Mark of the Empress | The Empire Saga #2

Chapter Twenty-Three

"I knew we never should have trusted her."

Alex was pacing back and forth within the cottage. It was well past midday on their third day in the Empire and there was still no sign of Bria. No one had heard her leave in the night, which surprised neither of them. They had been so exhausted from the previous day's events that they both fell asleep quickly on the pallet Bria had offered them.

Treyan and Sarayna sat at the small table while Alex refused to sit down. Alex could tell Treyan was thinking, and Sara was doing everything in her power to avoid Alex's eyes. Alex made a mental note to talk to her about that later. For now, they had more important problems to resolve.

"There is a small chance she could have been taken prisoner."

"By who?"

"She's a known traitor to the Empire. Any scout from the palace would have the authority to apprehend her should she be seen on this side of the Borderlands."

"You assume that there's still a palace guard in place?"

"There has to be," Treyan responded, but Alex could tell even he wasn't sure. "Jamison wouldn't have it any other way."

"Let's assume she wasn't taken prisoner. Assume that she left us to return to Reylor—supposing she's there now, informing him of our location, he and his mages could be on us any second."

"Then let's not wait around to find out," Sarayna interjected.

Treyan and Alex both stopped what they were doing to turn to their daughter. She realized they both had stopped to look at her and she looked up to them.

"It makes the most sense. Especially if we wait until nightfall."

Alex glanced out the window. They would have a couple of hours until the suns fully set, therefore they had a couple of hours to figure out whether they were going to wait on Bria or walk into whatever trap awaited them once they arrived at the palace. If there was still a palace waiting for them.

She sighed and walked over to the window that faced in the direction of the palace, or at least away from the Borderlands. Bria's cottage was so remote, hardly anything could be seen for miles. Knowing the position of the dense forest of the tree line, she could gauge the direction they would need to travel. There were a few neighboring farmhouses here and there, but no sign of the palace. If they were to go, in the dark, they'd have no landmarks to guide them.

However, they did have Treyan.

She needed to remind herself that this was still his home—he was born here, raised here, and if anyone knew the landscape, it would be him. But it seemed like there was so much at risk, especially now that they had Sarayna to be concerned about.

What would Reylor do when he found out about Sarayna? Alex closed her eyes trying to erase the thought, but being here, now, and so close, she couldn't no matter how hard she tried, and she had been trying since they arrived. She knew she would have to see him eventually. If she had any chance of getting her son back it would be inevitable. A part of her also knew that Treyan would need to see Reylor too; there was much the brothers needed to discuss about their mother.

For now, they needed to get back to the palace and away from Reylor. Otherwise, someone would be paying the other a visit, and she wanted to ensure they had the upper hand when that time came. Once they returned, they would be able to muster enough reinforcements to return and rescue Crystal.

If it wasn't already too late.

"Okay then," she finally said as she turned away from the window. "We either go tonight, or I'm going alone. Enough of this waiting. We've been here for too long already. I hope you're up to it."