The palace was abuzz with dancing and singing as night fell. But Baka could barely join in the merriment as she tended to Stephan. The guard from earlier had helped her for a while but had to return to his post. So she had been the only one tending to him.She had managed to stop the bleeding and hoped she had cauterised his wounds enough to avoid an infection. Thankfully, the dagger hadn’t pierced any important organs. He had simply lost an alarming amount of blood and needed to eat a lot of food with iron. He had a mild fever and was currently asleep. But the worst of it was over. Now he just needed to heal. And she had to find a way to get him out of here.But how? She was only hu—A thought struck her at that moment and she paled. When was the last time she felt a tingle? Night had already fallen. She had last taken Imposter at nine am in the morning. The last time, Imposter had taken a little over five hours to wear off.Her mind raced as panic shrouded her vision. Oh, God n
It had been a while since Tatum was scolded about anything, especially so passionately. The more he got to know Baka, the more he wanted to know more.She had a fierce will and was not beyond putting herself in danger if it meant she could help someone. She was afraid, but she never let her fear stop her from voicing out her opinions. Even before they became close, she defied him with her glare and mutinous curve of her mouth.He loved her with everything that he was. Yet he was afraid it wasn’t mutual. She might have feelings for him, but she still saw him as a tyrant. And he knew a part of her hated having feelings for him.But she couldn’t stop it no more than he could stop his. In time, their feelings for each other would overwhelm them. They would be one in every sense of the word. He wanted that with every fibre of his being. But maybe it was just wishful thinking.He gazed down at the fragile human in front of him. Stephan, Baka had called him. Aja’s brother. He wondered if
Tatum glanced towards the entrance of the throne room as a young slave boy was brought in in chains. He had wild brown hair and a hardened face. His clothes were drenched in his own blood, with laceration marks marring his torso.He moved in pain. He couldn’t be over fifteen years old. From the corner of his eyes, Tatum saw Baka hold her breath as she pressed her lips together, hard. She was trying not to cry. He chanced a glance at Boaz who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. The man was sick. Tatum lowered his head.Whatever was about to happen will be imprinted on their minds forever. He was sure of it.The guard accompanying the slave boy pushed him forward, kicking him behind the knee so that he slumped on them against the floor.“Tell us your name, Boy,” Boaz commanded.The boy said nothing, looking down at the floor. Several seconds passed. Tatum watched as everyone’s gaze was transfixed at the boy. Jerome and Rose seemed uneasy as they stared at him, wanting to look away bu
Baka was happy when morning came. She hadn’t been able to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Joshua’s head and unseeing eyes. She hadn’t returned back to the feast that night. She’d simply curled up in her bed as ready tears came upon her. She cried for Joshua. She cried for people like him who died so needlessly every day. She cried for herself.Tatum had come into her room to check on her three times during the night, but she hadn’t wanted to talk so he had kissed her cheek and finally left her alone.She couldn’t stand to look at him. Every time she thought of Joshua, she saw Tatum swinging the sword that separated his head from his shoulders.All of them had sat there and just watched as a little boy’s life was taken in a horrible manner.They were all murderers. Heartless, evil depraved beasts. She wished The Judgement would kill all of them. They deserved to die in the most gruesome way possible.Fatima had brought her attention to breakfast being served downstair
Baka couldn’t say she was thrilled to be back at Khandom City, but she was glad she wasn’t in Avenue City anymore. She never wished to return to that place ever again.They had arrived at night and as luck would have it, it was Thorin who greeted them at the gate.“Welcome back, my lord.” He smiled at Baka but said nothing to her.“Thank you,” Tatum replied, getting out of the car. “There are suitcases, three bags of grain in the back seat, and a boy in the trunk. See to them.”Thorin stared at him in confusion. “My lord?”With little force, Baka got out of the car and went over to the trunk, tapping it lightly. “His name is Stephan and he’s hurt. Please take him to Healer Freya.”Thorin looked first at her then back at Tatum. If perplexity were a person, it would be Thorin at that very moment. “Do as she says, Warrior.”An expression of concern crossed Thorin’s features but he said nothing else. With a brisk nod, he went over to the trunk of the car and opened it. Sure enough, ther
Baka wasted no time to see her mother and the girls. She missed them immensely and hoped they were all okay.But under all the excitement was a little trepidation—a feeling of shame over her liaison with the Alpha king, their oppressor.Deep down, Baka felt like she was betraying her kind. There was no easy way to say it. The feeling pooled in her belly and weighed down heavily on her like a rock.After Tatum had kissed her senseless last night, she had felt an overwhelming feeling of guilt. It had ended up being a bitter-sweet moment.What could all this lead to? Surely, nothing good. It wouldn't end well. They didn't have a future.All her thoughts about them always hit a brick wall. She shut her mind from it and focused on the visit with her mom who had been overjoyed to see her.They were at Healer Freya's shop, tending to an unconscious Stephan. The girls were still working so she would have to come back later to see them before their curfew. She missed little Mosaan and Bessia'
Tatum frowned, wondering why he didn't believe the slave boy. Maybe it was because of his association with Baka. Or because he didn't seem the sort to think up this treachery.“Do you understand what you're saying? I want to hear you say it. You're accused of poisoning our crops, subsequently leading to the starvation of the entire city. Do you deny it?”There was a small pause, then Bekon replied. “I do not deny it.”Tatum heard Baka’s gasp from all the way to his throne seat. Again, he tried not to look at her.“Who do you work for?”“I acted alone.”Tatum did not believe him for a second. Yet his heart rate didn't spike up.“How were you able to procure the pesticides for your destruction? You're a slave. You don't have that kind of money—or any money at all.”Bekon stared at him. “I stole it.”This time, his heart rate spiked. “I just caught you in a lie. You will do well to answer me truthfully.”Bekon lowered his head.“Do you know what the punishment for treason is? Death by wil
Thorin’s meeting with Tatum was short. He had barely spent up to five minutes there when he left to escort Bekon back to the prison cells.Baka followed quietly after him. She had never seen the insides of the prison cells and was struck by what she saw. There was no segregation. Werewolves and humans alike stayed in the same bacteria infected prison cells. But maybe that was the idea—to pit them against each other, slowly killing the humans, and the werewolves would no doubt win because they had their abilities on their side.Thorin had turned around twice and seen her but never tried to stop her or tell her to go away. Bekon had barely spared her a moment’s glance.When he was escorted into his cells and was locked up, Bekon didn’t turn around to acknowledge her. “Keep it short,” Thorin warned and he walked away. There was no one else in Bekon’s cell, and the one next to him had three female werewolves. They too didn’t give her the time of the day apart from the brief looks of c