TW: Mild gore

There had been entrancing music that had whited out the world. Then there had been silk. Then there was something sticky and viscous on her face, sinking into her temples. Tigris flinched back, her linked hands with Kai tugged back with her as she realised that there was someone in front of her.

The sticky substance that had sunken into her skin coursed within her body, from her head to her palms. It flowed through her hands, merging with Kai. They both were stuck fast together, bound by ink. Tigris tried to pull away, glancing back up at the inkblood.

Then she froze. Because it wasn't an elderly singer before her.

It was Kai. His rich dark skin gleamed brightly, her broad lips parting with alluring words. Then his face shimmered, and it wasn't him anymore.

It was Roche. The maid flickered in and out of view, her usual cheeky expression on her face.

There was a pulse between her palm and Kai's. Suddenly, her vision was dragged to the side, and she wasn't in her body anymore but Kai's. She saw her face shimmering for a moment, and then another. It had the same, sparkling green eyes and the same cunning smile. But it wasn't her. The figure Kai saw had bouncing chocolate curls and a slender, elvin jaw muttered with freckles. Tigris would recognise it anywhere.

Finn.

Her brother.

As quickly as the vision had come, it stopped. She blinked, her vision clearing with a rush of burning tears that streamed down her cheeks. She released Kai to swipe away the offending substance when she noticed a blur of motion far too close.

Something slammed into her side and she was thrown to the ground. Several voices were shouting her name, crouching around her to see if she was alright. But they didn't matter, none of them did. She leapt to her feet, her breath leaving her in a rush when she saw two figures on the ground, locked in a grappling position.

"No inkblood," Romulus growled, "Kills my daughter."

His dinner knife sliced across the elderly inkblood's neck, her skin parting like the pages of a book. The inkblood gasped in horror, her hands clasping her throat helplessly, but it was no good. She was dead in seconds, scarlet blood leaking onto the floor.

The king smirked victoriously, slumping back. Tigris kneeled next to him, warmth soaking her fingers when she reached out to steady him. She pulled back, numb shock filling her when she realised that it was blood slicking her skin.

Aodh skidded to a stop next to her, barking out a curse. He kneeled, flipping the king onto his side. Horror filled Tigris in a rush when she saw the handle of a dagger puncturing the king's side.

"No," Tigris whispered, her hands fluttering helplessly around the blade's handle. She spun around, finding a sea of faces that blurred around her. "Someone get Leinos!" she roared, and the crowd dispersed at the sheer volume of her voice.

"Children," a voice croaked. Tigris pulled her gaze back to her father, finding his face pale and bloodless. He winced, but still smiled at her and Aodh, "My children. You're here."

Aodh huffed, trembling as he pressed against Tigris like he needed her warmth. "Of course we are," his voice was fragile, shaking like it was going to break.

The king smiled at him warmly, his eyes clearer than they'd been in months. "I wish your brother was here. I have so much... so much to tell him. You've been so brave, the both of you. I've wronged you so... so terribly. I should have told you all about your mother long ago."

"Don't talk," Tigris begged, her voice strangled with emotion. She could feel tears rising, but she bit them back for her father's sake, "Save your strength until Leinos comes."

"Daughter, listen to me," the king pleaded, his eyes tender, "You remind me so much of your mother, her spirit lives in you. Don't forget her. Don't forget what I taught you, and you will be the greatest... greatest queen these lands have ever known."

It was a goodbye. Tigris could feel it. She couldn't bear it.

"I'm not ready," the words slipped out, and suddenly she was leaning into her father's chest like she was a little girl again, "Please, Father, don't go. I'm not ready."

"You are," the king breathed, lifting his hand to stroke her cheek like he had when she was younger. "You've always been ready. I love you, child. Aodh, take care of her. I know you'll be the man I raised you to be."

Aodh choked, heaving. One of his tears splattered against the king's pallid cheeks.

Their father faltered, his hand falling limp against his side. His eyes fluttered shut. Tigris seized him by the lapels.

"Stop!" she ordered, lacing her voice with as much authority as she could, "Father, come back! Don't go, we need you!"

The king's eyes cracked open for a moment, struggling to consciousness. Hope buoyed in Tigris' chest, and then crashed into the depths of the earth when the king didn't rouse in her arms. Tigris bowed her head as her brother began to sob beside her. She wondered if this was what Finn had felt like when he'd watched the library burn.

-------

"I believe it was an enchantment of desire. Intended to distract you so that the assailant could complete an assassination," Verita told her gently. They both sat at the king's bedside, listening to the steady wheeze of his rising and lowering of his chest. He lived, but barely. Blood trickled through his bandages every few minutes, and a red tinge had begun at the edges of his whitening lips.

"Desire?" Roche asked quietly. She, Kai, and Aodh hadn't left the king's side either.

Verita nodded, watching her ex-husband reapply another layer of bandages to the king's abdomen. "It showed you what you love or want. For Roche it was someone she..." Verita trailed off, glancing at her ward awkwardly. Roche cleared her throat.

"Someone that I loved, once. Someone that's no longer here."

Tigris blinked, glancing at Kai. "I saw you," she mumbled. Kai clutched her hand tightly, his brown eyes clouded with confusion.

"I know. I saw what you did. It was like our minds were connected." he replied, his brows furrowing.

Verita bit her lip. "Were you two connected in any way?"

Tigris nodded, her weary mind dragged back to the moment. "We were holding hands. I felt the inkblood course from my hand to his."

Verita nodded. "You two must have shared the enchantment then and seen what the other desires most. The inkblood took the moment of distraction to try to kill you."

Tigris blinked in surprise, her mind foggy. "But my father got in the way."

Verita nodded sadly. Leinos finished his ministrations and moved to stand beside his ex-wife. They stood carefully apart, with twin looks of sympathy. It made Tigris want to scream. She jerked her chin towards the motionless king.

"What's the verdict?"

"He has the night, my lady, but that is all," Leinos said quietly, "I'm so-"

Tigris didn't want to hear it. "If there's life in his body, there must be a chance," she insisted, desperation eroding at her strong facade when Leinos and Verita traded doubtful looks. "Please, Leinos. There must be something you can do."

She was aware that she was begging, but she wasn't going to let her father go.

"My lady, I'm sorry. I've tried everything." Leinos said quietly, his voice grim and heavy. He stood in front of her, his face kind but resigned as he bowed his head. "But for wounds like this, there is nothing I can do."

"Nothing?" Tigris pressed, "Even something unconventional?"

There. She'd said it, the words that had been bouncing around her skull in desperation. For a moment, no one seemed to understand.

Leinos' brows furrowed with confusion. "I've tried every treatment I know."

"Perhaps something out of your expertise," Tigris tried. She lost her patience when Leinos stared back at her cluelessly, "Damn it, Leinos! Inkblood! Can we use inkblood?"

It was as if she'd suggested murder. Leinos stumbled back, a hand flying to his chest in surprise. Roche steadied him quickly, gaping at Tigris openly. Aodh made a strangled sound from his place near the king.

"My lady, your father would not approve of that!" Verita gasped.

"I'd rather he be alive and furious rather than dead." Tigris said bluntly.

Aodh sounded choked as he murmured, "Tigris, what if-"

She spun on him. "Tell me you'd rather see him dead!" she growled. Aodh closed his eyes mournfully, and Tigris faltered. Aodh's face was red and puffy, his cheeks streaked with tears.

"I... I just want him to be okay," he murmured brokenly, burying his face into the side of the bed next to her father's head. Tigris nodded, swallowing back a swell of tears at the sight. She turned back to Verita, her brow lifted.

"Well then? Can anything be done?" she asked, realising just how haughty she sounded. She didn't care. She'd sound like a brat if it meant her father could live. She'd do anything, even go against one of her father's tenets to ensure he lived. That was what she was asking Verita to do.

A jittery kind of energy filled her as Verita bit her cheek.

"My lady, it would take a very powerful inkblood to reverse this damage. There aren't many that would come forward to help, and it would be illegal to call one of them here." the librarian explained haltingly.

Surprising, it was Roche that piped up. "Verita, there must be someone-"

The librarian's eyes flattened. "No."

"It's for her father!" Roche argued hotly, "The king! It is a valiant cause-"

Verita bit her lip, dragging her gaze back to Tigris. Her eyes were wild with emotion and a healthy dose of fear. Tigris realised that she was asking the librarian to commit treason and relented.

"Please, Verita. I will give immunity to you and anyone who can help. Just... please. If you can find someone..." she trailed off, unsure what else to say.

Verita's lips pressed together. She glanced at Roche, who rounded her eyes pleadingly as well. Tigris would be grateful if she wasn't so worried.

Verita spun around, her face unreadable. "Let me check my sources. I might have a few tabs on librarians nearby and some ways to contact them. Leinos, Roche, I'll need your help." Verita said, each word clipped and unhappy. Roche glanced at Tigris, her eyes determined.

"We'll find something, princess. Everything will be okay."

The words made her heart unclench a bit. She nodded, dismissing her maid who bounded after her guardian. That left her, Kai, and Aodh alone with the king. Though, Aodh was so dazed and grieving that he could barely count as present.

Tigris stepped forward, her fingers trailing across her father's icy cheeks. Aodh's teardrop was still suspended on his skin, practically frozen onto the king's cool face.

"I can't let him die," Tigris murmured. Kai came up behind her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. The movement was strangely stilted.

"He won't," Kai said hollowly, "Leinos will heal him. He always finds a way."

Tigris turned to her lover. Slowly, she reached up and linked their fingers together again. Suddenly, she wasn't in the king's bedroom. She was in the throne room, inkblood coursing between the connected hands. Familiar faces were flashing in front of her eyes.

She pulled away, emotion rising as she blinked away the sight. Kai stared back at her, guilt shining in his eyes.

"You saw Finn," she murmured, unable to keep the accusation out of her voice, "You desire him."

Kai flinched at the words. "I saw you first." he argued weakly, his hands splayed helplessly by his sides.

Tigris felt ire rise within her. "But you still saw him!" she snapped, "I thought you said you didn't feel that way anymore."

"I don't!" Kai replied, his eyes gleaming. He heaved a steadying breath, as patient and calm and he always was. "Perhaps this conversation is suited for a better time, Tigris. What happened today was awful."

"Then let's finish the awfulness once and for all," she responded, because she couldn't stand all these swirling emotions so close to her heart. She felt the emotions rising, pressing against her eyes and burning like fire, "I don't like lies, Kai."

His eyes flashed ever so slightly. A vindictive part of Tigris whispered, good, and itched for a fight to take away the roiling in her chest.

"I will always love the boy that Finn was," Kai confessed, his words halting with choked emotion, "I will always miss him. I will always want him back."

"You will always want him," Tigris mumbled, the words slamming against her like a sledgehammer. Kai shook his head, and twin tears slipped down his cheeks.

"All I want now is you."

"Then why did you see him?"

Kai's hands twitched at his side like he wanted to throw them into the air. "I don't know!" he cried out after a beat, "I don't like him, Tigris. I don't like who he's become. I love you, I love who you are, and who you will be! I told you that, I told you that I chose you and I meant it."

"But you also love him," Tigris seethed, "You love a man who doesn't exist anymore. Finn's gone mad, Kai. He murdered my people!"

"I know! He tried murdering you, and he knows how I feel about you. He knows that I lo-" Kai's words broke off, and he pressed a hand against his eyes.

Tigris stared at him, her heart breaking and aching at the same time. She watched, numbness creeping over her as she noted the torn expression on his face.

"You have to let that man go. The one you love," she told him, "He doesn't exist anymore."

The words seemed to strike a nerve. Kai stiffened, his eyes going cold. "Don't forget that I saw your desires too, Tigris," Kai said flatly, his eyes darting to the closed door, "I saw who you desire most as well."

She nearly scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous, I saw you."

"Not just me," he said softly.

The door clicked open, and Roche was rushing in, her eyes bright and hopeful. Tigris felt like she'd been punched in the chest.

She'd seen Roche.

She shook her head, turning back to Kai and completely ignoring her maid. "It's wrong. I don't."

Roche glanced between them. "Uh-"

"Could you give us a moment, Roche. Bring Verita with you when you return, please." Kai gritted out, his voice perfectly even. For once, Roche didn't argue. She backed out through the doorway, letting the door click shut.

Tigris was struggling to string her words together, shock blasting through her senses. "I don't see her that way at all!"

"Then why did we see her?" he asked coolly, crossing his arms. When Tigris floundered, he added, "I don't like lies either, Tigris. And I've seen how you look at her."

"I don't-"

"She's wearing one of your gowns," Kai pointed out, his face hard and unforgiving, "I saw how you looked at her when she put it on. I saw how you watched her tonight. Don't lie to me."

Tigris' mind spun. She didn't feel for Roche at all. The woman was like an adorable puppy, always over excited and irritatingly energetic. She was always prattling on with ridiculous stories that Tigris couldn't stand.

"Don't lie to yourself," Kai said plainly, "You might be right about Finn, but I'm right about this."

Roche wasn't the same, bumbling woman she'd been when she'd first become Tigris' maid. She'd grown, her jaw sharpening into an elegant curve. Her hands, hard and calloused, no longer fumbled with Tigris' jewelry and dresses. And when she'd put on Tigris' dress, Tigris had needed a moment to stop and stare, her mind spinning at the beauty before her.

She nearly collapsed as the thoughts coalesced in her mind, joining together to show her one, damning truth.

She liked Roche. Actually, truly, liked Roche.

She gaped, her mouth opening and closing like a fish for a moment. She met Kai's eyes.

"I haven't thought of her for a moment when I'm with you, Kai. I swear. I didn't even realise how I felt. I promised you my entire heart." she said.

"So did I," Kai murmured, a sad smile lifting his lips, "Yet here we are."

Fury coursed through her. She stepped closer, letting him see the fire in her eyes. "Are you giving up on us?"

"Are you?" he challenged, tilting his chin up. "Can you let this go? Can we just say that we love each other and move on?"

"I never took you as the type to hide from your problems, Kai."

"What is there to hide from?" Kai asked, running his hands through his hair in frustration, "We both know our gazes have strayed. All we can do is move on." He paused, a knowing light filling his eyes, "That is... if you want us to move on."

Horror filled Tigris. She loved Kai. She did. She hadn't even considered Roche for longer than a moment, she would never betray him like that. "Of course I do!"

"Then... why are we arguing?"

"I don't know!" Tigris ran her hand over her face, defensive anger bubbling within her.

Kai's face shuttered. He stepped back, the distance between them never feeling wider. Tigris opened her mouth to continue her tirade when the door swung open. Leinos, Verita, and Roche all piled in. They glanced at each other furtively before pausing at the sight before them.

Kai looked away, retreating towards the doorway. "I'll return to tend to the king upon your departure, my lady." he murmured. The title sounded icy on his lips. Tigris' heart plummeted as he practically fled from the room.

Roche's eyes narrowed at the sight, but Verita spoke before she could get a word in.

"We've found someone, my lady. I've sent out a message, and she says she can assist your father."

Tigris' anger evaporated, traded for utter surprise. Aodh seemed to retreat from his reverie, pulling his face away from their father's side.

"Someone can help?" he asked hoarsely.

Verita nodded, glancing at Roche hesitantly. The maid stepped forward, her eyes glowing intently.

"She'll be here tonight," Roche explained.

Energy filled Tigris. She couldn't believe her luck.

"Who is it? We'll have to let her into the castle." she asked eagerly.

Roche and Verita exchanged a glance. Verita cleared her throat loudly. "She's a powerful inkblood, my lady. She won't have trouble with your guards."

"Still, we must know who it is." Aodh demanded to know.

Leinos, Verita, and Roche exchanged a weighted glance before Verita stepped forward, her hands splayed.

"She is the Ala."

-------

Tigris entered her chambers, exhausted and sticky with blood. She slammed the door shut, eager to slip out of her stained gown when a voice split through the silence.

"Tigris!" Eris rushed forward, her face creased with worry, "I'm so sorry for the ordeal you suffered. How fares the king? How long does he have?"

Tigris smiled. It was a weary thing. "Hopefully, he'll make a full recovery."

Eris blinked in surprise. "Tigris... I know you hope for the best, but that wound looked serious."

"It is," Tigris swallowed, tension knotting her back, "But Leinos is enlisting help."

"Help?" Eris repeated, her brows furrowing, "Tigris, I do not think there is anything that can help that kind of wound."

"Inkblood can," she replied confidently. Eris made a squeaky sound of surprise, seizing Tigris by the shoulders.

"Niece, you can't be certain of an inkblood's intentions. Your father would throw a fit if he knew what you're doing."

"At least he'll be alive to throw the fit," Tigris retorted. When Eris didn't look convinced, she added, "And I know the inkblood does not mean me harm. Verita knows her. I believe you've also heard of her."

Eris blanched. "Me? Knowing of an inkblood?"

Tigris nodded, moving to her closet. "I believe you know her name. The Ala."

The air went still. Tigris turned to find Eris staring at her in disbelief.

"You found the Ala?" her aunt asked slowly, "The mythical, prophesied inkblood destined to serve a powerful leader?"

"Verita found her," Tigris answered, pulling out a clean gown. She wished Roche was here to help, but her maid was busy helping Leinos. After the day's revelations, Tigris was more than happy to let the woman wander off. "And while I still don't believe in that prophecy, I'm grateful to have help."

"I'm sure," Eris sounded dazed, "Hopefully she can help your father."

Tigris stared at the blood staining her front, a familiar numbness creeping up in her chest. "I hope so. I don't know what I'll do if she doesn't."

A/N: I don't even know what to say about this chapter LOL, there is so much going on.  It looks like we're going to get an Ala reveal of some kind. Heads up, we've got a lot of angst in our future, so stay tuned!

Also, how are you liking the love square?

As always, happy reading!