ELEVEN

Word Count: 1618

~Akara

I stare out toward the forest, remembering moments where things were easier.

Zavian sits next to me, letting me be silent for some time. It's frustrating, having so many questions, their answers only capable of coming from one man, who could be anywhere right now. And I'm not sure I can face him, after what has been revealed to me.

"Remind me of why Marek is here again," Zavian asks after awhile.

He's been holding onto that question, I can tell.

"Believe it or not, he was working on our side the entire time," I explain, still hardly able to believe it myself. Marek sacrificed so much for me, and now I'm unsure if I'll ever be able to repay him. "Well, he was trying to protect me. He protected my family and everything, when I couldn't."

"I don't trust him. Whether he saved my life or not." Zavian's expression remains solemn, as he looks out into the forest. Zavian didn't know Marek like I did, so I can't blame him for having reservations.

I nod, wrapping my arms around myself. "I understand. I'm still trying to figure out whether I trust him either."

Sitting outside like this reminds me of all the times Marek and I would meet under the stars to talk privately. At that time, we were trying to survive, to escape what we had stumbled into. At those times, I was falling in love with him.

Now, those memories are blurry and far away.

"So I'm assuming everything with you and Tai will be over now that you've found his diary." Zavian sounds uneasy to bring it up, but it's clear he's curious.

"Once I talk to him, I'll decide." It's hard to even say it, after everything Tai and I have been through, but I can tell what I've been feeling it starting to fade away. "You're looking better."

He's almost completely changed since I last saw him. No more dark shadows under his eyes, his skin isn't sallow and there's a glitter to his eyes. Everything has been torn away from him, and yet he appears far healthier.

He smiles. "I've stopped drinking Tani blood."

"What? Since when?"

"Since Vaia nearly killed me," he explains, looking down at his hands. I remember coming into that room when I came back for Tai, to see Zavian chained and beaten. "Figured I don't actually don't want to die. And I don't want to risk anything any more."

Relief is crushing as I exhale slowly. "Good. I'm proud of you."

I'm grateful I never became addicted myself, and more grateful Zavian is hopefully done with that. I consider him one of my closest friends, and someone I can trust among people around me who I'm not questioning.

"How's your wound?" Tai asks, looking down at my stomach. My arms wrap around myself, the ghost feeling of that pain playing on my mind for a moment. I was close to not surviving that. Maybe a week or two longer and I would have died from it, regardless of drinking from the river or being killed by Vaia.

"Gone. I'm worried I'm turning into a Tani," I murmur, wishing I could just melt into the floor.

"The odds of you drinking from the river and surviving are so slim. Are you sure you even did?" Zavian asks, looking at me with a puzzled expression on his face.

I blink, memories flooding back to me. I remember being held under the surface, gasping for air while water was forced down my throat. Whether I invited it or not, I consumed the water from the river, the sweet taste still lingering on my tongue all these weeks later. And after I was discarded by Vaia, thought to be dead.

"Yes, I was submerged," I inform him, trying not to let the memories haunt me. "Plus, I've been feeling strange. I'm struggling to sleep, my limbs are weak and sore, I have nightmares plaguing me. What if I turn into something monstrous?"

I shiver, remembering the Beast and the Snow Demon.

"Would you feel better if we went to find someone who could help you before going to find Tai?" Zavian offers.

"No, I want to see him first," I decide. I refuse to let the emotions I'm battling in this moment fade before I can speak to die. He killed his brother, chased off his mother who I thought was also dead, and may be building a horrifying weapon for the war.

"I should get back inside. I need to speak to Nakoa." Zavian wraps his arm around me, squeezing me close before getting to his feet, leaving me sitting on the porch quietly.

"Goodnight, Zavian," I call out, watching him go back inside.

For a while I just sit, staring out into the forest, the peacefulness settling over me. I love the Jade Province, even if I don't love being here. But maybe once everything has been dealt with, it will be time to leave this Province forever, and everything in it.

The sound of footsteps from behind me have me glancing over my shoulder, suspecting Zavian's return, but instead it's Marek.

He pauses on the step next to me, looking down.

"Can I sit?"

I rub my arms. "I suppose."

In one graceful movement, he's sitting next to me, only a few inches of space between our arms. Now that everything has calmed down, and I'm not in basic survival mode, being around Marek has so much more weight to it. I'm anxious, wondering what I should say around him and how I should act.

"How are you feeling?" he asks gently. I can feel his gaze, the weight of it pressing into me. He's still be patient, not mentioning once that he still loves me, or that he has any expectations for anything to happen between us.

And yet it runs through my mind at every moment of the day.

"Tired. Confused. Angry," I admit.

"I can't blame you," he sighs. I turn my head to look at him, his expression soft as he looks at me with earnest eyes. "Akara, I had no idea..."

"Neither did I. Trust me, if I did, I would never have been with him. I feel more foolish than anyone for thinking I could trust him. I may as well throw this stupid ring away," I grumble, tugging it off my finger.

Rearing back, I go to toss is angrily out toward the forest, but Marek grabs my arm with a surprisingly strong grip. I frown, pulling my arm away.

"Can I have a look at it?" he asks, holding out his palm.

Confused, I drop it into his hand, not sure why he wants to see the present Tai made especially for me so bad. I should have thrown it off the moment I read that letter, knowing that it says trust in me, which I can't possibly do right now.

"It's practically dissolving," I mutter, staring at it irritably. "I'm not sure what material he used, but it bad enough to be falling apart."

Marek doesn't say anything, still examining the ring closely under the moonlight.

"It never used to. In fact it was a wonderful ring until..." I break off, trying to think about exactly hen it started breaking, because it lasted for months with not a single chip in it, and now the entire exterior has almost completely scratched away. But with all the memory loss, there really is only one place where since then, I've noticed strange things with the ring.

Marek looks up. "Until?"

"Until I drank from the river," I whisper, watching Marek shake flakes of the silver material off his hand.

Marek is thoughtful for a moment, before he pauses, seeming to come to a realisation. "The river...Hold on, what if the material is dissolving because of the magic in the river."

"Tai was a genius with technology. I don't think he would make me such a terrible ring." Maybe he wouldn't have suspected I would ever come into contact with magic, but surely I can't think of any material myself that would erode like this after coming into contact with it.

"Exactly. Maybe he knew you were going to be put into the river and wanted this to dissolve," Marek explains, turning the ring over slowly. "Maybe he wanted all trace of him gone, or maybe he was trying to tell you something."

My blood goes cold.

"Give it here." I take it from his hand, looking at it closely. At first there's nothing, just a broken ring, until I catch sight of something abnormal in the centre of the ring.

"I think there's something in it. It's white," I note. "I can't get to it."

Marek stands, grabbing a rock from nearby. "Here, let me smash it."

I lay it on the porch, stepping back. Marek approaches it, glancing at me as if to ask for permission, knowing he's about to destroy a gift Tai made for me. Nodding mutely, I motion for him to smash the ring with the sturdy rock in his hand, which he does.

When he pulls the rock back, the ring has been utterly destroyed, only remnant's of it remaining, a lot of it turned to dust.

Marek kneels down, running his fingers through what's left of it, tugging a small, white piece of paper that's been folded many times over.

Slowly, he unfurls the paper, before looking up at me with grim eyes. "It's a note."

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Remember that you can always find this story 10 chapters ahead on Radish (:

You will find it under King's Possession Season Three!!

~Midika 🐼💜