Two Thousand Years | The Empire Saga #1

Chapter Thirty-Six

With their plan's focus shifted, Alex and Treyan began to prepare. From that point forward, they spent their time in the library, plotting out their attack, both against Reylor and the Councillor.

The only one within the Empire with the ability to construct Keys was the Councillor. If the plan was going to work, they would need to convince him that infiltration was the best chance they had.

Alex knew the most difficult task upon her would be convincing Treyan to remain with her through this endeavor. He still needed to be persuaded as much as the Councillor. He continued to be very vocal about his objections and vowed that he would find another way to keep her from putting herself in danger, especially without him by her side. She knew deep down that though they were working together for a mutual cause, Treyan had his own agenda about how they were going to get there. So she vowed to keep him as close as possible until their task was done, otherwise she knew he would have a mind to venture off on his own and end his brother's existence once and for all, if only to keep her safe within the palace's walls.

On the night before they were scheduled to propose the plan to the Council, they sat together in the library, lazily flipping through a few more volumes of interest.

Or at least Alex was. Treyan had his legs upon a nearby table while leaning back in his chair, floating a blue power orb back and forth between his hands.

She glanced up at him as if to reprimand him for his current lack of purpose, when the sight of the orb grasped her attention.

"What are you doing?"

"Floating an orb between my hands," he responded nonchalantly. He appeared to have concluded his focus, but Alex was in awe.

"It was you."

"What was?" he asked, his attention still on his hands.

"You led me here that day. It was your orb."

The blue ball dissipated as he smiled, finally looked over to her. "I wondered if you ever figured that out."

"You were there?"

He nodded, swinging his legs down to the ground and standing from his chair. "I followed you from the room but didn't want to give you further reason to run. When I saw you heading toward the library, I figured I'd try guiding you to help you understand."

"You saw me fall?" A flush of embarrassment grew on her cheeks.

He smirked at her while he sat on the edge of her desk. "I made sure you were going to be okay, but you should have known better than to run on that foot."

She jabbed him playfully in the thigh on her desk, and he chuckled at her, easily grabbing her hand in his and holding it. His thumb ran over her knuckles as he looked down at her, and she couldn't resist meeting his stare.

She rested her head on her other hand as she looked up at him. "And here we are."

"Here we are," he returned, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her fingers.

Suddenly, an idea came to Alex, and without a word, she stood and walked over to the pedestal that held the Annals.

Treyan watched her from where he sat. "What are you doing?"

"Have you ever read our Prophecy?" She glanced back over her shoulder.

He rolled his eyes and looked down to a book on her desk. "I've read plenty. I don't need to read my own."

"Fine, then tell me about the ones you have read," she inquired as she walked around the pedestal.

"The last time I did that, you wanted to murder me."