Word Count: 1982
Rain lashes violently outside, wind carrying it sideways, accompanied by a bitter chill.
Marek and I sit out on the front porch of my family home, the moment strangely nostalgic, reminding me of when him and I would sit in Tai's outdoor area. We managed to escape my fathers incessant questioning on Marek and where he came from, while mother dwells in her room, avoiding us both at all costs.
She isn't taking this well, having a King near dead in her home...and having a daughter who betrayed her under her roof.
I still haven't slept, the morning having shifted into afternoon, bringing with it a brutal storm. Thankfully I was able to shower, still flinching each time I step under the spray, despite it having been weeks since the poison incident.
Despite his protests, Marek was patched up by the healer, forcing him to sit down while she fussed over his shallow wounds. He had one nasty gash on his side from where the Beasts claw struck him, but thankfully she has managed it with some stitching and gauze.
The rain is violent, the thunder accompanying it livid.
"What if he dies?" I whisper, staring blankly out into the village.
My families home is tucked at the edge of the village, right near the forest. It faces the backs of other homes, all made from thick wood logs, the roads travelling between them either made from worn dirt over overused cobblestone.
I can feel Marek looking at me, the intensity of his blue gaze making me shiver, my numb fingers wrapping my coat around me tighter. "He won't."
"He should be dead. Even you can admit that," I remind him uneasily.
If the legends are true - which we had every reason to believe they were - those who kill the Beast, and are human, will die along with it. It's the only reason such a large, vicious creature managed to stay alive for centuries. We even checked to ensure it was dead before we left.
"He should be, but he isn't," Marek says firmly. "If the initial release of power didn't kill him, this won't either."
The healer arrived early this morning, and hasn't left Tai's side since. She knows the importance of her healing to maintain his health until the storm eases and his own personnel arrives. She doesn't have answers, though, and when I tell her not to question what happened to him, she doesn't.
The moment this village finds out what I did, they will want me dead.
"My life is a mess," I exclaim, the rasp of my voice joining the rain and it's loud patter against the roof above us. "You should escape now, while he's not here to restrain you."
"I could have escaped the moment we stepped out of his territory, Akara," Marek murmurs grimly. "I have no intentions of leaving."
I look at him for a long, silent moment. He is right about being able to leave, had he wished. He had the weapons, the skills and the opportunity to kill Tai without any issue, yet he chose not to. Part of me wants to believe he truly mourned for Tai's life when he went down with the Beast, but the other knows better...He mourned for the inability to remove his powers.
"Really? Why not?"
Marek's gaze is uncompromising, icy eyes contrasting against the damp hair of his that reaches his lashes, the bronze colour having turned dark. "As long as you're in that manor with him, I will be to. I care about you, and I'm not about to leave you alone in that place."
My heart flutters. Bracing my hands back behind me, I examine the steely grey clouds, finding it strange how I haven't missed this village as much as I thought I may have.
"I couldn't possibly ask you to stay," I breathe, although every part of me wants to.
He shakes his head, revealing some of that silvery-blue marking my father is so fascinated by. "You're not. I've chosen to."
"I think some sick part of me wanted you to take the promotion because I didn't want you to go," I admit, guessing that he has already gathered that by now. It was selfish of me, to not order Tai to let Marek go in exchange for my hand in marriage. Although now knowing he wouldn't have left makes my blood warm.
Marek sighs through his nose. "I thought I wanted freedom for quite some time, and then I asked myself why. I mean, there isn't much left for me out there. The Beast has been killed, so my one chance to eliminate my powers is gone."
"You still haven't told me what they are yet," I remind him.
He looks at me for a long moment, a solemn look in his eyes mixing with pain. I get the feeling he doesn't share this with many people, choosing instead to keep a lot to his chest rather than make it known. He's frightened of weakness, I realise. Unlike Tai, who has never had a reason to fear anyone, or flee from his past, Marek is reclusive, quieter. It may take more time for me to encourage him to truly trust me.
"If I admit it, it makes it more real. I don't want to be the person I could be, so instead, I let this ugly mark taint my skin," he mutters, sweeping his damp hair back to reveal his forehead. The strands rain back down around his ears, but allows me to examine the silver-blue layer of shimmery dust that cannot be removed.
"Marek, it isn't ugly. It's actually quite beautiful," I tell him honestly.
They way he looks at me in this moment has my thoughts faltering. He smiles, so softly and so genuinely it lightens his eyes, warming his entire expression. There's a tenderness there, a fondness that's ineffable.
In one swift movement, he rests his palm on the side of my face, pulling me closer to his face, holding my gaze for a lingering moment. Part of me wants to indulge in just a moment of simplicity of him, to kiss him and pretend my life isn't a shambles right now.
Instead, I reign in my common sense, pulling away to stare down at my knotted fingers. "Woah, I don't think that's such a good idea."
"Because of Tai, or because you don't want to kiss me?" he murmurs huskily, the roughness of his tone suggesting he doesn't want to escape this moment as desperately as I do. If I allow myself...
"I shouldn't have to explain this to you every time Marek. I'm marrying him," I regard quietly, watching the way the rain pools on the ground, turning the dirt paths into a drowsy sludge.
Marek releases a breath, pulling away. Each time I tell him I'm marrying Tai, I know it's like a slap in the face. He feels strongly about me, and here I am, playing into it while also continuing the facade with Tai. It feels cruel, and I don't want to be that person, yet I fear with every passing moment that I am.
Just admit it to me," he mutters lowly, the tone of his voice melting into the fall of the rain. "Admit you're fucking him, or he's fucking you. However a King likes it."
Despite flinching at his tone, at the vial words he speaks, I understand his sudden outburst. The frustration, the unsure nature of this entire situation...it's getting to him, and it's getting to me. He may not be human, but he is close enough to it to have the same tumultuous emotions that I have. If I were in his position, I'm not sure I would be so refined, especially not around Tai.
Regardless, I'm not going to allow him to think it's okay, whatever the excuse. "You don't get to talk to me like that just because you're jealous."
"Jealousy?" he stresses, eyebrows furrowing, gaze darkening. "Is that what you think it is?"
I shrug uneasily. "What else would it be?"
"It's more than that, Akara," he breathes, adjusting his legs, allowing me to see the exact knife he was using to fend the Beast off. "It's spending every waking moment wondering what it would be like to be with you, to have you as mine. All to know another man has his hands all over you."
All air expels from my lungs. He doesn't think Tai and I are involved, right? I've shown Tai almost no affection, trying to keep a distance from him as to not upset either of them, and yet clearly it's not translating as coherently as I initially desired.
"That's not what it is and you know it."
"Weeks ago I came to your room in the middle of the night and you weren't there," he exasperates, the pained look in his eyes not a facade, not there to guilt me. "Do you know how long I spent thinking up all the things he was doing to you? On this trip, he can't take his eyes off you, and often times it feels as though you're communicating without saying a word."
"I know, I'm sorry about sending mixed signals," I tell him, even if I know it's beyond my control. When I try to control it, it almost feels as though I'm making it worse for all of us. "It's not my fault."
"I'm not saying it is, I'm just saying I'm frustrated," he explains. I could judge him for that, maybe him hate him for being so resentful, but I know it's not my place to. "I want it to stop, to go away. I've never felt this way about anyone, ever."
Who else have you been with?
The question is foolish, yet still plays on my mind curiously. I know nothing about Marek...Whether that be his family, friends of life outside of this place. All I know is about his obsession with Tani.
"I'm sorry wanting me is such a burden on you," I say hopelessly, wondering how long I would survive if I just got up and walked into the forest with nothing more than the coat on my shoulders, and kept walking.
"Wanting you is not the burden," Marek explains softly, delving his hands into his hair before letting go, his skin-tight gloves coming back almost wet. "Needing you is. And knowing I will never have you."
Many words I could speak get lost on my lips as the door opens behind me, revealing my father. He looks between Marek and I with careful precision, examining how close we sit next to each other. He is a smart man, likely having already deduced that I'm involved with this Summoner in some way.
"How is he?" I ask, wishing I didn't sound so hopeless as drained.
"His condition doesn't seem to have changed," he tells me. "I think you should get some rest now, Akara."
Despite how fearful I am for Tai's condition, I know I won't be any help unless I sleep. Right now my mind is lagging behind my body, and all I want to do is lay my head down and consider each word that Marek has said to me.
Because now, there is so much more at stake.
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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 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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