Chapter 11: +Chapter 11+

Mari had no idea how she made it out of King Lucien’s study in one piece, a maid had been called to take her back to her room. She noted with a bitter taste in her mouth that it had been referred to as her room; *how long were they intending to hold her prisoner? When would they send her off to die?*

She quietly followed the maid who was different from the friendly maid that first attended to her. This one was withdrawn and professional, it made Mari fully feel how lonely and isolated she was, it was a terrifying feeling.

She leaned against the door when she was left to the privacy of the room, the dreamy pink-themed room losing all of its sparkle in her eyes; it now felt like a prison.

Mari slowly sank onto the soft carpet, the straps of her heels digging into her ankles. She knew she shouldn’t let the despair consume her but she was just a girl. She wished someone would come save her but she had always been alone so she would have to do the saving all by herself.

She hadn’t given up but she was overwhelmed and tired. She rested her head against the door and let the tears run free, her shoulders shaking silently. She couldn’t remember the last time she let herself cry.

*Crying wasn’t cathartic, it just hurt.*

Mari crawled on her hands and knees away from the door, her vision blurring with tears. She stopped at the center of the room, not wanting to stay right by the door, just in case.

She didn’t know how long she spent crying; telling herself that crying didn’t fix her issues didn’t console her so she let the tears run free curling on the carpet softer than her old bed. She thought it was particularly cruel of Fate to let her experience such comfort right before her death.

-+-

Kade said nothing after the witch stumbled away from Lucien’s study, completely devastated. He was beginning to question himself for trusting the King of the South with something as delicate as the last witch in the West Continent, who was also half-werewolf and unaware of her witch lineage.

He might be blunt and abrasive but he was no worse than Lucien who was trying to completely break her.

He rose to his feet and left right after her, he was just a spectator after all, he had no plans of interfering - or at least that was what he told himself. He returned to the privacy of his room and found that he couldn’t relax. Even after making a couple of phone calls to his second-in-command who was all too willing to take control of the helm in his absence.

He paced the length of his room for a short while and then decided to tackle the cause of his unrest. It was beneficial to them both for him to check on the witch because it was possible that she had jumped right out of her window in a bid to escape. With how Lucien had handled the situation, he couldn’t believe he was the one called tactless.

His mind was made up, he stepped out of his room and strode powerfully down the hallway. He usually favored black muscle shirts and cargo pants but he was a King and had to dress accordingly, so when he needed to be formal, he wore turtle necks and uncomfortable slacks, all in shades of black naturally.

He pushed his hands through his short black hair, stopping in front of the witch’s room… Marion… She was rather interesting, she had lived quite an odd life, her real parents untraceable.

He tried the doorknob without knocking, it was unlocked, and as he pushed open the door, he half-expected to find it empty so he was completely caught off guard by what he saw instead.

Right at the center of the garishly pink room was a pile of pale gold, the witch was curled around herself on the dark pink carpet, her hair blanketing her face and shoulders.

Kade could smell the tears without even stepping in and he had to say, this was a far better alternative than the witch trying to escape. He contemplated just turning around and returning to his room so he could leave the witch to sleep but he stepped forward instead.

He could play good cop and be nice to the witch for once, besides, sleeping on the floor like that had to be uncomfortable. He bent down to pick up the witch, noting how light and frail she was, her lashes still wet to indicate that she hadn’t been asleep for very long.

He placed her on the sheets and then turned around to hightail it out of there, there was something about her scent that seemed to pull him in which was very bad for him on several levels, so it was best for him to keep his distance.

Just as he opened the door to step out, he came face to face with Lucien who had an inscrutable mask on.

“You didn’t kill her, did you?” Lucien cocked a brow, his long white-blond hair falling over his face.

Kade closed the door behind him before responding, “I wouldn’t have to do much with how you treated her.”

Lucien chuckled, not an iota of remorse in the dry sound, “I don’t think you’re in the position to lecture me.” He said with a smile that was all sharp fangs and a cold stare before walking off.

King Lucien didn’t have to check up on the witch, he knew she couldn’t escape, they were on the second floor and the palace was surrounded by high walls and guards on every corner. It was why he had felt affronted when he bumped into Kade - *what was the other King doing there? Was he trying to sabotage their agreement*?

He pushed those pesky thoughts out of his mind as he made his way back to his study where reports of Shadows were waiting for his attention. He also had to consider what he would do if the witch was unable to defeat the Shadows.