The King's Possession ✔️

THIRTY ONE

Word Count: 1686

I wasn't invited down to meet his father until evening had set in, and dinner had passed.

Jessa, who dressed me and dusted a fine amount of makeup onto my face has promptly warned me that they are still arguing, and even though I've been requested to go into the room, she doubts I will be noticed.

But Jessa has no idea what Tai's plans are. The last thing I desire is to witness him kill his own father right in front of me, but to sell the façade, I need to be there as the night finishes up. As Tai finally enacts revenge on his father for something I haven't yet grasped.

I know little of Tai, and he hasn't been so interested in sharing much about himself to me so far.

Wordlessly, I walked into the room, and now I'm sitting where Tai once did, the King now pacing back and forth before his father, who sits behind at his sons desk. I stare at my feet, but it didn't stop me from catching a glance toward King Kailor, Tai's father.

Tai mustn't have taken his looks from his father, as Kailor looks nothing like him. He has dark brunette hair, a lot like Vaia's, peppered with grey hairs from age. His skin, although showing signs of his maturity, is still relatively smooth and glowing, handsome like Tai, but in a far more angular, pointed way that is beyond intimidating.

"Why do this? Why shame your family like this Taius?" Kailor questions gruffly, his voice dark and sinister, making me shiver. He speaks as if I'm not here, not that it would matter either way. I mean nothing to him, I'm completely below him.

Tai continues to pace. "I don't have to abide by your rules anymore, father."

Looking over Tai, I see no sign of a weapon. By the looks of King Kailor, he could manage to fight Tai off, which means it's unlikely he will use his bare hands to end him. So what will it be? A morbid curiosity twists uneasily in my stomach, my anxiety increasing as I anticipate what could happen at any moment.

"So you are to wed your mistress, disappoint all those who are loyal to you, embarrass me?" Kailor demands sourly, hardly gracing me with much of a glance. Tai and Vaia must have gotten their green eyes from their mother, as Kailor's are as black as the ebony sky outside the window.

"No one gets to control me. I'm a King in my own right," Tai reminds him.

Although he has the appearance of a King painted across him, on his expression and within his decadent clothing, I see the sense of vulnerability there, the child-like fear only to be seen before a cruel, wicked father.

Kailor takes a long drink from his decanter before settling his dark stare upon his son. "You're half the King your brother would have been."

I fight the urge to flinch, as I mull over those very telling words. Tai didn't tell me had a brother, or perhaps lack of one now. Was he killed, or did he die? I have so many questions that I keep hidden within my mind. This family is all kinds of screwed up.

"Then give the position to Vaia," Tai mutters flippantly. Something tells me he wouldn't mind if his father made that decision.

"She's immature, desperate. She would run this place into the ground," he replies gravely.  I understand now why Tai hates his father so much. I'm sure there is far more personal trauma that has been invoked by him beyond just harsh words, but the bigger picture is slowly starting to form before me.

"Don't you dare. You only say that because she's a sister to me, and not a brother," Tai growls, the passion coming forward in his voice making me shiver.

Kailor doesn't even blink, although his mouth twists slightly. "You think you're right about everything, foolish boy."

From what I know about Vaia, she wouldn't make a good Queen, purely due to her distracted nature and lack of understanding for anyone below her. But not because of the way she was born, like how it seems she was judged by Kailor. Part of me feels sorry for the Princess.