Artemisia High

22 | Vulnerable

The pressure was mounting for Kai as the date of the merger got closer. He had to learn the ins and outs of the business while also trying to stop Levana from her plans.

They had discovered through Winter's recounting of her stepmother's words to her that Levana was likely counting on Kai to fail so that she could take on full ownership of both companies. Still, Kai had the support of Torin and other employees to keep Rikan Industries doing well enough to meet the profit margins stipulated by the merger. Such a plan did not seem foolproof.

The question was, was Levana willing to intentionally sabotage Rikan Industries and risk being removed from her seat if found out so she could take over the company? To Winter and Jacin, that was not out of the question. After all, questions remained surrounding the death of her sister and husband, not to mention Cinder's kidnapping. It was frightening to go up against such a ruthless leader and her equally callous assistant, but the team would not back down, each having their own stake in stopping Levana.

With all of the responsibilities he had to take on, Kai's free time was limited, causing dark circles to emerge under his eyes from the lack of sleep he got between reading long documents and meeting with his friends. It probably didn't help his sleep schedule that he would get distracted when working with Cinder by chatting with her, but she was the one providing him with the most hope and comfort in this time.

Cress' assistance was very helpful, so much so that Kai wondered why they hadn't brought her in sooner. Cinder noticed this and thought it best to bring in all the help they could get to reduce the burden on Kai.

"Iko, you came! I was worried Pearl would never leave you alone," Cinder told the blue-haired girl who had just arrived at Kai's house.

"She made me try on, like, 10 different outfits for her. It was like torture, but fun!"

Cinder laughed, a sound Kai realized he didn't not hear enough.

"Most of you know my sister, Iko," Cinder said, gesturing to her. Iko beamed as she looked at the familiar faces and less familiar ones.

"I can't believe I'm at Kai's house. Peony is gonna freak out when I tell her!" Iko said a little too loudly. This caused Cinder's eyes to go wide, but upon seeing Kai's unfazed reaction, she simply let out a sigh.

"How is she?" Cinder asked Iko softly, construing a semblance of privacy in the room full of friends.

"Better. The doctors said her T cell count has gone up."

"Oh, that's wonderful. I wish I could see her more."

"I understand, Cinder. You're going through a lot right now. Plus, Adri is even more horrible nowadays. Honestly, it's probably a good thing for your sake that you're never home."

Cinder gave her a sheepish smile. It hadn't dawned on her until this moment that she'd been spending more time with Kai than her own sisters lately.

Before she could linger on this thought more, Jacin arrived with Winter and a well-built brunette boy following them.

"Liam?!" Iko exclaimed upon noticing the boy with tanned skin and waves in his hair.

"Iko?!" he said almost at the same time as her.

"You two know each other?" Kai asked awkwardly.

"He's my friend Tressa's brother," Iko said. "Somehow," she muttered.

"We've been... acquantained," he said, crossing his arms.

Even Kai could tell that there was something strange about their relationship, but he didn't think prying was going to make anything better.