Two Thousand Years | The Empire Saga #1

Chapter Twenty-One

"Be gone now," he commanded as he took Alexstrayna's arm in his, and the other mage assisted his injured brethren through the chamber door.

The Empress' face had gone ghostly white. Reylor had hoped she would have had a stronger stomach for violence, if she was expected to rule an Empire. "Come, Empress, don't look so surprised. We don't get what we want if our underlings don't fear us."

He sat her down in the opposite chair at his table while he took his own. "I do hope you're not going to try to run. I'd hate to have to damage your ankle further by putting it back in another chain."

She shook her head vigorously but remained silent with her head down.

"Good. Now let us eat," he instructed as he motioned to the food before them.

She didn't move and kept her eyes on her lap.

"Suit yourself." He shrugged and proceeded to enjoy his dinner in silence.

She decided to speak a few moments later, her voice chiming like bells in his ears.

"He'll come for me."

He looked up. The hatred in her eyes could have turned a weak man's stomach. Lucky for Reylor, he was not a weak man. Instead, he relished in her anger. Just the fact that he finally had her sitting across from him, and no longer in Treyan's betraying arms, was enough to render him unfazed and content.

He put his fork down and wiped the corner of his mouth with his napkin. This was not exactly how he imagined their initial conversation would start, but he'd work with what he had.

"You can keep telling yourself that, but he and I both know that he would not survive a moment in the Borderlands. Both he and the Councillor believe he is too precious to the Empire to risk losing, so much so that he most likely won't even try at a rescue attempt on his own. As for you," he added as he reached over the table and held her chin in his hand so that her eyes had to remain on him, "you are too precious to me to lose, so rest assured you at least have that going for you."

She glared at him and wriggled her head away from his hand.

He sat back down, crossed his legs and folded his hands in his lap. "All else will take time, I know, and eventually you will learn that I'm not the demonic traitor Treyan has insinuated I am."

"I highly doubt that."

"Do you still not understand, Alexstrayna? You are nothing more than a pawn to be used by the Empire."

"You have no idea what you're talking about. You're the one who threw it all away!"

"Which is the reason why I am the only one who knows what they're talking about!"

Reylor slammed his fist on the table and stood up, his rage rising. He promised himself he would not lose his temper with her, but after so many years of repressing his emotions, he found it hard to control them. He needed to learn quickly or all of his efforts would be for naught, so he threw his napkin on the table and took a few steps away to calm himself.

Clenching his fists and releasing them to ease his emotions, he turned back to where she remained at the table, her empty eyes following his every move.

"I assume, by now, you are aware of the Annals within the palace's library."

She hesitated before answering, and then nodded. "They said you tried to destroy it."

"It's good to see the Councillor is keeping you up to date with the Empire's history as well as its current events. But did he tell you why?"

"Only that you didn't agree with what you'd read."

He laughed. This was going to be more entertaining than he expected.

She perked a brow. "I don't think I said anything funny."

He walked over to her and braced himself on the arms of her chair, leaning in close to her face. "The Annals are a predestined menace, written by some long-dead delusional nobody who claimed to be a prophet. Ever since its inception, that damn book has been ruining the lives of my family for generations with no other justification than birthright!"

She shied away from him, but he couldn't tell if it was out of discomfort or fear.

Sighing at her uneasiness, he stood again. "At the end of the day, this Prophecy they've drilled into your head is nothing more than a warped manipulation. The only reason the Empire believes they have the upper hand is because they retrieved you first. Now, I must take it upon myself to instruct you in how things should have been rather than how you think they have to be, and soon you'll be as enlightened as I have become."

She scoffed. "It sounds to me like nothing more than a child having a temper tantrum because he found out that he wasn't going to get what he wanted. It serves you right, anyway," the Empress threatened as she stood from her chair. "Treyan told me you couldn't leave well enough alone. You received exactly what you deserved."

"No, Empress, it was Treyan who couldn't leave well enough alone. I dreamt of you first. You were mine to retrieve. But they refused to listen to me, and that damn book..."

He could feel his temper rise again and had to take a breath as he started pacing.

"I was so close, but you remember, I'm sure." He turned to her, raising his arms around him. "Now here we are. I suppose I've done well enough for myself seeing as I started out with nothing, no thanks to your prince or the Empire, but..."

"It's more than you deserve!" She took a step toward him.

"No, Empress. I deserve more. I deserve you."

That stopped her in her tracks.

"Of course, I believed I had more time, but it seemed Treyan turned out to be more obsessed with you than I expected. I do still wonder how long he had lived in that realm of yours to track you down with such precision."

"You make it sound like I'm no more than a prize—"

"Aren't you?" He stopped pacing to face her.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," she protested.

"I'm assuming he didn't give you much choice in the matter, did he?"

"What matter?"

"The choice of whether or not you wanted to come to the Empire in the first place."

She didn't say anything in response, but she didn't need to—the look of thoughtful contemplation mixed with utter disbelief was answer enough. Would she remember that, in the end, it was Treyan who forcefully removed her from her quiet life, and not Reylor who had brought her into this situation?

He walked over to where she was standing, wanting so much to take her in his arms. "Here, Alexstrayna, I will never force you upon your will..."

"Except for the kidnapping and chaining me to a bed like a prisoner, you mean?"

"A minor setback for the greater good."

"The greater good." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes. The greater good, Empress, where you will learn that the choice of who you will spend the rest of your life with is still your own, and not predetermined for you just because a delusional prince put a ring on your finger."

The sound of the slap across his cheek resounded throughout the room.

Reylor looked at her, not sure if he should laugh in astonishment. Instead, he snapped his fingers, and two minions placed as guards outside of his chamber door entered.

"The Empress grows weary. Bring her back to her quarters. Make sure there is food available to her, no need to need to shackle her, but do not allow her to leave until she is properly rested."

"What?" Alexstrayna protested as the guards hoisted her up and dragged her from the room.

Reylor watched as they brought her down the hallway, and once they were out of sight he sat back down in his chair, releasing a deep breath, and returned to his meal.

Tomorrow would be a better day.