Chapter 10: +Chapter 10+

“My apologies,” Lucien backtracked, studying her intently.

Kade almost scoffed, the South King already knew this, he also knew that the witch was a loner who was pretty much ostracized by the occupants of her town. He knew where she worked and had gotten a detailed report containing the information of every foster family she had ever been in. The only thing that made him feel slightly better about staying in Moonbeam for the sake of the witch was that he wasn’t the only one being pulled in by her, he just managed to hide it better.

“Any siblings? Significant others?” He asked, a silver glint in his piercing blue eyes as he leaned forward.

Mari almost winced at how sketchy she must sound without a family and friends, “No.”

“Oh?” King Lucien’s brows jumped on his head and Mari immediately felt the need to defend herself.

“I-I work at Bert’s Diner but I don’t think there’s a need to reach out to them, I-I’ll explain everything to them myself when I resume work.” She said in a rush, flinching slightly when King Lucien shot to his feet.

Kade also had a visible reaction to this, he already thought that the shifty King of the South was acting a little too nice to the witch but he chalked it up as him wanting to show off and the clear interest in his eyes but he might have misunderstood his intentions.

This was why Kade could never get along with Lucien, the bastard could stab you right in the throat with a friendly smile on his face. He didn’t like people who hid their true intentions underneath several layers of pretense.

Lucien went around his table, walking behind Mari to place his hands on her shoulders. His long tapered fingers connected with the soft bare skin of Mari’s shoulders, searing her wherever his hands made contact.

Mari stiffened, her heart racing when King Lucien leaned close enough for his lips to be right beside her ears. “You’re quite the hermit, Mari.” He said in a low dangerous voice which sent electric sparks down Mari’s back. “It would be so easy for you to disappear.”

Mari’s eyes widened at the implications of King Lucien’s words, her heart dropping to her stomach like an anchor. She knew that she shouldn’t have trusted the King’s honeyed words.

“W-Why?” She forced herself to say, not exactly sure what she was asking.

Lucien leaned back and let his hands trail, his right hand dipping down to her collarbones while the other slowly wrapped around the base of her neck. “Have you heard of Shadows, Mari?” He replied with a question of his.

Mari gulped and at the same time, she could feel King Lucien’s fingers tighten around her neck. Of course, she had heard of Shadows, everyone had. They were fearsome creatures created by witches. The existence of Shadows was the reason witches were now extinct.

“Y-Yes,” She answered softly, wishing she had just drowned in the tub. Her lovely dream had quickly soured into a dangerous nightmare.

“I have a proposition for you,” King Lucien said, taking his hands away from her and patting her hair instead, a smile evident in his voice.

Mari knew better than to trust anything that King Lucien said or his friendly demeanor. She sat stiffly, his hand on her hair frightening her instead of calming her like it did in the car.

“I want you to destroy the Shadows and in turn, I’ll let you live.” He returned to his seat and said. His words and attitude were polar opposites, his words were cruel and his voice cold but there was an affable smile on his face like they were talking shop.

Mari tried not to let the panic overwhelm her; she should have known better than to think they believed her. The only thing left for her to do would be to go to the flow and then escape as soon as she found the chance.

“I-I can’t d-do that,” She tried to say bravely but her voice kept trembling, “I have no fighting skills.”

“You won’t need them,” King Lucien said flippantly, “All you need to do is use your witch fire against them.”

Mari felt her breathing stop, this was even crueler than being killed outright. She would be sent to fight Shadows while she was nothing but a defenseless werewolf and would get ripped apart… She should have never stopped running.

“I can’t do that either,” She refuted, anger steadying her voice. “I told you I’m not a witch.”

King Lucien rested his jaw on a hand, his elbow on the table. He looked incredibly bored, “You wouldn’t be here if you weren’t.”

Mari decided to not say anything more, knowing that she was only digging her grave the longer she defended herself.

Lucien could see the obstinate look on the witch’s face and immediately backed off, he could push her to use her powers so she could see for herself but he would rather not set his study ablaze. Besides he liked the back and forth, he wanted to see who the little witch was hiding beneath that timid exterior.

He made a show of sighing heavily, “Unfortunately, your investigation can’t be closed up yet, you’ll be required to remain in the palace for the night.” He said, shuffling some papers.

Mari forced herself not to protest because she had quickly come to learn that no matter what she said, King Lucien wouldn’t believe her. She glanced to the side, remembering that it wasn’t just the two of them there, and found King Kade studying her intently like he had been doing ever since they met.

Mari almost found herself reaching out to the other King, hoping that he would believe her and vouch for her but she held back. King Kade was absolutely not her friend, if her own King could be this cold, she shouldn’t be expecting much from a King of another Kingdom who had no obligations to her.