FIVE

Word Count: 1694

I didn't wait a moment longer, grabbing my coat before running all the way home.

By the time the cabin lights came into sight in the distance, glittering on the silvery snow backed against the walls, I'm exhausted. Pulling my feet through heaped snow, each breath burning from the glacial cold has drawn all the energy from me, I collapse against the front door before stumbling into in.

Tai is lounging back on the couch, looking up from his book as I don't bother kicking my boots off at the door, pressing my back firmly against it as if Marek followed me home and changed his mind about sparing me.

He stands, not bothering to mark his page. "Akara-"

"We need to leave," I say hurriedly, my breath rushed and painful. At this point I'm drenched in heat, red staining my cheeks from the exertion of running up the hill to our cabin tucked so neatly into the woods. How long has Marek waited before making himself known? How much of our life has he secretly been monitoring with us none the wiser.

"Is everything okay?" Tai questions, advancing on me, eyes gazing down upon me, seeing nothing but wide eyes and a panicked look. My mind still struggles to make sense of what Marek said to me...That he is even here at all.

"Marek found me, he was at the party. I don't know how, but he found me," I tell him in one rushed breath.

His eyes flutter, the information slinking in slowly, surely. We both know this was coming, yet we never talked about it once. Marek has been haunting us both, and just hearing his name evokes shivers across my skin, my stomach swirling unnervingly in response. Now that I've seen him again, I want to be sick.

"I'll sort out our ride while you pack," Tai tells me firmly, reaching out to grab his coat from the hook, drawing it over his shoulders. "I've been in contact with someone for awhile. I should have enough money to pay them to take us away."

I nod, wrapping my arms around myself. "Okay..."

Tai's King facade is back, the role gliding over him with ease. His eyes have darkened, tone hardened as he begins the plan he has clearly had since we arrived. My plan was to train, to make myself stronger and faster and to pretend like maybe we could make a life here, that he wouldn't bother chasing us...

I was a fool.

"Hey, it's going to be okay," Tai says softly, noticing my hesitation. He holds my shoulders, firm and sure, the only balanced thing in my life right now. "He left you alive, which is the main thing. We will be untraceable now."

"I truly hope so," is all I say, turning around to begin packing our small amount of belongings.

It didn't take long for Tai to hail the transportation to our cabin and pack our bags into it. It's a small cabin, clearly used for transporting workers from one site to another. I don't even want to know how much Tai paid the man driving it to take us all the way out of the Province, but we were saving that money for this exact reason.

The seat beneath me is wooden, not cushioned with plush and velvet like Tai's carriage's once were. He doesn't seem so bothered as he watches me intently, jostling slightly as the wheels glide over the snow and against chunks of ice.

"What did Marek say to you?" Tai says suddenly, breaking the still silence with his warm voice. I shudder, pulling my blanket further up my body at the mention of the Hunter.

"He told me the rebels don't know we were there," I say, looking out the window.

We have made good progress already, still encompassed in the valleys of the mountains, but Tai has assured me we are close to the border. Night has turned into dawn, colours of violet, azure and pink bleeding together across the white snow. I've come to like to snow, being reminded of the days I worked at the Inn, before I met Marek. I wish I could go back to those times.

Tai's jaw clenches, shaking his head. "I somehow doubt that's true."

"He seemed so certain, like he was warning me," I mutter, looking down at my gloved hands. I remember the way he pinned me to the wall, completely able to kill me, but chose to spare my life. "He told me to flee...With you."

Tai shrugs, seeming unbothered by that, but I can't get it out of my head. Marek approached me like that in public, in front of all my friends and announced himself as my husband. It all feels so purposeful, like he was trying to ensure I couldn't come back to my job, that I would have to leave. But why?

"It could be a trap. But we can't stay with him knowing we are here," Tai says simply, rubbing his sleeve on the window so he can look out properly. "This carriage won't be traced. I paid him enough to make sure of that."

"Where do we go from here? Like where are we going to live?"

"I worked with a man from the Golden Province and he mentioned how there are a multitude of abandoned shacks on the beach. No one wants to live there because a local species of predator Tani that infest the waterfront," Tai explains.

I smile weakly. "Beggar's can't be choosers, right?"

We have spoken about moving to the Golden Province before, so I'm not surprised. There, I will fit in, and Tai can make the excuse that he is a foreigner, which is common in that Province. Everyone is drawn there for the beaches, for the lovely weather, so there is less of a chance to be questioned. Even better, it's densely populated, making it easier to blend in.

We may actually have a chance there.

On a particularly smooth patch of road, Tai sweeps over to sit next to me, his proximity heating my blood as he turns most of his body to face me. Already his presence is starving of the cold near me, and that sad feeling of loneliness that has haunted me for the past few months is numbed for the moment.

"What else did Marek say?" he asks softly.

"Not much," I admit, shrugging my shoulders. "He said he wanted to make sure I'm okay."

"I don't doubt that he still cares about you. Don't let that set you back, though," Tai murmurs, his words a silent warning. He knows I've been fighting my past feelings for months now, and that it wouldn't be impossible for Marek to be using that to get his way. The entire incident felt so innocent, so honest.

I should know better than that by now.

"I know," I assure him, resting my head back against the wall, feeling the uneven vibrations course through me.

"Everything will return back to normal eventually," Tai sighs, although he doesn't sound so sure. I turn my head to look at him, admiring the way the shadows frame his cheekbones, causing his features to look sharper, more intimidating. "I'll try to reunite you with your family as soon as possible."

I shudder, knowing that my family may not be safe has been another issue that I haven't been able to get out of my head. "I hope the rebels haven't done anything to them."

"Don't worry yourself anymore," Tai tells me, nudging me slightly so I rest my head on his shoulders. I've spent many nights crying hysterically to him, hating that it's too much risk to reach out and ensure my father and mother are okay. "Maybe try get some sleep."

Numbly, I nod, realising that exhaustion has caught up to me. I didn't sleep last night, so I rest my head against Tai's shoulder, letting his scent envelope me, and then sleep.

***

The carriage jostles across an especially large rock on the road, waking me.

Blearily, I sit up, shaking off the uncomfortably feeling of sleep. Light shines into the carriage, alighting the bags of clothing on the floor with bright rays. It takes a moment for everything to come back to me. We have been travelling for a few days, not stopping often. I've awoken with my head on Tai's lap, the rest of my body aching from being curled up on the wooden bench.

Tai doesn't say anything, watching me silently. My thick coat suddenly feels heavy as I yawn, shaking my head as if it's going to breathe some life into me. It's hot, I realise, a feeling so foreign me it makes me dizzy, stomach churning.

Realisation strikes me.

Turning to the window, I look out. We are in the middle of a town, people passing by, not paying our carriage any mind. We are by the sea, unable to see it from here, but even in the carriage, I can hear the waves crashing on the sand.

"This is it. This is the Golden Province," I breathe, my mouth dry.

The structure of the village is strange and foreign, the architecture like nothing I've seen before. Everything is drenched in bright, vivid colours, strange plants rising up around pretty buildings. They are all wide and large, styled openly, all made to drink in the sun and warmth.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Tai breathes, sliding closer to look out the window with me.

"It's home," I confirm.

💚••💚

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 💜🐼