame for my fate.
Tai, for spiking my drink with the cure, and myself, for being foolish enough to kill the Snow Demon, instead of letting Marek finish it. I've cemented the course of my life now, and I would do anything to take it back.
"Is there a cure?" Marek asks.
Clea's mother shrugs. "Not one that I know anything about."
"What do I do?" There has to be a way to remedy this. I can't just submit to my fate, right? Accepting death is too much, when I've hardly lived my life. The universe can't possibly be that cruel.
"Go into the mountains, and become who you are meant to become," she tells me, getting to her feet. She walks away, like it's too much to bear to look at me. My head is suddenly dizzy, like I could pass out.
"That isn't happening. There must be another way," I say, clutching either side of my head as I stand. She has to be wrong, this can't be happening...
"There isn't," she tells me sadly, eyes cold as she looks at me. "Enjoy your final moments, Akara."
💜••💜
Remember that you can always find this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:
You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!
~Midika 🐼💜