Never Enough Time | Huskerdust

Poison | A Kingdom of Secrets | Sneakpeek

His shoes tapped softly against the tiled floor as he walked past the armored guards stationed in the richly decorated halls, who watched his every move. His face wore a mask of indifference, yet a soft smile played at the corners of his lips, hinting at a hidden truth beneath the surface. He stepped between two guards and paused on a circular platform that blended into the darkly patterned floor. With a tap on a brick that pushed into the wall, the floor began to turn, spinning him to the other side—a place known as the Servant Alleys, or alleys, where servants could travel through the castle undetected by guests.

He started walking down one of the long, narrow passageways.

"Zaire," a female omega's voice called from behind him. "The King is looking for you." Zaire didn't need to turn around to know it was Helena, one of the highest-ranking servants. Helena was favored by the King, elevating her status in the castle and pack ranks. She ranked second only to Zaire but resided much lower in regards to the rest of the pack. She was also older than most servants, roughly the same age as Zaire's deceased mother.

Zaire smiled with narrow eyes as he nodded his head a fraction of an inch before continuing in the direction of the Great Hall's servants' quarters— exactly opposite where The King was. "The King is in the Library. So much for knowing where the royals are at all times." She mumbled the last part mostly to herself, mostly.

Zaire's smile widened into a full smirk on his thin lips. "Oh, where I'm going first shouldn't concern you, but I'll spare you the details: I'm getting The King some tea. It seems no one else remembers that herbal tea with jasmine and frankincense is the perfect remedy for calming down an angry child—this child being The King." Zaire turned to face Helena and although he was quite a bit shorter, he seemed to loom menacingly at her, "It really shouldn't be your place to talk down about my senses, because we all know a certain someone—" talking about her, "—hasn't been doing their job well." Someone coughed to stifle their laughter, but Helena's sharp gaze silenced them.

"Just hurry up," Helena turned back to Zaire leaning closer so her breath went right to the younger omega's, "The King seemed urgent."

Zaire scoffed, cold amusement overtaking his pretty features, "Oh, how you are much like my mother." He turned away from the woman, "As much as you hate to admit it, you know it too."

Helena muttered something else under her breath, but Zaire either didn't catch the words or simply chose to ignore them—most likely the latter.

Once he was out of her sight, he quickened his pace, aware that he was running out of time before The King discovered him and punished him to his heart's dark content. Zaire soon found himself in a servants' booth, preparing tea for The King. He poured hot water into the teapot and skillfully added the herbal essences. Grabbing a teacup and tray, he hurriedly stepped through the area, making sure to avoid any obstacles, as the other servants knew better than to stand in the way of an urgent servant, despite their disdain for the servant.

The steaming pot's heat bled through the tray, burning his hand but he didn't notice entirely focused on getting to The King in time. "You're going to be late." A voice uttered in his head, reminding him of how far he still was from the Library.

"Shut up," Zaire mumbled under his breath, shutting up the voice that had managed to slip past his barrier against the voices.

He passed many more servants through the long, twisting alleys, shrouded in darkness and only lit by lanterns tended to by fire-wielding conjurers.

Every species, regardless of age, gave Zaire judgmental looks as he passed by. However, none dared to interact with the cunning, tight-lipped pet of the King and Queen of Rozkra—the strongest and most diverse pack in the entire kingdom and its continents.