The King's Possession ✔️

THIRTY NINE

Word Count: 2371

Midnight snack time.

Pressing against my door, I silently pray I won't bump into Tai's strange friends. Especially Arnix, who received a rather firm warning from Tai to stay away from me. Whether he has any reason to listen to his friend or not is another question.

I jump as a figure appears in my peripheral vision, standing right at my door.

"Marek?" I breathe, realising who I'm looking at. He leans against the wall, no weapons in sight, but he wears his partial hunting outfit, the black fabric pressed tightly against his arms and torso. I forgot that some nights he is here now, ensuring no one can get in without being acknowledged first.

"I'm your personal guard remember," he murmurs, the deep tone of his voice dancing along the surface of my skin. He firmness of his tone makes my stomach twist, reminding me that we aren't where we were a few weeks ago. "I'll be standing post outside your door tonight."

I close my bedroom door, leaning against it. "You really don't have to do that. I'm safe."

In reality, I'm grateful for a watchful eye. The emotional wounds have been harder to battle since the attack. It's the smaller, unavoidable things that bother me the most, like every time the shower water turns on I flinch, or the slightest hint of heat on my skin makes me shiver. But Marek can't protect me from that.

"Nothing can be left to chance. Not again," he murmurs, turning to look straight ahead.

Part of me wonders if he blames himself for what happened, even if none of us could have anticipated it. As I lean my shoulder against the door, I look over him carefully like he often does to me. The dull lights of the hallway that chase the nights shadows away glimmer in the depths of his icy blue eyes, but do little to lighten his expression.

"I'm sorry I haven't spoken to you much since everything happens. I've been worried about what might happen if we are alone together again," I breathe, rubbing my arms as a cold breeze lingers down the hallway.

Marek's gaze finds me, fluttering down to my lips. He knows what I'm insinuating, even if I would never admit it in the open like this. Marek and I are drawn to each other, a magnetic connection leaving it impossible to be away from each other. Even though we have been keeping our distance, we always seem to lock eyes across the room, or wordlessly bump into each other in the hallway.

"You don't need to explain, I understand," he mutters drily.

"Don't hate me," I half plead, taking a daring step forward. Immediately his pine and cinnamon scent washes over me, alighting my senses. "I don't think I could take that."

He breathes in deeply, eyes telling me what his lips struggle to say. "I don't hate you Akara. Far from it-"

He cuts himself, looking over my shoulder. Turning around slowly, Tai emerges from the shadows, wearing what I had seen him in only hours previous, however he has since discarded his decadent rings and lavish jacket.

"Is everything okay?" he asks, looking between Marek and I.

"Tai, what are you doing here?" I ask quickly, turning away from the hunter to face the King. Tai's gaze first tracks my movements before shifting to Marek, narrowing slightly. I'm waiting for punishment, yet at this point, I doubt Tai has the energy to enforce it. Marek is going his job.

"I thought we could talk," he murmurs, motioning to my room. Whatever he wants to say, it cannot be uttered before Marek.

Looking between them, they almost appear to share the same expression. It's one of mistrust, of uncertainty. Green eyes on blue, they examine each other like threats, leaving me standing in the middle uncomfortably.