Two Thousand Years | The Empire Saga #1

Chapter Thirty-Four

Treyan once told her that it felt as though the Prophecy itself controlled the very essence of time within the Empire, and those words resounded through her more fiercely than ever as Alex regained her footing after the wedding. It was almost as though it aimed to accommodate those who needed it the most, and none needed it more than she.

Never one to let an ailment hold her back, Alex continued with her duties as the Queen Empress to the best of her abilities, and no one tried to tell her otherwise. She had come back from the dead, after all. She might be immortal for all they knew.

The main focus after the wedding's intrusion was the Borderlands.

Reylor hadn't once attempted to infiltrate Alex's dreams, but often she wondered if it was because of Treyan's proximity, or from the little training she had to erect mental shields to keep him out. Knowing well it was most likely the former, she still made an effort to strengthen her own potential, now that she was both Queen Empress and wife to the Crown Prince.

Even so, shields were cast around the palace for added magical protection. When Alex asked Treyan where such power came from, he informed her that Reylor wasn't the only one who could have mages under his employ but didn't divulge more information than that. She wondered where they had been, why they hadn't been put to use until now, but decided another time would be better for such questions.

It still remained unknown how Reylor was able to infiltrate the palace on the night of the coronation. The guards on duty insisted they maintained their positions, but all agreed that something else was at play—magic, poison—but how it would have been administered without being detected was the greater mystery.

Nevertheless, by decree of the Empire, they ordered barricades and barracks to be erected within every province, and insisted the lords enlist their bravest and strongest should the Empire be attacked. Neither Treyan or Alex kept the knowledge of Reylor's presence to themselves. After the incident at the wedding, they had no choice but to publicly declare him a threat to the Empire and proclaimed they would do all they could to assist in protecting their lands from the threat of the banished Lord Steward.

The patrols along the tree line brought back little news, and what they did deliver was nothing more than what was already expected. Reylor was sending scouts over the Borderlands, who, in turn, met the Empire's own border patrol. Every attempt to apprehend a minion was foiled, as they would slit their own throats before further interrogations could begin. Reylor was not playing games.

Neither were they.

Treyan ceased his travels between the palace and the northern villages. Both he and Alex agreed his place was within the Empire. Something needed to be done, and they would no longer sit around, waiting for Reylor's next attack.

Their first task was mapping the Borderlands, but as Treyan had never been there, and Alex's memories of her trek were vague at best, they had to resort to the history books. All they could find within the palace's library, however, were maps drawn prior to the ancient war. But once that had ended the record of the Empire ended at the tree line—the Borderlands were forbidden territory for the last two thousand years. Without a map, there was no way to strategize an army's advance. They spent countless hours analyzing how they could possibly obtain the upper hand.

This was no longer just about vengeance.

This was war.