by M. Dalto
“What? Show you my dream? And how the hell do you expect me to do that?”
Growling, he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead on hers. Despite appreciating his touch in the past, she flinched away this time. This wasn’t the Treyan she had come to know, and she wasn’t certain she truly knew him at all. But being this close to him, she could once again inhale the clove and spice scent of him, and feel his deep breathing brushing against her face, as though he was trying to calm himself.
Perhaps he’s finally realizing how much of a prick he’s being, she thought as she attempted to remove herself from his grip once again. “Treyan—”
Just when she thought his tirade was over and she considered letting her guard down, as soon as his name escaped her lips, his eyes flew open and locked on hers.
“I’m sorry.”
“What for?” she asked carefully.
But with his head against hers, he brought his hands up to hold the side of her head, and once again she heard him mutter those damn, foreign words that sent her tumbling into the uncontrolled darkness.
Alex woke with the feeling Treyan's hands still pressed against her cheeks; exactly how she remembered falling asleep, so it didn't startle her as much as it should have. Only once she felt a hand on her upper thigh and an unwanted weight upon her did she quickly open her eyes.
Now that she could match a name with the face, she was certain it was Reylor above her. She tried to wrestle away from his touch but the grip of his fingers tangling in her hair held her had in place, and the weight of his body against hers pinned her to the bed beneath him. She could feel his passion building between his legs within his pants, and she struggled like a hunted animal desperate for a way out. But beyond the heaviness of his body upon her, there was something else that kept her on that bed- some unseen force holding her against her will. She didn’t know what terrified her more.
Those haunting red eyes glared at her as he looked her over, and the hand that gripped her hair, his fingers now digging into her scalp, brought her face to face with the would-be Lord Steward. The pain was surprising, and she let out a cry as tears came to her eyes. But his flaring gaze penetrated hers as a look of complete disgust came over his face.
“You told him,” he snarled.
“Enough, Reylor. Move away from her. Now.”
Alex’s breath caught in her throat as the sound of Treyan’s voice filled her ears, and she allowed just a sliver of relief flood through her, even as Reylor still hovered over her. It all came back to her then—his demands, her dream.
He had brought them into her dream.
Reylor groaned as he finally released Alex, all but throwing her back onto the bed in an unceremonious manner. “Come now, Treyan, breaking your own rules now, are we?” He crawled off of Alex and removed himself from the bed, standing to his full height as he stood to face his brother. “Whatever will the Councillor think?”
“Let her go.”
Reylor shrugged, opening his palms. “You act as though I’m keeping her here against her own free will. When last I checked, this was her dream.”
A blue bolt of power whizzed pass Reylor's head, colliding with the wall above the bed. Alex had to close her eyes and move her head away so as not to suffer damage from the falling debris.
“Hopefully that will jog your memory,” Treyan warned his brother.
Reylor shook the dust from his dark shirt. “It is always fire first and ask later with the Empire, is it not, Treyan?”
With a snap of his fingers the unknown power keeping her on the bed seemed to dissipate, and Alex sat herself up immediately, backing away from Reylor and making sure she was still decent in the process. She rubbed at the tender areas of the back of her head where he had pulled her hair while she observed the scene playing out before her.
Treyan stood, battle-ready and almost emanating an aura all his own. He remained at the end of the bed as Reylor cautiously kept his distance. In his right palm, Treyan controlled a ball of what appeared to be blue flame like the ones Alex saw that night in her apartment.
The first time she’d met Treyan, and the first time she’d heard Reylor.
“It is nice to see you again, brother,” Reylor mused as he remained where he stood, his hands remaining defensively at his sides as though unconcerned that any additional threat would be aimed at his head.
Alex took advantage of the standoff to finally observe Treyan’s brother. He wore a loose black shirt, tight breeches, and not much else. His blond hair was loose around his shoulders, with his red eyes pierced through the strands falling in his face. The attractive family resemblance resonated from him, and she wondered what the future would have held for him if she hadn’t betrayed his Empire.
“How did you do it?” Treyan's demanding tone broke into her thoughts.
A smug smile crossed Reylor's face. “Do what?”
“You know what.”
“While you were out playing errand boy for the Empire, some of us found the need to spend their time focusing on more…serious practices.”
“Do not play with me, Reylor,” Treyan warned as he took another step towards his brother with his flaming hand aimed at his twin's head. “Not now, and not about this.”
“No, Treyan. It is you who should not play with me. I assure you, I am far beyond playing games with you.”
To add emphasis to his threat, he held his hand out towards Alex, his own red ball of flame growing between his fingertips, and suddenly Alex found herself in the middle of the fire fight. “Treyan,” she warned as she finally removed herself from the bed, trying to get as far away from the threat of that outstretched hand as possible. If he was going to run his mouth and piss off his brother, she did not want it to be at her expense.
Treyan went still, as if every muscle in his body seized as he assessed the threat that was now directly aimed at her, even as his eyes remained on his brother. “You won’t harm her, and we both know that. You would never have gone through all of this trouble to just have it end here and now.”
“Even so, it’s more than enough to capture your attention,” Reylor growled. “Remind me, how long have you been waiting for this?”
“Enough of this. The Empress and I are leaving.”
“Answer me!” The rage of his tone increased the intensity the glowing red power in his hands, still aimed towards Alex. She backed away as far as she could, pressed against the room’s curtained balcony doors with nowhere else to go, afraid to move any further lest Reylor's temper explode.
Treyan glanced at her as if debating his next move. There seemed to be more going on than Alex could comprehend, so for her sake she hoped Treyan answered his brother correctly.
Treyan set his jaw. “Since the day Mother told us of the Prophecy.”
“And when you finally submerged yourself into her world? Did you stalk her out within the Otherrealm, or patiently watch her from afar like a coward for all those years?”
Alex paused. Watching her? Her gaze turned towards Treyan, whose intent concentration gave away nothing—no tells that his brother may have just revealed one of his greatest secrets. Was that how he knew it was her birthday, or that she was going to be celebrating that night? That he had been watching her, and not just for the evening?
“You know that’s not how this works.”
“And then what?” Reylor's rambling continued on. “What happy ending do you have in store for the Empress, now bound by honor to the Empire, her service the Council, and her duty to the Crown Prince?”
“More than you could ever give her,” Treyan countered through clenched teeth.
“I was never given the chance to give her anything!”
Reylor brought both of his hands forward and immediately shot red flames forwards towards Treyan, his apparent anger causing him to act without hesitation.
The movements shook her from her contemplations about Treyan’s true intention, and she shouted out a warning, but Treyan was already waiting for his brothe
r’s advance. Another blue light emerged from his opposite hand, covering him like a shield, just in time to deflect the flames racing towards him.
Alex used the distraction to her advantage and crouched down, remaining low to the ground as she tried to keep against the wall and move away from the center of the brothers’ conflict and find the best way to get to get away from the bed. Keeping her eyes on Treyan while she crawled on her hands and knees, the brothers continued their assault. Reylor continued to throw his magic at Treyan while Treyan used his own to defend himself. But the Crown Prince was beginning to show signs of tiring, his chest heaving and sweat glistening his brow, though his power and resolve never seemed to waver.
Suddenly, the protective shield of light expanded and flung its growing power back towards Reylor, forcing him off his feet and crashing his back into the nearby wall. The impact must have stunned him for his body slumped to the ground and remained motionless. The exchange was almost instantaneous, but Alex couldn't keep her eyes from the unconscious brother, or her thoughts away from considering the extent of the power Treyan possessed to render him as such.
Taking advantage of her distraction, Treyan ran over to Alex and urgently grabbed her by the arm, pulling her to her feet next to him. His eyes raked over her desperately, as if he was looking for signs of harm.
“I’m okay,” she assured him, but his hold on her didn’t let up. If anything, her words had him holding her closer. He brushed tussled hair from her face and ran a hand over her arm, giving her a final inspection in the aftermath of Reylor’s infiltration of her mind.
“Treyan, I’m fine,” she insisted. And glanced over her shoulder at where Reylor remained slumped against the wall, uncertain how long he would remain as such.
Without another word, he regained her attention by bringing her face back towards his, and he kissed her with an almost unexpected and passionate force. His mouth melded into hers, as if the very creases of their lips were predestined to match one another's. Her arms reflexively wrapped around his shoulders as his other arm reached around her, his hand resting at the nape of her neck, his fingers curling into her loose auburn hair. His eyes were intense when he withdrew his lips from hers, his blue eyes burning into her like an azure beacon in the darkest of nights.
Her heart was pounding as hard as the returning pain within her temples, and she wasn’t certain she was breathing even as he whispered that damning mantra.
With the taste of cloves lingering on her lips, Alex's dream faded to black.
9
Wherever she was, she didn't want to leave.
Maybe she was within yet another of those prophetic dreams Treyan alluded to earlier, but the comfort she felt from the glow surrounding her was a comfort she didn't want to let go. The warmth felt amazing as it covered her skin like a blanket, and the tension in her muscles seemed to float away. She allowed herself to let go of all cares and closed her eyes, sinking further into the comfort.
The distraction was a pleasant one. She didn't want to think about a Prophecy, or feuding brothers, or becoming Empress to a fantasy empire. How so much could happen in so little time—how long had it been, anyway? —she wanted to forget about it all, if only for that moment. Wherever she was, she knew the peace wouldn’t remain, and the harsh reality of what had become her life would be there waiting for her, ready to bombard her existence yet again.
She just didn’t expect the calm to be interrupted by the grip of hands beneath her armpits hauling her out of a bathtub, her wet skin surprisingly cold against the warm air, causing her nipples to harden and goosebumps to form.
How the hell did she end up in a bath?
She sputtered and thrashed to get away from the hands the held her, water splashing up and over the edge of the tub and soaking not only the floor of the washroom, but Treyan behind her, whose curses were the only thing that made her realize that harsh reality was truly back.
Easing herself onto the edge of the tub, freezing and completely naked, she gasped for breath as she tried to calm her panic. But she whipped her head towards the damp Prince standing beside her, demanding an answer in the glare she gave him.
“You started burning up with a fever the moment we returned,” he tried to explain. “I put you in the bath to bring your temperature down.” But the look on his face indicated, at least at that moment, that though he was attempting to help her, he wasn't just looking to save her life. And the moment a single glance drifted below her neckline, she raised her hand and slapped him across the face.
“Ow!” he hissed, bringing a hand to his reddened cheek. “What the hell was that for?”
“That was for taking…liberties!”
“You were drowning!”
“I was ... what?!”
“Your head was under the water. I didn’t want you to kill yourself.”
“I was not going to kill myself.”
“You’re right, because I was right there to save you.”
He moved over to a nearby cabinet and began pulling out soft-looking towels, but she continued to peer at him as she crossed her chilled arms over her bare bosom. "Were you watching me?" She didn’t just mean at that moment, while she was in the bath, as the conversation that transpired between he and Reylor began to slowly return.
He didn’t give her any indication he acknowledged her insinuation. “No, I was not,” he assured her, though he refused to meet her gaze. But he lingered by the cabinet, and she swore she heard an uneasy chuckle escape while he began to toy with various items on a shelf above his line of sight, looking anywhere but at her.
Lucky for him, Alex had a decent throwing arm, and a bar of soap got his attention as it hit him on the back of the head.
“Rhaid,” he cursed, spinning back to face her. “Now what?"
“You were spying on me!” She threw her arms up in exasperation as she swung her legs around and began to stand from the tub, the touch of the cool stone floor beneath her feet sending a shiver straight through her. “I don’t even know why you took it upon yourself in the first place. Doesn’t a Crown Prince have anything better to do than watch me in a bath? Isn’t that something handmaidens should be assigned to task?”
“Yes, but your Mistresses won’t be assigned to you until the day of the Coronation,” he started to explain, finally approaching her with a towel in hand. “And like I said, I wanted to make sure the fever broke—”
“And whose fault was that?”
“I have no control over how your body reacts to the dreams,” he assured her, with a tinge of defensiveness in his tone as he handed her the towel.
She took it with a scowl and began to wrap it around her damp form. “You’re the one who wanted to see, so I supposed it remains yours. Were you happy with that you discovered?” The less she thought about that dream, the better, but still—he owed her answers for having to relive being touched by that monster again.
His eyes darkened as he watched her. “He’s become more ambitious than I thought, and the power he was able to—” He shook his head, trailing off, some of the light returning to his gaze. “We’re not going to discuss this now. Like I said, I was merely looking out for your well-being. If I wasn’t, you would have remained under the surface of that water, so if anything, I was doing you a favor."
“I wasn't, I mean, I didn’t…” Letting out a frustrated growl, she moved to stalk out of the washroom, but paused before the crossed the threshold. Her attention snagged on the rest of the candle-lit room around her, or rather, on what she couldn’t see. “Where are my clothes?”
He smirked and only shrugged.
“Fine.” She glared, and still wrapped in only the towel, walked out of the room.
It wasn't until she was five steps through the door that she realized she wasn't in her room anymore. She thought her quarters were well-furnished, but this room knocked everything else out of the proverbial ballpark.
Swords, armor and gear of all different metals, makes, and manner hung around the roo
m, interspersed with bright paintings and detailed maps in elaborate frames decorating each wall, painted in a rich sapphire to accompany the gold and white décor of the room. At the center stood large four-post bed, much like one she had woken up in the other room, covered in plush down duvets and warm comforters in cream and gold. On either side of the bed was a night table in rich mahogany, each containing piles of books and documents with half-melted tapers in golden candle holders.
Along the far wall stood a row of similar glass doors she was certain would have led out to a balcony if the world beyond wasn’t pitch black, each framed by heavy cobalt brocade and velvet curtains that seemed to be crafted to keep the light of day out when drawn closed. What finally caught her attention, however, was what was waiting in front of her.
A slight ‘oh’ escaped her lips.
She would have overlooked the small table if it wasn't for the single red rose as its centerpiece. She walked from where she stood to the sitting area on the other side of the bed, and there she viewed the table covered in white linen donning various breads, fruits and cheeses.
She was suddenly very hungry, but before she could approach the spread before her, Treyan came up behind her, placing a soft, warm, plush robe upon her shoulders. His hands remained on her shoulders as she slid her arms into the sleeves, allowing the towel to fall to the floor and pile at her feet, and from behind he whispered into her ear.
“Dinner is served, my Empress.”
10
Every mouthful satiated her appetite. She had to slow herself down so keep from making herself sick. The food was delicious, better than anything she could have eaten back home. Once her hunger was satiated, she sat back and enjoy this moment of peace. She picked up her cup and sipped at the sweetest wine she had ever tasted, only then noticing his eyes upon her.
Treyan was watching her from over the rim of his own cup as he held it between his hands, an amused smile across his lips. The candlelight from the room played on his dark hair as it hung around his shoulders, and even the shadows couldn't tame the brightness of his eyes. Had he been watching her eat the entire time? She suddenly met his gaze, smiling shyly. “What?”