Prologue
The shadows danced on the walls as I ran through the dank hallway, torches being the only things lighting my way forward. The embers flying from the torches looked like fireflies in the darkness as I ran from what I could only assume was someone who was after my life.
"Why don't you stop running?" the eerie and ghostly voice asked from behind me.
I felt like I wasn't getting any farther from the apparition, and like I was only running the same hallway repeatedly.
"Submit!" the voice exclaimed.
I can't, I thought frantically, If I just surrender and submit, there's no telling what my fate will be!
I kept running until I panicked, and in doing so, tripped over my own feet, falling flat on my face, and upon the apparition grabbing me, everything went black.
I awoke in my bed with a jumping start, sitting straight up, the sheets on my bed at first rising and then settling on my lower body like a ghostly hand, the grip of which was almost suffocating with the panic coursing through my veins. I threw the sheets off me and walked to the window, throwing open the curtains as the morning sun beat down through the window itself, the individual sections of the window itself being reflected on the floor thanks to the light.
What the hell was that dream all about? I wondered.
Suddenly, a knock echoed through my door, disturbing the stillness of the room that had settled since I'd woken up so abruptly just moments before.
"Who is it?" I asked semi-defensively, seeing as I wasn't even dressed at the moment, having only a pair of loose pants and undergarments on.
"It's Donner, Your Majesty!" Donner exclaimed.
"Enter," I said, beckoning in my personal assistant that quite frankly, I was glad to have.
"My Lord, I hate to intrude," Donner replied, walking in with a bow.
His black hair that had hints of grey sat neatly on his head even as he bowed, his sapphire-blue eyes only becoming visible once he rose and moved his hair out of the way, his quite handsome face having been blocked by the hair until now. The armor he wore and the short sword at his side, however, were unmoving, as if Donner himself were rigid, made of wood, a human wall that couldn't be moved, save by those he respected.
"You're not intruding, Donner, you're doing your job," I said, "Now, what's my first appointment of the day?"
"I'm afraid this may be far from a cordial affair, Master Tyris," Donner replied, "Lord Summerset has demanded that the Conclave meet today."
"Today?" I asked incredulously, "On what grounds?"
"He didn't say," Donner said, "The letter was only a demand from Lord Summerset, declaring that all the members of the Conclave need to meet this evening for a meeting of 'dire circumstances'."
"Who's to host this meeting, then?" I asked, "I'm not about to host someone who only sends these letters twenty-four hours before he wants the meeting held."
"Then it's a good thing that Lord Summerset invited everyone to his own palace for the purpose of hosting the meeting this evening, my lord," Donner said, "If you ask me, it seems like Lord Summerset has something up his sleeve, what with the sudden offer of hospitality."
"It wouldn't surprise me if Elanis had something up his sleeve," I replied, "Filthy bloodsucker never did have any shred of actual dignity."
"In any case, Your Majesty," Donner said, "You will no doubt need transportation. The Kingdom of Vampires is no place to walk alone."
YOU ARE READING
Crown of Souls
Fantasy|Book 1 of 3 in the Soularis Trilogy| The divided continent of Soularis was no stranger to tension, as the Soul Kingdoms had quarreled for centuries. However, in a time seemingly and falsely called a time of peace, war breaks out, and it's up to the...
