A King's Weakness (Book 1)

Chapter 2

OUR NEW PLACE IS CUTE ENOUGH, but in all honesty it could be a cardboard box and I would still love it because I was the one to choose it. It is a simple single story brick farmhouse with three bedrooms—I have a sneaking suspicion that the third room will quickly turn into an impromptu, messy storage space—that backs up to the edge of a forest. Everything is so green here, it's shockingly vibrant.

The town is by no means large, but it is more populous than the last one. At least this city has more than one grocery store, which is a considerable upgrade.

Kage has always made it clear that I don't need to worry about finances; apparently, some distant relatives had a large trust set up for both of us after my mother's death, and my uncle periodically makes investments that typically have staggering payoffs. I have never really cared enough to learn more than that, and he has never cared to teach me more.

When we finally finish unpacking, we find ourselves sitting on the back porch, sipping on lukewarm sodas and looking into the leafy green forest. The smell of rain wafts over us in waves, mixing with the scent of damp soil before reaching my nose. I can't help but breathe deeply, savoring the way the air smells and tastes when it runs across my tongue. It's like an explosion of new sensations against a sensitive part of me that I didn't know existed.

It's interesting, but I can't ever remember having such a keen sense of smell. It doesn't bother me, this newfound clarity. Rather, it simply sharpens my senses, making me feel more in tune with the environment around me. And here, on the edge of a forest teeming with hidden treasures, it makes me feel utterly and completely alive.

I catch Kage glancing at me from the corner of my eye, and I sigh. "What? Has my face personally offended you somehow?" I make an impatient gesture to my bruised cheekbone, though the purple has already faded to an unpleasant yellow. It should be gone completely by Monday, thank God. I don't exactly want to spend the first day at my new school being ogled at by students and teachers alike, all wondering if I'm some poor soul who gets knocked around at home. Kage would never in a million years lay a hand on me like that, and he'd rip anyone who tried to shreds.

For once, he doesn't joke. "Nothing. You just look happy." He pauses, holding a breath as though he is going to say something else. In the end, he seems to decide against it, and we both stare blankly into the tree line.

After several comfortably silent minutes, my uncle stands, glancing down at me as he stretches. He is tall, annoyingly so, whereas I'm only slightly taller than average, like my mom. She had been small and curvy, and I take after her in that regard. Kage, on the other hand, is a proverbial giant, always towering over all five feet, seven inches of me.

"Well, I'm going to see what kinds of trouble the people of this town get into after dark. Want to come with?" he offers nonchalantly, as though I'm not shamefully underage.

My uncle never has any trouble getting me into places I shouldn't be—clubs, bars, the occasional stripping establishment. You name it and I have been to one. I typically turn down his offers to participate in whatever debauchery he has planned for the night, but tonight I find myself feeling restless—much too antsy to spend the first evening in the new house alone.

"You're a menace. Of course I'm coming," I answer, hopping up from my seat. I pause at the threshold leading into the house and call over my shoulder, "Give me a bit to get ready."

I can hear his response even after I close the back door behind me. "Sure, but nothing short of a miracle will make you look presentable!"

A snort is my only response. The sound of his self-satisfied laughter fades as I return to my room and start the shower there.