Word Count: 2026
Dusk has turned to night, moonlight bleeding in through my gauzy curtains.
I haven't been able to find sleep. My mind is clouded with the events of the day; of Tai and the Nobles and their lethal boredom. But Marek takes the top spot for why I can't sleep. His eyes, deep and threatening, bluer than the ocean, and colder than ice. He wouldn't have killed me today, even if Evolet held a knife to his throat herself.
A thought glides into my mind, persistent as ever.
Swinging my bare legs from my bed, I hunt around for a shawl to wrap over my shoulders. It's a balmy night, the heady scent of the forest stalking around the room, leaving senses heightened. I'm going to do this; I need to see him.
My anger toward Tai and Marek has reduced slightly, as I allowed myself to stop and properly considering their motives. Both were to put on a front, to appear as someone they are not. Thankfully Tai released Marek from the prison, despite what Evolet may say.
I'm careful in my walk to Marek's room, footsteps soaked up by the plush carpet beneath my feet, dwelling in the shadows until I reach his door. I'm not worried about being caught. If Tai is truly apologetic about tonight, then he will be far less likely to punish us.
And it's not like I'm coming to his room for licentious matters.
He answers the door almost immediately, indigo tinted moonlight greeting me along with a very naked torso. Despite the strange hues drifting around his room from the moonlight, I can still see the vicious purple ebony shadows that stain the right side of his ribcage. I figured he had been hit beneath his clothes, but just seeing the extent of his bruises again makes my stomach turn over uneasily.
Despite this, they seem to be healing rapidly, the swelling almost completely vanished at this point. Even the pigment of his bruises are fading at a rate not many people could keep up with.
"How are you feeling?" I ask softly, heat gathering in my cheeks as I realise how strange it must be for me to show up at his door at this hour. He must have been close to sleep, his bronze strands mussed around his forehead, hiding part of his marking, his cheeks flushed. And his wholly bare torso, which takes all my self-control to not even glance at.
He looks behind me, leaning imperceptibly closer, his pine and cinnamon scent washing voice me. "Akara...you shouldn't be here."
"I know. Let's go somewhere private," I offer. I need to speak to him, to share my experience of the day and vent about how much I hate it here, these people. And I want to know more, hear him justify why he had me pinned against the wall. "Someone spoke about a garden."
He chews on his lower lip, yet another movement to avoid concentrating on. The corners of my eyes betray me, as I note the taut muscles of his abdomen, a single tattoo which I can't decipher without looking straight at it creeps up to his ribcage and down to his hip, disappearing below the line of his pants.
"With the Noble's here, it will be heavily guarded," he warns warily.
"Do I look like I care right now?" I questions, brows raising as I lean against the door frame.
I'm in the mood to defy Tai, to test his control over me. Maybe he will have mercy on me and throw me into a prison to, so I don't have to face the realities of his court. I somehow doubt it though; perhaps Marek is right about me being in the King's favour.
"Your bravery is becoming of you. Let me put a shirt on," he comments, not bothering to close his doors as he disappears into the shadows of his room, rifling through a dresser that was likely filled as promptly as mine was. His room is smaller, however, having been moved from where it was that first night, to a quarters that are likely inhabited by others who work for Tai.
Once Marek has adorned himself in a simple cotton shirt, we head out. His footsteps are near silent, as he guides me through the manor to the back exit, cutting through the kitchen.
Tai mentioned a garden in passing, which will hopefully be secluded enough for us to safely talk.
Sure enough, on an extension to Tai's property, we find his personal garden. The soft crunch of our footsteps on the white pebbled footpath follows us, as we weave through a maze of neatly trimmed hedges framing manicured garden plots sprouting fragrant and colourful roses. The heady scent guides us toward the centre of the garden, where a large greenhouse rears up from the verdant grass.
Marek slides the door open, motioning for me to wander inside. Garden plots are filled blossoming flowers and trees laden with fruit. Small lamps hanging from the roof douse the ground before us in dull light, illuminating a wooden bench nestled between boxes of unnaturally vivid flowers.
"It's warm in here," I comment, going to pull my coat off my shoulders before promptly reminding myself I'm still in my nightclothes.
Maybe I should consider returning Marek's coat from when I used it for warmth in the cave only a couple days ago.
"it's the perfect night. Thank you for dragging me from my room, I didn't need to feel sorry for myself any longer," Marek admits. My eyes linger to his bruises, watching them practically fade before my eyes. His magic is fascinating, being far more than just the ability to summon an appearance. It's deeper than that, shrouded and shadow and darkness.
"I'm sorry I've been so hard on you...about the kidnapping thing," I mutter, casting my gaze to him. I'm yet to have forgiven him for that, and I'm not sure that I will. But I can be grateful for him trying to get me out of here. I have no doubt he could escape in the night with no issue, yet he remains here, adamant to get me out safely.
"I don't think I could forgive my kidnapper."
His eyes are a myriad of blue shades, but I look beyond that. The way he says that, the sinister undertone making me shiver, has me realising there is a deeper trauma glancing through, a reason for mistrust that I haven't come across in my life just yet.
"Yet I know now you wouldn't have hurt me. Maybe that counts for something," I say wistfully. My mind wanders back tonight, to the dinner, where I was so convinced he was going to kill me, right in front of everyone. Everyone else in the room seemed more convinced of my safety than me.
"I don't deserve your forgiveness, Akara," he admits, reaching out to snap a flower from the plant, twirling the stem in his fingers before he hands it to me. "But maybe if can get you out of here, you'll consider it."
Looking down at the pretty white flower, I consider whether my life will return back to normal or not. Unlikely, although I doubt I'll ever see Marek again.
"What was your life like before this?"
"Unpredictable. I spent all my life travelling past a certain age. Never had a home, but I met a lot of good people, who taught me many good things." As he speaks, the coldness vanishes from his eyes, being replaced with a soft light, a glimmer that comes from talking about the people of his past.
"Like what?"
"How to hunt. How to use my magic in a controlled manner. Only once I ever used it outside of their teaching," he murmurs.
I can't help but wonder if that one time included his actions against Tai's men to get us out of there, or if he has used that power against someone else once before. I shiver, wrapping my arms around myself despite the balmy kiss of the night air.
"You sound like you've had an adventurous life."
"Tell me about your life. Tell me what made Akara the way she is." The tone of his voice is soft, genuine, as if I intrigue him. Running my thumb along the buttery soft surface of a petal off the flower, I consider how best to explain myself, when I don't believe myself to be very fascinating to anyone at all. Especially not to a mysterious Summoner.
"I'm not very interesting. I come from a small, pleasant village with a very small population. My whole life I've had one duty, to preach. Then, it's to return back to the village, and marry a boy I grew up with, who I will never love, and have plenty of children with," I explain.
Marek doesn't bother to hide his disgust, his nose crunching up as he shakes his head. Clearly the archaic way I was raised disturbs him.
"That's very sad," he comments. "You parents never loved each other?"
"Oh they did. My mother married a foreigner, from the Golden Province. Hence my features, which aren't Jade Province like at all," I explain, motioning over myself. Of course features vary within the population, but in my small village, having blonde curls wasn't exactly common. And I wasn't admired from it. Kids in my village excluded me where they could, which reared me to begin despising the Golden Province where my father comes from.
Marek expression is open as he searches my face. "If she can do it, maybe you can too."
My heart flutters in my chest, betraying me. Glancing away, I concentrate on a small moth fluttering around the interior panels, grey wings bathed in light. I've never had this conversation before, nor invested much time thinking about a life where I could make my own decision on who I want to love.
I'm not sure if I want to be speaking about this to Marek of all people.
"She dealt with a lot of shame for a great time." Maybe that's why my mother is so adamant that I find a man from my village to be with. She was treated so badly for bringing my father in, especially since he wasn't a believer at first. In fact, it took him a great amount of time to feed into the faith, and sometimes I doubt he even does at all.
"I suppose it's no sadder than my existence. I haven't allowed myself to love anything in a very long time," Marek admits softly. I can't help but stare at him, admiring the flecks of distorted moonlight coming through the glass roof that are scattered across his cheekbones and forehead.
"Why? Because you travel?"
"Many reasons," he shrugs.
Suddenly the air between us is suddenly different, a tension pulling taut that feels as though it's dragging us toward each other. The moment I met Marek I felt a strange connection that can't be explained away by his naturally beautiful appearance.
"I like you, Marek," I say, despite my better judgment. "I think despite everything, you have a good heart."
I mean that, too. For the briefest of moments, I swear I notice his eyes glaze, dropping down to my lips. But just like that, he looks away, breaking the spell. My cheeks flush with embarrassment, as I realise I actually thought he was about to kiss me.
"Maybe we should go back before any notices our absence," Marek murmurs, smiling softly.
I nod. I don't know what I was thinking.
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If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S POSSESSION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:
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I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radiah! 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 (:
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~Midika 💜🐼