Chapter 12
12
A s Kai pulled in large gulps of air, he listened in horror to his mother’s words. A sense of dread had set up camp in his chest from the moment they arrived in Haunpali City, and now he felt as if he were falling into a deep, dark cavern from which he’d never find a way out. Even now, as the arena emptied, and he reached down a hand to help Makoa up from the ground, he knew this wasn’t going to work.
Makoa knocked away his outstretched hand and pulled himself to his feet on his own. He faced off toward Kai as if the battle wasn’t finished, but then his face split into a malicious grin as he said, “It’s all yours now. Good luck pleasing this group of rejects!” With that, he stormed off toward the door in which they’d come to the arena. Kai got the sense the tension between them had only ratcheted higher and that things weren’t completely decided in Makoa’s mind just yet.
If Kai were honest, he wasn’t entirely certain making him King was a good idea either. He knew nothing of Hanupali City. He would need a complete crash course on…well…on everything, and he knew this was not the life he would have chosen for himself. Yet, as he watched his mother cross the sand of the arena toward him, pure joy broadcast on her face, he couldn’t bring himself to disappoint her by refusing outright. He’d just have to convince her that being King was something he wasn’t ready to do.
Behind his mother, Kai saw Hollyn mixed into the small entourage. He wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her and reassure her that they would find the final piece and complete the medallion so that she could be free.
Yet, his attention was drawn away by the beautiful, glowing Leilani as she ran past his mother and wrapped her hands gently around his injured arm. She cooed into his ear, “Oh, you poor baby. I can take care of that for you if you’d like.”
She rubbed her body against his, and though she was talking about the slice on his upper arm, he knew she insinuated so much more. The problem was that as the King, he probably needed to be diplomatic to a princess from a neighboring kingdom.
To show his appreciation for her offer, he patted her hand but pulled back as he said, “Thank you. But I’m fairly sure it’s already healing. I don’t think it will need any extra attention.”
She stuck out her lower lip in a pout for a second before rubbing her breasts on his arm as she excitedly said, “I’m going to compete to be your wife. Isn’t that great?”
This was getting ridiculous. Kai couldn’t keep up this facade. He wasn’t a king, and he didn’t want women to compete to be his wife. He just wanted to find Hollyn and get the hell out of here.
As he lifted his gaze to search for her, though, he didn’t see Hollyn anywhere. He continued to seek her out in the crowd until he spotted her retreating toward the exit. Disappointment that she hadn’t stuck around churned in his mind. Why was she walking away from him?
He took one look at the woman practically curled around his body like a monkey and understood what Hollyn had seen. He was not about to let her think this was what he wanted.
As his mother finally stepped near, Kai said, “We need to talk…soon, but right now, I need to take care of something.”
With that, he walked past the gathered group and began to jog toward Hollyn. Before she could disappear into the building that was connected to the arena, he snagged her around her waist and pulled her back against his body. She struggled until she turned and realized it was Kai who had been so bold.
“Where are you going so fast?” He set her on her feet facing him.
Her gaze darted around to see if many people were watching them. Kai couldn’t have cared less, but he waited for her to focus her attention back on him.
“I didn’t want to interrupt.” He sensed her irritation, and it occurred to him that she might be a little jealous, which meant she felt something for him. He liked the idea of that because he sure as hell felt something for her. He wasn’t quite ready to analyze what it was, but he knew he wasn’t going to let her go so easily.
“Hollyn, there was nothing to interrupt.”
She looked down at her own feet and shrugged. “Didn’t look like nothing to me.”
He gave a low chuckle. She was definitely jealous.
Her sharp gaze lifted to his. “What’s so funny?”
“If I didn’t know any better, I would say you were jealous of Leilani? Did you want to kiss my boo-boo all better?”
“As if! Trust me, you’ll get no sympathy from me. Try to stay out of any more pissing contests, will you?” But a smile lifted the corners of her mouth, and all thoughts evacuated his mind except kissing her lips.
He wanted to, but he didn’t think it would end well with the Hanupali City people, considering they thought he was their King now, and the women thought they should compete to be his Queen. He might make Hollyn a target just by talking to her this long and this public. If he kissed her in front of everyone, it would definitely make her persona non grata with the other women.
But he wanted to reassure her all the same. “Hollyn, you’re the only person here who truly knows who I am. I’m not a king, and I’m not looking to get married any time soon, but if I were thinking about getting hitched, it wouldn’t be to a complete stranger.”
They stared at each other for a few electric seconds, and Kai knew he wasn’t going to be able to resist kissing her.
But the minute he heard his mother’s voice clear behind him, the moment was lost, and he turned toward Uma.
“All eligible women will compete to be by your side as your Queen. Until then, you must not show favoritism toward any one of them.”
“And if I don’t want to participate in such a ridiculous ritual?”
Kai regretted the words almost immediately. His mother looked shocked and hurt by his question. She pursed her lips briefly before she explained, “It is your duty as my first born to ensure the safety of this city and its people. You can’t do that alone. You have to have a strong woman by your side. The competition will reveal who that is. There is no other way.”
He swept his gaze to Hollyn as he asked, “What if I’ve already met a strong woman that I want by my side?” Hollyn gasped, and he knew he might have pushed her too far, too fast, but if he had to marry, there was only one woman he was even close to doing that with.
But Hollyn shook his already tenuous equilibrium as she said, “I won’t be competing."