The Ruby Empire

Amit & Mythri

I feel my husband's great paw on my cheek, patting it gently to wake me up. "My queen," he murmurs. "Wake up now." I groan and rub my eyes.

"What time is it?" I grumble as I rise from bed.

Outside I hear ran and the echo of thunder. I hear the waves crashing on the boat and rocking it more than usual. The Cobra Strait was usually an easy boat journey to the eastern continent, but ever since Amit and I started our trip, it has been nothing but foul weather.

Amit is sitting up in bed, looking tense as can be. His tail is flicking back and forth, and his ears are flat onto his head. "I'm sorry to wake you," he murmurs.

"It's ok," I pull him down for a kiss. "Are you nervous?"

"All this terrible weather," he growls. "I took it as an omen," he looks at me with concern flooding his eyes. "I had a nightmare."

"Another one?" I ask.

He touches my face, brushing my hair back and running his thumb along my lips. "I wish you hadn't come."

I keep his paw on my cheek. "I needed to. The children will be fine. They are with Foluke and Sheba."

He growls low. "It's not just the children," he says. "I don't want to lose you. If you are lost, then I fear all of the Rakshasa will be lost."

"Amit," I whisper. "What did you dream?"

"Ever since Lord Nictis contacted me, I have not slept well. I have been plagued with nightmares about this Centaur," he shakes his head. "This meeting in Obresh," his voice cracks. "I keep seeing flashes of it."

"Amit," I whisper.

"All these storms that follow me, I can't help but feel nothing good will come of this." He looks at me, and he wraps his strong arms around me. He holds me tight, and I grip to his back.

"My love, you are worried." I pet his back. "Of course all these things are going to look like bad omens. You did the same thing when I was pregnant, both times. The sandstorm, the late shipment of mangos," I say.

He chuckles. "This is different."

I pull back and hold his face between my palms. "Do you trust the leaders we are meeting with?" I ask him.

He nods. "Most of them, yes."

I tilt my head. "Do you believe Lord Nictis and what he said?"

"I do," he whispers.

"Do you love me?"

He smiles. "With all my heart."

I kiss him, and he puts his paws around my waist. "I'm your lucky charm, your goddess," I smirk. "We have Nadeem as well and his knowledge. We'll be able to use it to our advantage. And if this Demir is as big a threat as Lord Nictis says, then we will fight him too."

He smiles at me and his tail starts to sway back and forth. "I'm starting to believe the rumors," he purrs. "That you're a goddess."

"Starting?" I scoff and thunder booms outside.

Amit's ears and tail stand on end, and he gapes at me. "Holy shit."

I chuckle and kiss him, throwing him down onto the bed.

Not too long ago, we were paid a visit by a Gnoll named Nadeem. He warned us about his Empress and her invasion schemes. For the longest time, the Gnolls have been a minor threat. Their slave trade, as of late, had gotten out of hand. They'd been growing in power for the last few years and had taken over several ports. Amit had been keeping a close eye on the Gnolls, considering that for centuries, the Rakshasa had been the primary source of the slave trade in the Ruby Empire before his grandfather started a war with the Gnolls. Since then, the Rakshasa ports and shorelines have been guarded against another Gnoll invasion.