Chapter 31: THIRTY ONE

Word Count: 1686

I wasn't invited down to meet his father until evening had set in, and dinner had passed.

Jessa, who dressed me and dusted a fine amount of makeup onto my face has promptly warned me that they are still arguing, and even though I've been requested to go into the room, she doubts I will be noticed.

But Jessa has no idea what Tai's plans are. The last thing I desire is to witness him kill his own father right in front of me, but to sell the façade, I need to be there as the night finishes up. As Tai finally enacts revenge on his father for something I haven't yet grasped.

I know little of Tai, and he hasn't been so interested in sharing much about himself to me so far.

Wordlessly, I walked into the room, and now I'm sitting where Tai once did, the King now pacing back and forth before his father, who sits behind at his sons desk. I stare at my feet, but it didn't stop me from catching a glance toward King Kailor, Tai's father.

Tai mustn't have taken his looks from his father, as Kailor looks nothing like him. He has dark brunette hair, a lot like Vaia's, peppered with grey hairs from age. His skin, although showing signs of his maturity, is still relatively smooth and glowing, handsome like Tai, but in a far more angular, pointed way that is beyond intimidating.

"Why do this? Why shame your family like this Taius?" Kailor questions gruffly, his voice dark and sinister, making me shiver. He speaks as if I'm not here, not that it would matter either way. I mean nothing to him, I'm completely below him.

Tai continues to pace. "I don't have to abide by your rules anymore, father."

Looking over Tai, I see no sign of a weapon. By the looks of King Kailor, he could manage to fight Tai off, which means it's unlikely he will use his bare hands to end him. So what will it be? A morbid curiosity twists uneasily in my stomach, my anxiety increasing as I anticipate what could happen at any moment.

"So you are to wed your mistress, disappoint all those who are loyal to you, embarrass me?" Kailor demands sourly, hardly gracing me with much of a glance. Tai and Vaia must have gotten their green eyes from their mother, as Kailor's are as black as the ebony sky outside the window.

"No one gets to control me. I'm a King in my own right," Tai reminds him.

Although he has the appearance of a King painted across him, on his expression and within his decadent clothing, I see the sense of vulnerability there, the child-like fear only to be seen before a cruel, wicked father.

Kailor takes a long drink from his decanter before settling his dark stare upon his son. "You're half the King your brother would have been."

I fight the urge to flinch, as I mull over those very telling words. Tai didn't tell me had a brother, or perhaps lack of one now. Was he killed, or did he die? I have so many questions that I keep hidden within my mind. This family is all kinds of screwed up.

"Then give the position to Vaia," Tai mutters flippantly. Something tells me he wouldn't mind if his father made that decision.

"She's immature, desperate. She would run this place into the ground," he replies gravely.  I understand now why Tai hates his father so much. I'm sure there is far more personal trauma that has been invoked by him beyond just harsh words, but the bigger picture is slowly starting to form before me.

"Don't you dare. You only say that because she's a sister to me, and not a brother," Tai growls, the passion coming forward in his voice making me shiver.

Kailor doesn't even blink, although his mouth twists slightly. "You think you're right about everything, foolish boy."

From what I know about Vaia, she wouldn't make a good Queen, purely due to her distracted nature and lack of understanding for anyone below her. But not because of the way she was born, like how it seems she was judged by Kailor. Part of me feels sorry for the Princess.

"Fine. If Vaia is not good enough, then what am I?"

"Pathetic, useless. But the way people respect you gives you enough worth to me that I don't replace you with a commoner off the streets," Kailor mutters, gaze gliding to me. I don't flinch, matching his gaze. His perception of those who are not royal is infuriating, but I already expected that.

I can see the storm building beneath Tai's skin, threatening to come out. Any moment now, I'm anticipating him lurching forward to end his fathers life in whatever way he has planned. However, killing someone, especially his father by his own hand does not seem possible for Tai. My eyes wander to the crystal decanter filled with dark brown liquid that Kailor casually sips at.

Tai steps toward the desk. "I'm building something. You would be so impressed-"

"Have you yet to heed my advice? This world is run by magic, by the powers of the lucky few. Just because you are not one of them, inferior to their abilities, does not mean you must compensate with your foolish inventions. If you were not the King, you would be killed for such a thing," Kailor growls.

Both Tai and I flinch. I don't need to know much about Tai to know he adores his inventions, and likely spends a great amount of his time investing in it, even if he shares so little of it with me.

"But look, father. This device, it doesn't need magic. All it needs is your thoughts, and it can take you anywhere in the land you please," Tai informs him, pointing to the thick silver band that wraps around his wrist.

Anyone would marvel at such an invention. Tai is incredibly smart to have been able to create it, however Kailor doesn't look so impressed.

"Let me see," he murmurs.

Tai presses a small button from the under side of the band, causing it to pop off into his hand. He promptly hands it to Kailor, examining his expression with what can only be described as the hope of a young man wanting to impress his father.

Instead of admiring his son's craftmanship, Kailor swiftly snaps the band into two pieces before carelessly discarding it onto the desk before him.

The devastation on Tai's face is unmatched. "Father! That took me months to perfect."

"You need to learn the order of power. Magic is at the top, and for you to stay King, you must respect it," Kailor growls, glaring at the piece of silver before him. The feral rage that replaces his sadness is a terrifying look on Tai's face. My throat aches as I struggle to breathe, wondering if this is the moment where he finally snaps and attacks his father, however he remains still in his spot, shoulders tense.

"I need not respect any of that, until you respect me."

"Then you shall forever be my biggest disappointment," Kailor dismisses with a wave of his hand, adorning rings similar to Tai. It must be a royal tradition.

Wordlessly, Tai stalks from the room, leaving me frozen in my seat.

He didn't kill him.

A million different thoughts flood my mind as I try to make sense of what I just witnessed: A grossly disturbed relationship between a father and son, and a failed assassination attempt against a King.

Kailor and I meet gazes. While my expression remains impassive, I curse him in my head, thinking of all the ways I could kill him right now in Tai's place, even if just thinking about that makes me feel ill. I could never willingly kill, but staring at the man before me, who is supposed to be a King, has me rethinking my own personal philosophy.

"Mistress to Queen. You must be pleased," he rumbles darkly, his voice skating over my skin leaving shivers in its wake. I narrow my eyes, knowing that despite my desire to keep in his good graces, I won't let myself be spoken to that way.

"It is what it is."

"But of course, you are not a Queen yet," he mutters, running the tip of his finger along the surface of the desk as he mulls over his thoughts. "Perhaps you should join me in my room, considering your current title. I'm sure you would find I have far more experience than my son."

My reaction is visceral, as physical disgust rolls over. He's propositioning me, thinking I am truly a mistress. Even if I were, I wouldn't service him, even if I had a knife to my neck.

I have too much self-respect.

"My current title is Taius's fiancée. Who is your son, might I add," I remind him curtly, folding my arms over my chest. His eyebrows raise, either our of surprise, or perhaps respect.

"Then you shall be occupying my sons bed?"

I swallow hard past the lump in my throat, caught out in my own lie. Of course Tai and I are not actually engaged, and we are no intimate to any degree, yet Kailor cannot know this.

"Yes, I suppose I will. Goodnight," I say slowly, getting to my feet.

Kailor watches me closely as I walk past his desk and out the door, hurrying up the stairs to Tai's bedroom.

🖤••🖤

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 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 💜🐼