chapter 5
899 Words
Chapter 5
The guards left quickly.
Too quickly.
Not a single one questioned the Alpha King's order.
Not a single one looked surprised.
They simply bowed and disappeared through the shattered doorway.
As though keeping frightened girls in his chambers was perfectly normal.
As though the creature that had just exploded wasn't.
The moment the last guard vanished, silence settled over the room.
An uncomfortable silence.
The kind that demanded questions.
I had dozens of them.
The Alpha King was already walking away.
"Wait."
He stopped.
Barely.
"You don't get to leave."
One dark eyebrow lifted.
"That's unfortunate, because I wasn't asking permission."
I stared at him.
He stared back.
For several seconds neither of us moved.
Then, to my surprise, the corner of his mouth twitched.
"You're braver than most nobles."
"I'm terrified."
"Yet you're still arguing."
"Because I'm terrified."
That earned an actual laugh.
A short one.
Gone almost as soon as it appeared.
I hated how relieved that made me feel.
The king moved toward the broken windows.
Moonlight spilled through the jagged opening.
His shoulders seemed heavier now.
As though the creature's visit had added another stone to a burden he was already carrying.
"What was that thing?" I asked.
His expression hardened.
"No."
"No?"
"No."
I blinked.
"That's your answer?"
"That's my answer."
I folded my arms.
"You nearly got us both killed."
"We were never close to dying."
My mouth opened.
Closed.
Opened again.
"You threw it through a wall."
"Yes."
"You shattered stone."
"Yes."
"It exploded."
"Also yes."
I pointed toward the destruction surrounding us.
"Then how exactly were we not close to dying?"
The king considered this.
"You were behind me."
I frowned.
For some reason, that answer unsettled me more than anything else.
Not because it was arrogant.
Because he sounded completely serious.
As if standing behind him truly made someone safe.
The thought lingered longer than it should have.
I pushed it away.
"What did it mean?" I asked.
His gaze sharpened.
"When it said it was looking for me."
The king didn't answer immediately.
A muscle tightened in his jaw.
"I don't know."
I believed many things about him.
That wasn't one of them.
"You're lying."
"Partially."
My eye twitched.
At least he was honest about it.
The king sighed.
"You ask dangerous questions."
"Then stop giving me dangerous reasons to ask them."
For a moment, genuine amusement flickered across his face.
Then it disappeared.
His eyes drifted toward the night sky.
"You should sleep."
I laughed.
The sound came out slightly hysterical.
"A monster broke into your palace, called me by name, said it was searching for me, and exploded."
A pause.
"I don't think sleep is possible."
"Fair."
The king walked toward a cabinet and retrieved another bottle of wine.
I watched him pour a glass.
Then another.
He slid one toward me.
I narrowed my eyes.
A slow smile appeared on his face.
"You remembered."
"You literally told me not to accept drinks from people I don't trust."
"Good."
He drank both glasses himself.
I shouldn't have found that funny.
Yet somehow I did.
The realization annoyed me.
The king lowered himself into a chair.
For the first time, he looked tired.
Not physically.
Something deeper.
Like a man who had spent years fighting a battle nobody else could see.
"What is FRA?" I asked quietly.
His hand froze around the glass.
Not much.
Just enough.
Enough to answer the question.
Whatever FRA was, it mattered.
A lot.
The king stared into the wine.
The firelight reflected across the dark red liquid.
"When I was young," he said softly, "I thought monsters lived in forests."
I remained silent.
"They lived in old ruins."
Another pause.
"They lived beyond city walls."
His gaze lifted to meet mine.
"I was wrong."
A chill crawled down my spine.
"Where do they live?"
The smile that crossed his face contained no humor.
"Everywhere."
The room felt colder.
The king looked away.
The conversation was over.
I could feel it.
Questions still burned inside me.
But pressing harder would accomplish nothing.
Not tonight.
My eyes drifted toward the shattered doorway.
Toward the corridor beyond.
Toward the darkness lurking somewhere inside the palace.
Then another thought struck me.
A much simpler one.
"Why did you protect me?"
The question escaped before I could stop it.
The king blinked.
As though the answer should have been obvious.
"Because you were in danger."
"Most people wouldn't risk themselves for a stranger."
A shadow crossed his face.
For a brief moment, something painful flickered in his eyes.
"Then most people are disappointing."
I didn't know why those words hit me so hard.
Maybe because he sounded like someone speaking from experience.
Maybe because he sounded lonely.
Neither of us spoke after that.
The fire crackled softly.
The city lights glimmered beyond the broken windows.
And somewhere in the silence between us, the image I'd carried of the Alpha King began to crack.
Not shatter.
Not disappear.
But crack.
Because monsters weren't supposed to shield frightened girls from danger.
Monsters weren't supposed to hate sacrifices.
Monsters weren't supposed to look exhausted.
And monsters definitely weren't supposed to make me question everything I'd ever been told.
The problem was that every answer seemed to create two new questions.
And somehow, I suspected the most dangerous one wasn't FRA.
It was the man sitting across from me.
- Writer
