Two Thousand Years | The Empire Saga #1

Chapter Twenty

"So lovely."

Treyan held Alex's hand, but there was something different about the roughness of the palms, the tightness of the grip. His voice sounded deeper.

She opened her eyes to realize it wasn't Treyan holding her hand at all.

It was Reylor.

Panic coursed through her as she sat up in bed, still naked after the previous night's activity. Modesty escaped her as she attempted to pull her hand away from him, her eyes scanning for any sign of the guards that patrolled the palace throughout the night. But they were nowhere to be seen, and Reylor's grip only tightened, pulling her closer to him as if she were no more than a rag doll.

"I wouldn't do that, Empress."

Looking into those red eyes at such close proximity made the man who possessed them so much more real, and Alex felt her blood turn to ice. She frantically looked around, attempting to make better sense of the situation, and that's when she saw Treyan.

He lay on the bed next to her, naked and motionless but very awake. He was engulfed by a red aura, its force keeping him in place upon the bed, created by the two mages who stood next to his body. Treyan's eyes burned with the darkest fury Alex had ever seen.

"Treyan!" she screamed, again trying to release herself from Reylor's grasp, but this time the Betrayer held both of her hands in his and pulled her out of bed into a standing position, wrapping his arms around her from behind, his chin resting on her shoulder while they both looked at Treyan.

"Unfortunately, Empress, the prince can do nothing for you now."

Alex struggled against him, and an arm quickly came up to her hold her tighter against him, his voice turnning harsh. "Enough of that, or the only one who suffers will be your prince."

To emphasize his threat, he nodded to one of his mages, who in turn intensified the field around Treyan, causing him to scream in agony.

"No! Stop!" she cried. With another nod from Reylor, the mage relented.

"I knew you'd see it my way."

He loosened the arm around her but left it dangerously close to her exposed breast.

"I see the Empire has welcomed you with all of the formality expected of a predestined deity."

His other hand slid down her left arm, grabbing her wrist to hold up the ringed finger. She closed her eyes. Her skin would have crawled off her bone if it were able and she silently wished it would, and she with it, as his touch made every cell within her body want to scream and hide.

"The Crown Prince fulfilled his fated duty."

He pulled her tight against him.

"Did he at least make sure you were the Empress before he fucked you?" he mused against her neck. "Or did he feel the need to claim you for his own before anyone else could even consider it?"

She let out a yelp as his hand squeezed harder. Treyan's eyes never left them, but the hatred in them burned deeper as he watched, helpless against the magical restraints.

Alex, however, did struggle, using every ounce of her energy to remove herself from the Betrayer's grasp. Even as Reylor began to walk them away from the bed, his arms still wrapped around her, her fear of him now mingled with an anger and rage at what he was doing to her, to Treyan, and to the Empire.

Reylor wasn't just a name and face from a nightmare anymore.

Ensuring Treyan was still able to see them from where he lay, Reylor sat her down in front of the vanity's mirror where her naked, tear-stained reflection looked back at her, and behind she could see Treyan on the bed, still struggling to move while his silent death glare remained on his brother. Reylor came up behind her to block her view of Treyan, surprising her when he laughed at her expense.

"Don't worry, Empress, he won't be coming with us." He had picked up her discarded robe and draped it over her shoulders, only then noticing the jeweled crown sitting in its safely secured box. Reaching over her shoulders, he unclasped the cover and removed the crown from its case, examining it.

Glancing back to his brother, a sly smile came to his lips. "Mother would be so pleased to see you kept it in the family." He returned his attention to Alex and gently placed the crown on her head.

"Now we are ready to go."

Reylor lifted her from the bench and turned her to face him. His hand brushed her cheek with sickening sincerity and she turned away from him as much as she was able. Amused, he only continued as the hand ran along her jaw and down her neck. "It's been a long time, but now I'm with you, after all these years."

He grabbed hold of the back her neck and brought her lips to his as if in a kiss. "Oh, and Empress, if you even think about running for help..." He turned to his mages.

The mages intensified their powers, and Treyan's screams were burned into her memory.

"Keep him here until we are gone," Reylor ordered as they made their way to the door, his hand still on her neck. "It's time the Empress saw more of her beloved Empire."

Despite the time of day, the castle was quiet as though its inhabitants remained in a deep slumber. No guards stood watch, no help from the kitchen bustled about their daily duties. Even the Councillor, who always appeared to be underfoot, was nowhere to be seen. Even if she dared scream, she wasn't sure anyone would get to her fast enough.

Reylor had tethered a rope of the same powerful red aura around her wrists, securing them behind her back, but still retained a death grip on her upper arm as he pulled her through the palace. She assumed he remembered every passage and back hallway that would get him where he needed to go with the least detection, and soon he brought her to a dark unused stairwell that led down to an old wooden door.

Behind the door were the stables, but other than the horses no one was seen. No one other than two more of Reylor's mages, holding the reins to their horses, awaiting their lord's return. Reylor traded Alex to one mage in exchange for the reins of his horse. He jumped into the saddle first, and Alex was unceremoniously hoisted into the saddle in front of him. His arm wrapped tightly around her waist, securing her against his chest.

"Let's go home, Empress," he murmured into her ear as he kicked his horse into a gallop toward the Borderlands.