The King's Obsession ✔️

THIRTY

Word Count: 1872

~Akara

I groan, shifting uncomfortably, blinking as I finally wake.

A healer is leaning over me, checking my vitals as I struggle to come to terms with where I am, with what happened. I've been shot, evidently, my shoulder burning with pain. Thankfully, the arrow has been removed, and I can feel the thickness of the bandages wrapped around me, restricting the movement of my arm.

The healer rattles on to me once I'm fully conscious about what happened, and how the arrow could have killed me had it hit a few inches to the right, before explaining how long it is going to take me to heal from this.

Not as long as I thought, thankfully.

The moment she leaves, Tai comes in, clearly having been told to wait by the healer until I'm fully conscious and able to sit up against the wall.

"How are you feeling?" he asks, rushing to my side.

His expression is painted with concern, looking over the state of me. He looks like he wants to grab me, to touch me, but seeing me smothered in so many bandages has him thinking otherwise.

"Lucky to be alive," I mutter, resting my head back. Lucky doesn't even begin to cover it. Someone was trying to kill me, and had I been turned another way, or had their shot been any better, they would have been successful, which is a horrifying thought that I can't dwell on. It's not as if I haven't nearly died enough at this point, anyways.

"I'm sorry. I know apologising isn't going to mean anything to you, but I couldn't be more regretful," he tells me, worry creasing his brows.

I sigh. "Doesn't matter..."

"I know," he winces, pain tormenting him as his gaze sweeps over me. He may have done terrible things, but I don't doubt that seeing me this way hurts him, and that he does care. "I'm never going to put you in a situation like that again. I knew people wanted you dead, so I should have never brought you in front of them."

Grey didn't need to do any scouting. It's been made clear to me that people want me dead, and there is no more doubting Tai. I just don't know what I'm going to do, especially once I escape here...

"So it's true. People really do want me dead," I whisper. All because of technology I didn't even create. I'm an alien, an unnatural disgrace. But I also have something they want, but may never have...

Tai bows his head, emerald eyes flickering closed. "I'll protect you, I promise."

"I don't know why you bother trying to be sweet to me. You poisoned my friend, I have no desire to ever trust you again," I remind him. He loves me, is hurt seeing me hurt, and yet is so willing to torment someone close to me, just to make his point clear. His moral compass is severely flawed.

"I'm only doing this for your safety," he exclaims. "If you retaliate, you will unknowingly hurt yourself."

"You think I'm a fool, don't you?" I snap.

"Of course not," he contends.

"How is your sickness? Seems to have disappeared," I sneer. I've been wanting to bring it up since I saw him again, but it never compared in relevance to everything else. But now I look at him, as the liar he is, I must know, because him and I suffered together. And now, he has shown no signs that he is unwell.

He looks away, sweeping a hand through his sable curls. "I...Well, I made an antidote."

"When?"

"A while ago. Before we fought back against Vaia," he murmurs, reluctant to tell me, even now, the truth being a hard concept for him to understand.