THIRTY FIVE

Word Count: 1876

I go to follow Tai and the guards downstairs, where I know they are going to take Marek, but with one look down my body, I realise I need to change.

Shuddering with all the adrenaline pumping through my body, I shove some leggings onto my legs, and tear off my night dress, replacing it with a normal shirt. A million thoughts are flowing through my mind, questions that have no answers driving me nearly mad. Marek just handed himself in, giving himself over to Tai and Kailor like it means nothing to him. He has to have another plan...

All of the lights are dim, the hour of night stretching into very early morning. I stride down the stairs, circling around and around, heading toward the cells. There are only two cells total down there, and the condition of them is repulsive. My stomach twists as a tangy smell wafts up the stairwell as I walk.

Tai and Kailor's voices drift up the stairs as I get closer.

"All of those who have been feeding intel to him have been killed." That's Kailor's voice. My heart jumps into my throat, knowing their next intention will be to kill Marek. I would much rather Marek stay locked up here for as long as it takes for Vaia to be taken down, rather than for him to be killed.

Tai's voice is tense. "Was killing them really necessary?"

"What do you think it's going to happen to this bastard?" Kailor laughs gruffly. IN my mind, I can see him gesturing to Marek, who by now, should be waking up from the injection. Tai promised me they would administer another drug that would rouse him as soon as he was apprehended and put behind bars.

I come to the bottom of the stairs, the lights flicker. Down here, the air is dense and stuff, but ice cold, my bare arms aching. Tai and Kailor stand at the entrance of the room, which beyond, contains the cell Marek will be being held in.

Tai doesn't flinch at the sight of me, suspecting I would want to witness this, a grim sense of irritation settling over him. "Akara, you shouldn't be down here."

"I want to watch the interrogation," I breathe, my hand bracing on the icy cold concrete wall next to me.

"I can hear you," a voice calls out from around the corner. Marek. "Not so subtle, huh?"

Tai meets my gaze, shaking his head slowly. He's upset I'm down here, but he expected nothing less, and isn't about to tell me to walk back up the stairs, knowing I'll just refuse. And with Marek sitting in his cell, a smirk likely plastered across his face, risking arguing wouldn't help any of us right now.

"Don't give him the satisfaction," Tai murmurs under his breath, emerald eyes blazing.

I nod mutely, exchanging a glance with Kailor. He rolls his eyes, brushing past me and into the jail room. I follow, Tai behind me. My eyes fall immediately on Marek, who stands at the end of the cell, leaning his back against the concrete wall, arms crossed over his chest. He recovered from the serum he administered to himself very quickly.

"If you think I'm going to say a single word to you, Kailor, you're really as old as you look," he mutters sourly, nothing but contempt in his eyes as he stares down the King. I'm not sure how familiar they are with each other, if they have ever met before.

Kailor glowers at him, but for once, remains silent.

"I'll question him," I voice. Marek isn't going to say a word to Kailor of Tai, not unless he gets something out of them. "You know how much I hate him, he won't be getting away with anything."

Kailor reads Tai's face, convinced he is going to let me question Marek, so he turns on his heel and walks up the stairs, not looking back. I frown. He's not intimidated by Marek, is he? He seems perfectly okay leaving us to deal with him.

I look at the smug male leaning against the wall. "Marek, you're going to have to comply if you ever want to get out of here."

"There's not a single soul in this room that believes I'll be out of here anytime soon," he responds, the amusement touching his tone, the ease and lack of worry infused into his words is there to bother Tai, to make the King feel as though he isn't getting through to him.

I step closer to the cell, letting my hands grasp the cool steel of the bars. "Please Marek..."

He looks at me for a long, lingering moment, giving nothing away. Unspoken questions are written all over my expression, demanding to know why he gave himself in to Tai and Kailor without giving anything away. Soon, I may tell them, but right now I'm concerned Kailor will order Marek's death if he finds out.

Instead of responding to me, Marek looks over my shoulder at Tai who lingers behind me.

"Does it anger you, Taius, that Akara still desires me?" The smirk on his face says it all, that he is saying this to rile Tai up. "Her soft spot for me truly is cute."

Marek doesn't look at me once, as I stiffen, his words making my stomach flip over. I doubt he is intending to hurt me by saying this, but hearing him sum up how our relationship has been over the past few months like that has me doubting whether I should be concealing information from Tai right now for his benefit.

Tai takes the bait, coming to stand beside me, staring into Marek's cell. "Does it anger you, that you thought she truly wanted you, when she doesn't?"

Marek smirks. "Ouch."

"You're not going to anger me," Tai murmurs in response.

I look between the two males, still finding it strange seeing them in the same room again. Last time that occurred, Vaia hadn't taken over Tai's estate, so he still had a sense of authority over Marek. It's clear Tai is still holding onto that, banking everything on that, but it's not going to work. Marek only answers to Vaia now, and he's only going to take the pressure from Tai without breaking.

"So it doesn't bother you that Akara and I have met so many times since you arrived here? That I come to see her especially?" Marek questions, raising a brow.

I feel Tai's gaze shift to me for a moment, but I continue to stare vacantly into Marek's cell. Recently I've mentioned to him that Marek has been visiting, and I've been entertaining it to get information out of him. He doesn't like it, but he knows it's a good thing that Marek has a soft spot for me, that he wants to ensure my safety. But is he going to be thinking of that benefit right now, or will he let his emotions overcome him?

I doubt there is anyone in this land currently that bothers Tai as much as Marek does.

"I've known that," Tai replies smoothly, shrugging carelessly. "You're not as smart as you may like to believe."

"You're no fun," Marek rolls his eyes, realising that Tai isn't going to let him play with him anymore. "What's the first question?"

"What is Vaia planning with the Forbidden River?" Tai wastes no time.

"She wants power. For everyone," Marek divulges, narrowing his eyes upon the King. We already knew Vaia wants power, that she wants everyone to have access to that, which is why this is so terrifying.

"What do you get out of that?" I question. I need to know, above everything else. Marek is powerful in his own right, he has made that very clear. And he hates his power, so he of all people should know that giving everyone extensive amounts of power from the River is a horrifically bad idea.

Marek's eyes glitter as he looks over me. "I have my reasons."

Tai cuts in before I can dig myself a hole by "Has Vaia started testing?"

"Yes."

"On?"

"Those who volunteer," Marek purrs.

"Why did you side with her? What are you gaining?" I ask softly, my voice breaking. I hate having to be so vulnerable in front of him, but I'm desperate to know. I'm not sure I can continue with my life without knowing. I'm sick of sleepless nights, of watching Tai nearly tear his hair out also because he doesn't know what is happening.

"Have you two had sex yet?" Marek questions, once again dismissing me, avoiding insulting me by turning his attention to Tai. "There's far too much tension in this room for you to have."

A darkness passes over Tai's expression, a calm rage settling over him. I take a wary step back from him, unsure of how he is going to react to Marek's incessant digging under his skin. I haven't seen him angry before, but I can practically feel the quiet anger ebbing off him, filling the room.

Tai's fists clench and unclench. "Shut up. I'll make you talk."

I watch as he leans over, picking up a steel rod that had been leaning against the wall. While my eyes widen in horror, Marek only continues to smile, quirking his eyebrow up curiously.

"Tai...What are you doing?" I breathe.

"Hurting me is pointless, Taius. Take one step in here and I'll kill you," Marek reminds him, tilting his head in a way that shifts his dark hair off his marking, the silvery blue glinting in the dim light of his cell. To cement his point, he pushes up off the wall he was leaning on, bracing himself in the centre of the cell, waiting.

"I don't need to get anywhere near you for this," Tai growls, twisting the steel rod so he is holding it in both hands. Both Marek and I watch keenly as he backs up, disappearing into an adjoining room. When he returns, the tip of the steel rod glows bright red. Dread seeps into me, suffocating my throat, thundering in my chest as I realise he's heated it in the furnace next door. A lot of pain can be inflicted by that.

"Hurting him won't do anything," I remind Tai. I don't want him to do something he will regret. If he kills Marek, we will have nothing on Vaia. "I imagine he's endured far worse."

Tai turns to face me, a coldness in his emerald eyes, an unfamiliarity settling in those usually beautiful irises.

"What if I hurt Akara instead?"

🤍••🤍

If you guys want to read ahead, you can read more of KING'S SEDUCTION on Radish! It's chapters ahead of Wattpad (:

You'll will find it under KING'S POSSESSION on Radish, as season 2!

👻••👻

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 💜🐼