FORTY TWO

Word Count: 1816

~Akara

There's a cold, deathly silence as everyone drinks in the sight Evolet, and the knife in her hand.

She has a disturbing grin on her face, her straight white teeth glinting under the chandeliers light. She doesn't wear much, aside from a skin-tight black jacket and pants, making it easier for her to sneak in here undetected. A hood is pulled over her head, hiding her newly cropped hair, the extravagance of her once Noble look gone. She looks near feral.

She looks around the room, at the stunned, terrified faces. "I'm waiting for my applause..."

Nausea, fear and anger all churn in my stomach as I watch her shake the dagger, blood splattering unceremoniously onto the marble floor, accompanying what is pooled from Kailor's body. She seems unbothered as it glides down the blade, the handle and around her fingers, the scarlet streaks bright against her skin.

"What have you done?" I gasp out, hardly able to take in the sight in front of me.

Evolet doesn't even look at me, violet eyes trained on Tai. "Come on Taius, don't have the audacity to look shocked. We all know that pig deserved to die."

I too look at him. His face is suddenly void of colour, eyes wide and vacant as he doesn't look anywhere other than at his father, now slumped dead in his chair. My heart aches for him immediately, knowing that he just witnessed his own father's death.

"You're sick...You just killed a man in front of his son," I growl, going to step forward, but I just myself short, the edge of my dress nearly brushing against the blood creeping ever so close to me. Evolet still smiles, something so sadistic and inhumane about the look.

"Taius has always wanted his father dead," she declares. I can feel the intensity of every one's gaze as they watch on, too terrified to move, with Evolet still standing with the knife in her hand. Guards linger close, but don't move, waiting for Tai's permission to engage. "That's why he isn't calling guards to have me arrested."

"You need to leave," I demand. Tai may be too stunned, but I'm not.

"Gladly," she says sardonically, her smile suddenly falling. Gracefully, she steps over the puddle of blood on the floor toward Tai, who doesn't move, staring blankly ahead at Evolet. "But tonight, we need to talk."

With all the confidence and ease in the world, Evolet passes Tai, bumping his shoulder as she does so. Everyone's eyes track her all the way out of the room, including the guards who continue to make no move to stop her. I want to shake Tai, to bring him back to his senses. He doesn't seem to snap from his trance until everyone erupts into question, directed all throughout the room.

"You need to call the guards on her," I tell him. "Tai, are you listening to me?"

He blinks, dragging his gaze to me. "They will get her. She won't get out."

Releasing a tense breath, I lurch forward and wrap my arms around him, before people can tear him away and demand answers. He feels stiff under my grip, the shock having grasped him.

"I'm so...I'm so sorry Tai, I can't believe that happened," I gasp out.

Tai looks down at me as I pull away, looking grim. "Maybe Evolet is right. Maybe he deserves it."

***

The guards did in fact find Evolet lingering around the manor, and locked her up in the cell downstairs.

"You have a lot of explaining to do," I growl, folding my arms over my chest. Tai stands beside me, finally having snapped out of his trance. I want to talk to him, to ask him what he is thinking, what he is feeling. But the moment Evolet left, everyone panicked, and had to be escorted out, and then everyone was asking Tai questions he didn't have the answers to, and now we are here.

Evolet glares at me through the bars of the cell, having removed her hood now. "Calm down Akara, you don't intimidate me."

"Why did you do it?" Tai asks quietly beside me. He doesn't sound sad, or overwhelmed by emotion, just numb. I would be too, considering what Tai is going through right now. He may think of his father one way, but he's still his father, and he was murdered right in front of him.

"Kailor deserved to die. We all know that," she says dismissively.

I step forward until I'm nearly pressed against the bars of the cell, while Evolet remains back, leaning against the wall. "You didn't have the right to kill him."

"I'm on your side. You have to believe me," she insists. The amusement is gone from her face suddenly, trying to convince her of her innocence.

I'm so angry about Kailor's death, I don't want to believe anything she says, but to leave her in this cell forever. Yet I've been so curious about Evolet's intentions for so long, that I'm desperate to hear what she says. I don't know who she plans on siding with, but surely it can't be us? Not after killing Kailor...

"Why did you save me from the rebels?" I question.

"Because I needed you to trust me," she explains, eyes drawn, the shadows that linger under them from many days of exhaustive work. This plan has been in motion for a long time, and there was nothing we could do to stop it from happening. "I'm not the bad guy. If I wanted to be, I would have killed you and Tai earlier, and Kailor in secret."

"Why did you kill him?"

Evolet's gaze shifts to Tai. "Tai...Would you like to tell her, or should I?"

"We all know my father wasn't a good man, Evolet," Tai mumbles in response, shuffling uneasily. Frowning, I look between the two, a dark casam in my chest being dug out by doubt. They are keeping something from me. "There is no need to put me through explaining it."

Evolet tilts his head back and forth, looking as though she is trying to smother a smile. "Hmm, I see."

"You have to be punished for this," I say, diverting the conversation. I could push Tai for answers, but he isn't in the right headspace to talk badly about his father.

"You're not going to punish me. I did you all I favour," she says sternly. She seems so casual, so confident that we are going to believe her and allow her to walk free. She killed the King, which at any normal standard, would require her to be executed. "I even killed that Summoner for you.

My heart sinks. "You killed Marek?"

"No that Summoner, Akara," she corrects, the smile on her face making my stomach twist uneasily. "Although you don't have to look so frightened for your Hunter friend right in front of your lover."

I glance at Tai, whose gaze is dark. "She's talking about Elan."

"He was a mole for Vaia, obviously," Evolet mutters flatly, like we are so foolish not to know that already. Maybe we are. Maybe we have been looking in all the wrong places for the information that we need. Evolet has already proven to be many steps ahead of us. "Who do you think tried to kill you all those months back. Vaia doesn't have that many Summoner's at her disposal."

"How do you know all this?"

"I have my own moles. With Vaia and with Kailor," Evolet exclaims, looking rather smug with all her achievements.

I narrow my eyes. "How?"

"I was a Noble once. I'm very influential." She pushes off the wall, running a hand back through her cropped hair. Her new look is still a lot to get used to, but I honestly prefer it. The manicured, lavish Evolet has disappeared from my mind, replaced by a strong woman who has been through hell, and is now many steps ahead of the rest of us.

"And you want to help us?" Tai's voice is skeptical.

"I don't like Vaia very much. Right now she's too hard to kill on my own, so I need your help," Evolet explains. "And I don't like change. Tai was good on the throne. Maybe I can be one of his Nobles."

He narrows his eyes. "I don't have Noble's."

"Maybe now you will," she grins.

A mix of emotions stir inside me. Evolet has revealed her hand, and if she is being honest with us, then we should be able to trust her. Having her on our side would be good, as she clearly is holding onto more information then she is willing to tell us, and considering the position we are currently in, she would be invaluable.

Regardless, I still can't shake the fact that I can't trust her. "We don't need your help."

"Yes, you do," she snaps. "I'm one step ahead of everyone, including Marek."

"What do you know about Marek?" I question, wrapping my hands around the bars of the cell. The edge of Evolet's mouth twitches up, sensing my curiosity about the hunter. I could tell her that I want to know because he is our greatest adversary right now, but that would be a lie.

"A lot. He has some very dark, compelling secrets Akara," she purrs. Her dark eyes drag to Tai. "It must just be your taste in men. Right Tai?"

I ignore the way Tai shifts uncomfortably next to me. "Tell me."

"I'm waiting for you to let me out of this cell," she smiles. "Then we can come to an agreement."

Releasing a long breath, I realise there is only one way that I'm going to get out of this. We could keep Evolet in here, but she wouldn't tell us anything, and she likely already has a plan to escape, as I doubt she would have put herself in this position without a back up plan.

I look at Tai, giving him a grim nod. "Okay, let her out."

He doesn't hesitate, digging in his pocket for the keys. Evolet watches with keen eyes as he pulls the heavy door open.

Evolet strides out, grinning at me as she does so. "You made the right decision."

💜••💜

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 (:

Snapchat: midikacrane

Instagram: Sophie_Midika

~Midika 💜