Adeloye stared at Wuraola, reflecting on what to do with her. He had let her retain her place in the palace despite his disdain for her because he needed to have someone who understood Iludoyin, and more importantly, had details about Adeyeri’s whereabouts. She advertised herself as a useful ally, declaring her love for him, but he didn’t care for it. It was something he was very comfortable to be without, and on the front of information on Iludoyin and need-to-knows, Shade was more than enough to give him what he needed. He was getting addicted to the woman, and though he hated to be attached to any female exclusively, and for too long, he found her irresistible. So, the only thing he needed Wuraola for was information about Adeyeri; information that was still not forthcoming.
“My son, please be patient. These things can take a long time because of distance. Our man in their midst also cannot simply give the information to anyone. He would want to be sure that the person can be trusted. Remember, they are a small group, and every little thing he does will be monitored closely.“
Adeloye sighed. He wasn’t sleeping well. His appetite had also disappeared, and he lived in constant fear of an invasion. “I cannot have peace until Adeyeri is killed before my eyes, and if I find out that you have information about him, and you are keeping it to protect him, I will kill you,” he glovered, and waved her away. Wuraola took a deep breath in sorrow, and moved closer to touch Adeloye, who stared at her hand on him with disdain. “How dare you touch me?”
“Adeloye, don’t be like this. You are my son, and I love you. I am on your side, and you need me. You need my counsel to truly take on Iludoyin as the King. The coronation is not enough, you need the people to accept you, and I can guide you to make it easy,” she pleaded with her eyes, but Adeloye shoved her away.
“Don’t you dare touch me without permission in the future.” Wuraola gasped from the pain of being shoved and tried to suppress her tears while Adeloye rose. “If the people of this land will not accept me as their King, it is to their agony because I will go as far as killing the first son in every house in this village till they all come to their senses. I will not come up with ways to make them like me; I don’t even want them to like me, I want them to fear me and know that I am their King, and they will bow to no other,” he said as Shade walked into the palace. “And now, my day just got better,” he added as he held his hands out to a smiling Shade, and led her away in the direction of the royal bedroom, both of them not paying any mind to Wuraola, who sat on the floor, deep in sorrow.
Where was Alani? She wondered. A message from him was the only thing that could change her fate with her son, and she needed to get it desperately, but as she watched Adeloye disappear with Shade, a thought began to form in her head. If she could not get through to her son, maybe she could employ this prostitute he has taken a liking to, after all, the easiest way to destroy or elevate any man was through the woman he loves. Maybe Shade was her answer to controlling Adeloye. It pained her to stoop so low, but the palm wine seller may be the saving grace she needed.
Adeyeri was wary of letting the white man into their camp, but Tade had been adamant. He could have put his foot down about not wanting a new person in their team, but it was obvious the decision would break her heart, and he found that he did not have the courage to do it. Brother Joseph’s story also seemed genuine even though Adeyeri thought it was stinkingly fishy. According to him, after Tade left Nnewi, he began to regret that he did not follow her. After praying about it, he had a leading to follow her because she needed him. However, he got lost.
“The people here are not as kind as the other people from where we came. Sometimes, they stone me. Other times, they laugh at me because they don’t understand me. I have had to live in the bush again to survive,” he said, and Tade interpreted his words to the others, scooting closer to Brother Joseph and touching his shoulder to comfort him.
Adeyeri sighed as Tade fed Brother Joseph with the leftover bush meat that Alani brought, and he ate it so fast, you would think he hadn’t eaten in days. “Better be careful with that. One of us has been visiting the bush constantly to answer nature’s call after eating it last night. You may be the next victim. Alani tell him,” Adeyeri said, suddenly finding his own joke funny enough to laugh, but no one joined him.
Brother Joseph began to cough immediately, clearly affected by Adeyeri’s statement about the food, and Tade glared softly at her husband, and then fetched some water for Brother Joseph to drink.
“Don’t mind him, he likes to joke,” she said reassuringly, and it pained Adeyeri that he didn’t understand what they were saying, especially because of the tender look the man directed at her.
“I can’t do this,” he said under his breath and walked away from the group, Banji at his heels.
“What is wrong with you, my Prince? You are not yourself,” Banji observed.
“Do you really need an answer to that when a stranger lies in our midst?” he asked, pointing in the direction of Tade and Brother Joseph.
Banji smiled, finally understanding that Adeyeri was acting out in jealousy. “That strange looking man cannot compete with you. Tade is yours, so calm down. Your rudeness is hurting her. I agree that the man looks weird, but Tade obviously cares about him.”
Adeyeri glowered. “She does more than care for him. He is literally eating from her hands. I hate it. I don’t need this complication. I have an army to raise.”
“Then focus on that, not them.”
“You know how much I hate to share.”
“And you are not sharing her, especially not with a white man.”
Adeyeri sighed, Banji’s words not sinking in because Tade was laughing with the white man. “This white man, can he be the same as those we are beginning to hear about arriving in large numbers through river bowls, and stealing our people?” he asked, suddenly remembering some of the tales he had overheard from his father and the Chiefs.
“He certainly could be one of them. I have never seen anyone like him before,” Banji said, looking back at Brother Joseph. “He doesn’t look wicked or capable of harm though, and Tade said he taught her everything she knows about her god, the one you want us to serve, so let’s not be too worried.”
Adeyeri sighed, especially because Banji seemed right. Yet, he couldn’t accept a man that obviously had such a strong hold on his wife. “I hate this,” he complained again, still glowering.
As though Tade heard him, she excused herself from the white man and walked towards him. Banji chuckled at the look on her face, and walked away swiftly to give the couple a chance to speak to each other.
“What is wrong with you, Adeyeri? Why are you being cruel to our guest?” she asked, clearly trying to hide her fury.
“He is not my guest!” he replied defiantly, but Tade shook her head, disagreeing with him.
“But he is mine, and that makes him yours, my dear husband. We might not have been married long enough for you to know this about me, but I don’t allow bullying, and I take care of the homeless. In this case, Brother Joseph has been homeless, searching for me because God sent him to me.” she explained, but Adeyeri cut her off before she could continue.
“In case you forgot, we are homeless too, and I am getting tired of you using your god as your defence everytime you want to do something you know I won’t approve of,” he retorted.
Tade sighed, frustrated by his reaction. “I thought my God was your God now,” she said, then sighed again, sadly this time, not knowing what more to say.
Adeyeri sighed too, frustrated that he had upset her, but unable to accept her friendship with the strange man. “This coincidence is unnerving. How come he found us here? No one knows where we are!”
“God led him to us, and if you can get off your high horse, you will soon see that Brother Joseph’s presence with us is a gift from God to make the journey smoother.”
Adeyeri rolled his eyes. She was saying the wrong things. “I am not interested in his presence.”
“Why?” she asked, genuinely wanting to know why he was taking this too far. He was a kind soul.
It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her that it was because he wasn’t comfortable with their friendship, and he felt that the man was her preferred choice for a husband if not that he was unavailable. He wanted to tell her that she was the only thing that made sense in his life right now, and he wasn’t willing to share her with anyone, or worse, risk losing her, but he kept mute, unwilling to make himself vulnerable before her.
“Why don’t you want him with us?” Tade asked again, hoping to hear Adeyeri’s reasons, but instead he touched her shoulders gently.
“It’s fine. If you want him with us, he can come, but if he does anything to ruin our mission, directly or indirectly, he’s gone.”
Tade nodded in understanding, still sad that Adeyeri was determined not to like Brother Joseph, but she was willing to take the olive branch he offered. “Thank you,” she said, and was going to leave, but Adeyeri grabbed her hand, and without thought or reason, pulled her behind a tree so that they were shielded from the others.
Maybe it was the need to establish his territory where she was concerned, or remind her of how things were between them before Brother Joseph showed up, he swiftly pulled her to him, their bodies so close, she could hear his heart beating fast.
“What is wrong with you?” she queried, worried he wanted to make love to her in broad daylight when anyone could walk in on them. She tried to pull away, but his hands circled her waist, and he pulled her even closer.
“I don’t care about the man, he can be with us for as long as you like,” Adeyeri stated, fighting the desire that coursed through his body as he held his wife in his arms, “but you must know that he makes me uncomfortable,” he admitted, refusing to continue to hide his discomfort. Tade had barely spent a few minutes with him, all of which was spent arguing about Brother Joseph, and she was eager to go back to him. She was his wife, and he refused to let any man take his place by her side. “You both have history, the type I cannot begin to compete with, and I am not willing to lose you,” he confessed, and Tade smiled, finally understanding his resentment towards Brother Joseph.
“Adeyeri, you can’t lose your wife. I am yours forever,” she stated, holding his gaze as she did.
“Is it because you don’t have a choice?” he asked, his heart beating even faster as her face broke into a deeper smile. “You are making jest of my insecurity,” he accused gently.
“No, I am elated by your jealousy,” she said, smiling, but Adeyeri couldn’t join her.
“You still have not answered my question.”
Tade cradled his face, bringing her lips to touch his in a light kiss. “I might have started this journey of marriage with you as a way to save myself from the Abobaku fate, but trust me when I say this. You are my beloved. Marrying you was divine. It was God’s gift of completion to both of us. Adeyeri, don’t you get it?”
“Get what?” he asked, his heart soaring with pleasure at her words.
“You are the only man for me, and I am in love with you.” Her words were music to his ears, but she wasn’t done. “Stop doubting my love, I don’t doubt yours anymore,” she added, and in that moment, words were no longer enough to capture Adeyeri’s feelings. Instead, he touched his lips to hers, and in a tender and slow kiss, he showed her that his heart belonged to her, and he was never going to let go.
Three Days Later
“Have you bewitched me?” Adeloye asked Shade as he rolled away from her, shocked that he could be enraptured by one woman for a consistent period of time, however short. They had just finished two rounds of sex, and he wanted more. However, there were pressing issues on his mind, and so sleeping with her would have to wait till later in the night.
“Have I really bewitched you if you still have issues on your mind? You kept sighing. What is the matter, Your Highness?” Shade asked curiously, sitting up to join him.
“Isn’t it obvious? The people in this stupid village have refused to accept me as their King. We have done everything; seized their crops, stopped them from accessing the stream so that they would bow down before me, but it seems nothing short of slaughtering them one by one will get them to bow. As the days go by, the fear of me is also reducing.” Adeloye lamented, while Shade robbed his back to comfort him
“Can I speak freely?” she asked, and he glowered at her.
“If I did not want you to speak freely, would I have told you anything?”
“I am sorry my King. I just don’t want to offend you.”
“Go on woman! If you have anything to say, say it now or leave me till I need you again.”
“People love Adeyeri. They love him even more than his father. When I joined this village some years ago, he was just a teenager, and I clearly remember women and children singing as he walked around the village. He is also generous with his time, always stopping for a chat, giving out money, and just being an all round good man to his people. In the past month, they have grieved with him as they watched him bury his father, the King, after a most tragic death. They are loyal to him, and…” Adeloye’s cold look shocked Shade to silence. “Have I said anything wrong?” she asked, shaking in fear.
“You are singing the praises of my enemy?” he bellowed furiously, and Shade went down on her knees.
“No, Your Highness. I am trying to help you understand the people of Iludoyin. They don’t respond to hardness in a leader because they are used to softness and pleasantness. If you want their loyalty, you need to approach things a little differently.”
“So because my brother was a soft coward, I should be the same? Never!” What I need to do is to kill the stupid bastard. They are loyal to him because they are aware that he is still alive. Once I present his head to them, they will bow to me,” Adeloye said, his face distorted to show his hatred for Adeyeri. “In fact, I must make a festival out of his death to serve as a warning to anyone who is nursing thoughts of betrayal,” he continued, and Shade shook in fear. Adeloye was a different man in that moment, blinded by his need for revenge and destruction. She was thinking of how to respond to him in his fury when someone knocked.
“Come in,” he screamed, and Shade rushed to cover her nakedness with a wrapper as Wuraola entered.
“I can come later,” The Queen mother said when she noticed the state they were both in.
“Say what brings you here!” Adeloye scowled at her as he beckoned her to come closer.
“What I want to say requires privacy. I can come back when…”
Adeloye did not let her finish. “Say what you want to say,” he bellowed, and Wuraola shook.
“It’s about Adeyeri and his wife. My contact has sent a message,” she said shakily, hoping he would understand the need for discretion and send Shade out.
“Go on!” he said instead, and for the first time since she met him, he was paying serious attention to her.
“They are currently in Lalemi village, on the way to Oyo town. They will pass through Eleyele, and should be there in four days’ time. If we are going to arrest him, we have to do it before he gets to Oyo. The Alaafin loved the former Kabiyesi, and may grant Adeyeri his protection.”
Adeloye frowned, brooding on the information, then he smiled. “He will be arrested before they get to Oyo. My men will depart immediately. I have the perfect plan,” he said then waved Wuraola away, not dignifying her with words.
“What is your perfect plan?” Shade asked as he grabbed her buttocks and pulled her closer for what she knew would be a quick round of sex that would give her no pleasure.
“It is time for Tadeyanju to play his part.”
“His part?” she asked curiously, the sound of Tadeyanju’s name making her heart beat faster.
“I kept him alive so that on the day we go to arrest Adeyeri, I can serve his head to him on a plate. Adeyeri will know that he has truly failed, and his wife will know true sorrow,” Adeloye said then plunged into her, hard and deep.
She gasped, tears blurring her eyes, and Adeloye relished her pain, thinking his brutal penetration was the cause, but Shade was mourning Tadeyanju. This time he was going to stay dead because one skill no one doubted Adeloye had was excellence in killing.
Hmm!, the plot keeps thickening.