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24
It was around midday when I arrived at our meeting spot.
Just in case, I have a knife strapped to myself under my top shirt, although I imagine once Vaia gets a hold of me, it will be confiscated. I wonder if Marek is here, despite our agreement that no one else would be joining us.
The smell of Vaia's floral perfume guides me into the tavern - the neutral ground. Sure enough, the room is void of anyone at all, aside from Vaia, who sits at a table in the centre of the room, drinking what looks like beer. I would have never imagined Vaia opting for that drink, although by the looks of her,
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The King’s Seduction 25
Marek’s firm grip on my arm doesn’t release until I’m in the room.The one he has brought me to is unfamiliar, likely in the servants quarters. The fawn brown curtains have already been drawn, the room relying on just one full light to chase away the shadows. A single cot bed is pushed up against the far wall, dressed in plain white linen sheets, next to a sturdy bedside table.That’s it. And a pair of chairs.
The King’s Seduction 26
As night has fallen, Marek has left me with guards outside my door, not telling me much about what he intends to do from now.At this point, I'm incessantly pacing through the room, checking to find the window is locked - it's not as if it would be worth it to escape now anyway, not with the guards swarming the grounds. I need information to go back with anyway, otherwise this black eye isn't going to be worth it.But how am I going to get information when I'm stuck in here?"
The King’s Seduction 27
Tonight, my door isn't locked, and no one is guarding it.Which means sinful ideas have crept mercilessly into my mind, all of which seem to lead back to me leaving here. Vaia told me that tomorrow morning I will be allowed to leave, which is an opportunity I plan on taking without much protest.But I have a bad feeling about the sudden lack of guards outside of my room. Either Vaia truly doesn't see me as a threat, or she does plan on actually letting me go tomorrow. It's going to mean she will come at me with all the more force when she finds out I betrayed her trust.
The King’s Seduction 28
Tonight, my door isn't locked, and no one is guarding it.Which means sinful ideas have crept mercilessly into my mind, all of which seem to lead back to me leaving here. Vaia told me that tomorrow morning I will be allowed to leave, which is an opportunity I plan on taking without much protest.But I have a bad feeling about the sudden lack of guards outside of my room. Either Vaia truly doesn't see me as a threat, or she does plan on actually letting me go tomorrow. It's going to mean she will come at me with all the more force when she finds out I betrayed her trust.
The King’s Seduction 29
Tonight, my door isn't locked, and no one is guarding it.Which means sinful ideas have crept mercilessly into my mind, all of which seem to lead back to me leaving here. Vaia told me that tomorrow morning I will be allowed to leave, which is an opportunity I plan on taking without much protest.But I have a bad feeling about the sudden lack of guards outside of my room. Either Vaia truly doesn't see me as a threat, or she does plan on actually letting me go tomorrow. It's going to mean she will come at me with all the more force when she finds out I betrayed her trust.
The King’s Seduction 30
Even with Tai by my side at almost every waking moment of my day, I still can’t escape the lingering thoughts that haunt me.Today I sit out in the garden on a little wooden bench, staring out across the formal lawn, bordered by the forest. As sheltered as this place is, I still get a flutter of nervousness at the idea that Vaia and her rebels could storm in here at any moment. Since leaving their stronghold a week ago, I haven’t spent a moment each day not thinking about them.I’ve been thinking about Vaia and her plan to have me drink from the Forbidden River. I would surely die, or worse, become some horrifying Tani. And I’ve been thinking about Marek as well, about whether he was truthful when he told me he still cares abo
The King’s Seduction 31
I don’t remember falling unconscious, so when I wake, shrouded in darkness, I’m seized with panic.Something woke me. I’m in the infirmary, the shadows of nearby empty beds telling me that. The window near my bed allows creamy beams of moonlight to flood in, alighting the area so I can see the dried blood on my skin and on the sheets.Attempting to sit up, I wince, a harsh feeling rattling on the inside of my head, my vision erupting with bright colours and spots of black. A sharp pain in my stomach causes me to lay back down, my hands resting on the tender spot as I breathe the pain, trying not to let it overcome me. I’ve lost a lot of blood. I’m not even sure I should be alive right now.
The King’s Seduction 32
The moment the morning sun hits my skin, I feel immediately better.Tai and I walk hand in hand through the formal lawn, and into the forest. The silence between us is comfortable, even if I can sense that Tai has a lot to say to me. We continue our walk through an unfamiliar part of the woods, before we emerge from the thickness of the trees and into a field, a stream running right through the centre of it. I nearly have to pause to look around, surprised a place like this exists out here, in the Jade Province."You know all the most beautiful places around here,” I whisper, the suns gentle rays warming my cheeks, the slight breeze that weaves t
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