Word Count: 2107
Tai spent the next week being closely monitored by healers, leaving me to my own vices.
Most of the week I spent writing, trying to make sense of my tumultuous thoughts, finding a place for it all within my brain. When I finally felt like I had compartmentalised it all, I was exhausted, both emotionally and physically. At least I've healed, only what appears to be small scars the last reminder of what happened that night in the cave.
Today I've forced myself outside. The morning has been glorious, the dewy grass glistening under the sunlight as I wander aimlessly through the gardens. However dark clouds chased me back inside, yet another storm threatening to roll in.
Climbing up the stairs, I pause for a moment at the sound of hushed voices before advancing further.
Coming around the corner, my gaze falls upon Vaia, Marek and Jessa standing in the middle of the hallway, discussing something with low voices. They don't notice me at first, Vaia leaning back against the wall, doing most of the speaking. Marek has his head bowed, expression solemn as he nods to whatever Vaia is saying. Jessa looks away absently, noticing me. I don't miss the way she clears her throat, getting everyone else's attention.
"What's going on?" I ask curiously.
Recently I got the impression Vaia was done with Marek, boredom increasing the moment he didn't respond to her interest. The last thing I expected was for them to cross paths again...What could they possibly have in common?
"I should get back to work," Marek murmurs, glancing once more at Vaia before walking in the opposite direction, not looking at me once. I shiver, not liking that.
"Right," Vaia says, swiftly passing me.
He leaves behind a refreshing hint of rose and lilac perfume, her silk dress brushing up against my skin as she passes by, making me shiver. Jessa smiles weakly at me.
"We were just talking..." she notes, looking as though she doesn't want to elaborate until I frown, questioning what they could possibly be discussing. "Vaia is sick of the common animals Marek is hunting, so she asked for something different. Everything okay?"
I'm not sure why, but a chasm opens up within me, filling with doubt and suspicion. I note the way Jessa fidgets uneasily, her smile faltering. I decide against asking what is truly going on, knowing there's only so much I can handle right now, and hearing Jessa explain what Vaia and Marek have and common isn't on my current agenda.
I pass by her, walking into my room, motioning for her to follow me.
Jessa closes the door behind us while I fall into the bed, letting to down-filled duvet sink around my figure.
"I feel like I'm being torn in two different directions," I mutter absently, staring up at the ceiling. It feels strange indulging in Jessa with my feelings, having already been so ashamed to admit it. Only a few months ago, Marek was nothing more to Jessa than a mysterious hunter who arrived at the inn. I've since explained everything to her since, yet it's all still so strange.
"How so?" She questions, coming to lay next to me on the bed, dark hair billowing out around her.
"On one hand, I need to keep my relationship with Tai intact, so my father doesn't go back to war, and they can keep receiving the money they need," I tell her uneasily. "But in marrying him, I am no longer allowed to...have any feelings for Marek. Yet they won't go away."
Admittedly, being tied to Tai hasn't been my only concern. I'm closer to Tai now than I ever expected to be; and a friendship has since blossomed. Yet there's something more there, something that has only come about recently. Feeling to makes me sick to my stomach, knowing I'm betraying Marek and the way I feel about him by looking twice at Tai. And how I feel for Marek has only grown stronger, making this all the more confusing.
"That's a tough one. Wouldn't it be great if you could just get away, start over?" Jessa asks softly, her words not just aimed for me, but the both of us.
"There's no point in wishing, when it can never happen," I mutter tiredly.
Jessa has praised how amazing her life has been since arriving here, often thanking me for asking Tai to find her a job, yet I get the impression that something is weighing heavily on her shoulders. She hasn't been the same recently, looking distant and distracted.
"I think me and Vaia have a thing going on," she says suddenly. Suddenly it all makes sense. If she is in close contact with Vaia, then I can't blame her for being drained. Vaia is still ultimately an enigma to me, although I doubt I would have to do much digging to find out what truly motivates her. Suddenly I'm facing the idea that Vaia has tired of whoever was on her list last, and has since moved on to Jessa.
I roll onto my stomach to look down at her. "Wait, like you're in love with her?"
"Woah, not that far...yet," Jessa reprimands, shaking her head at me. She waits until the frown line has smoothed out from her forehead before she speaks again. "We kissed, and I really liked it. But I'm not sure if she liked it back."
"Vaia can be confusing, I know," I tell her warily, unsure of if I should remind her of Vaia's past interest in discarding lovers who she bores of. The last thing I want to do, though, is to upset Jessa, or twist her perception of who may now be her lover. "But I really think you should give it a chance. Especially if it's going to make you happy."
"It would. I want you to be happy too, you know. Even if you're probably hideously angry at Marek right now for what he is doing," Jessa says absently.
I startle. "What's that?"
"You don't know?" she questions, narrowing her eyes on me.
***
A lazy drizzle glides down my face as I storm outside.
Marek is exactly where Jessa assumed he would be, right at the back of Tai's property on the line of the forest. I'm allowed out here now, being that I'm no longer forced here by some foolish prison sentence. In fact, I could leave here now, which sounds all the more tempting.
Marek stands amongst a group of hunters, all wearing their hunting coats and brandishing knives. It doesn't escape my vision as I realise some of their blades are tainted with blood, the crimson liquid diluted with the rain that licks down the silver surface, dripping at their black boots.
Alerted by his own keen senses, Marek turns to look at me approaching.
"Akara," he breathes, advancing on me. "What are you doing out here?"
This alerts the other hunters of my presence, all of whom stare blankly at me, knowing who I am, yet not gathering why I'm out here. I'm dressed in nothing but a thin cardigan and leggings, the rain already littering the light grey surface with dark spots. My pure, unfiltered anger has heated my skin enough to hardly notice.
"You're killing Tani," I growl, looking behind Marek. Sure enough, my heart-beat falters as I see a pile of small creatures lying atop each other, necks slit, pastel blue blood spilling out onto the grass.
Tani can be an individual creature, or an entire species. The Beast did not have offspring, did not have a legacy to continue it's hideous interests. Species are most common, found in all parts of the land, not just the Jade Province. Almost every Tani is beloved or despised by one population or another, including the small beings that lie dead in a heap on the forest floor.
From here, I know instantly what they are. It was not just humans who initially drank from the Forbidden River, but animals too - some still do, on occasion. This led to a lot of harmless creatures to be created; even if they have magic running through their veins, they can't access it. These tree dwelling creatures they have decided to murder are common and many villages, and very much loved.
"I'm doing my job," Marek mutters gruffly, although he appears tense.
"You convinced me to help you kill the Beast, which I know now was only for your gain. Now you're killing more Tani?" I snap, almost having to gasp between words, unable to fathom how angry I am.
Marek's jaw clenches, seeing tears well in my eyes. "It was an order from the King. I must oblige."
"You've have a hard time doing that so far, and now you're open to his commands?" I question. Right now, amidst this fit of anger, I'm unable to see any logic, and reason. All I can see are tufts of brown and grey fur littered around the verdant grass, arrows sticking from the small bodies of some, others having had their throats cut.
"I have no other choice, Akara," he murmurs lowly, trying not to alert the rest of the hunters.
"You do have a choice. People love and believe in these Tani's. It doesn't matter whether you agree with it or not. You can't just go killing them, ruining people's lives," I find myself saying, choking over the words, over the reality of why this hurts so much.
I'm heartbroken over the reality of my Tani being gone. The fear, the pain and the loneliness has chased me for so long, and now it's tackling me over, beating me down with emotion that's almost too much to handle. My Tani is dead. I have no purpose, no identity. Everything I've ever known has been stripped from me, and now it's being stripped from people all around too.
"You agreed to killing the Beast knowing what it would do to your people," Marek reminds me, trying to step forward toward, to grab a hold of my arm to soothe me, but I want none of it. The rain has drenched his hair too, his marking struggling to appear through the strands plastered against his forehead. He has been out here for awhile.
"These Tani don't do anything, don't harm anyone," I snap.
"I'm sorry Akara, I truly am," he tells me, but his explanations don't mean anything, don't penetrate my wall of adamant, built up on fear and grief. "But it's more important than ever that I follow Tai's demands right now."
I grit my teeth, the warmth of my falling tears mixing with the icy cold of the rain. "You're a fearful coward."
"You're angry, I completely understand that," he exclaims quietly, calmly. "You are reasonable, Akara. You will understand later. If we want to get out of here, I need to be on his good side."
"I'm not leaving, Marek," I find myself saying, not even sure I mean it, or if I'm spewing words out of anger, out of resentment for what Marek has participated in. "I'm marrying Tai. That's it."
Marek looks grim but determined. "You should take your concerns to your fiancé. He's the one who came up with the idea, and ordered me to do it."
Reality strikes me, realising that Tai is as much to blame, if not more for this. Tai ordered Marek to do it, and although the hunter can share some blame, Tai is the only one who is going to give me answers as to why this happened, as to why he would order this.
I am sorry Akara," Marek murmurs before I can turn away. "This is the last thing I want."
Even as I look into his eyes, realising that I believe him, I turn around to walk away, leaving the dead Tani bleeding out onto the grass, a sign of something much darker than I am yet to fathom.
🖤••🖤
So KING'S POSSESSION is now completed on Radish! The sequel, KING'S SEDUCTION is now up and available to view.
Do no, and I cannot stress this enough, read King's Seduction without completing this novel. It will spoil everything!!
🐼••🐼
I'm officially rewriting Alpha Jasper's story now on Radish! 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 💜🐼