Empire of Blood

Chapter 15: Imprisoned

Once the prisoner had been dealt with, the dwarf king dismissed Selena's group for the evening. However, before leaving, one of the king's servants advised that His Majesty invited a proper conversation in the morning. Selena's spirits lifted; she would finally have her chance to speak with him about Ulrich's return.

Azrael warned when Selena expressed her content, "Remember, we don't have forever."

The three separated and went to their rooms for the rest of the night, though Selena couldn't ignore Thor as he poked and prodded her thoughts until she answered his burning questions. I swear to you and Doragon, we're all well.

I hope so because we were about to destroy the castle ourselves.

We're thrilled you didn't. I don't think His Majesty would have appreciated that.

We don't care. I serve neither god nor king.

Yet, her dreams swirled around the lone wolf as she gave in to the evening's torpor. Her visions of the girl haunted her; Selena watched as Ulrich swept through the Hinterlands, spewing his emerald lightning mixed inferno, strafing the ancient grove in one pass. His deadly conflagration engulfed the masked girl within the firestorm, spreading to the surrounding trees and consuming the forest in a torrent of fire and ash. However, what awoke her was a woman's voice gently pulling her from the nightmare, urging her to seek out the Aynu.

Thor expressed confusion about her vision when Selena jolted from the bed and rushed to her mirror, washing her face, tired from the lack of sleep. She looked at her reflection and almost panicked when she saw the wolf mask blaring from the surface. The glowing yellow eyes continued staring into her deep emeralds, but her image returned to normal when she blinked.

My dearest one, I don't believe that voice was from your dream, Thor carefully said. I feel a presence surrounding you, but it's not like before.

Thor was right; Selena shivered when she realized the aura, too. Perhaps a warning that the Aynu need help—I believe it has to do with Ulrich and the golden stone in the king's vault.

Hmm. I wonder.

Selena's heart raced when she heard a knock on her door, and Rahim asked, "Are you decent?"

She hurried to find her robes, draped them over her nightclothes, and fixed her hair before opening the door. "I am now."

Rahim trudged through when she gestured to a nearby chair with dark and heavy eyes. He stretched and yawned before sitting down, and Selena called for some morning tea and coffee. "How are you feeling?" he asked her. "I heard you scream a little while ago."

"I'm sorry you heard that. I'm afraid night terrors are quite common for me."

"I wonder how you ever get any sleep." Yet, Rahim was sighing tiredly; one of the chambermaids arrived with the requested refreshments but apologized for not having Selena's usual choice of green tea. Selena groaned, but she made do with earl grey and lemon while Rahim gulped down his coffee and cream.

"I pray that the dwarf king won't judge the Aynu girl too harshly," she whispered between sips, but Rahim nearly choked on his drink.

"You can't be serious. She's a thief who attempted to murder His Majesty."

"I'm beginning to wonder why she extended this effort to steal from the dwarf king. It doesn't make sense why she was explicitly after that egg, and she ignored attacking me." Selena paused when Rahim squinted at her. "Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

"Yes, and that is interesting, but maybe Azrael is right; we should leave Rhumbek as soon as possible before things get worse—I don't want us getting mixed up in all of this political nonsense."