Iᴍᴘᴇʀɪᴜᴍ (Bᴏᴏᴋ 1) (editing)

Chapter 17- The Takings (Part 1)

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Cyrus helped Rayna onto her horse; she was too weak from the activities of the day to even lift her own body up.

The three walked slowly as they made their way home exhausted. Praying for tomorrow, a day. All three of them hoped that tomorrow would bring them peace, and things would be sorted out nicely.

Little did they know that tomorrow would not bring them any peace. Not even a little.

Part 1 

Once they returned to the hidden castle that night, it was quite comical how carefree the occupants of it were. They did not have a care in the world as they watched the three approach the castle.They were not worried at all, because of the little queens note that she left on the table in the kitchen. When the events of the day were given to them all, however, Rayna received a whole new wave of yelling and scolding. 

Catherina hugged her glad she was safe, but she was furious with her for casting a curse of dark magic. Revon stormed out of the room not even looking in her direction clearly upset with her actions. Jewel followed Catherina's actions and asked if she was okay, motioning for her to sit down. 

Andre just shook his head, not saying a word but his silence saying everything. He knew she was going to slip up eventually. That bothered her to no end. But they were alike you see. Both stubborn and hot headed. They thought along in similar ways. But one clear difference was how they handled their behavior. How one of them tried to improve and the other did not.

All of them decided to call it a night, knowing tomorrow would have a long day ahead of them. Filled with more yelling and strategy.

Rayna needed help getting up the stairs, her body exhausted from the long day that she had gone through and the draining of the dark magic. Cyrus and Jewel flanked either side of her helping her each step of the way.

As soon as Rayna's head hit the pillow she went straight to sleep. But the dream world would not let her rest.

She was running through the Obscurum Jungle. Her heart racing, panic filling her.

This dream was different though. 

It wasn't like all the others.

In this one, Malum's soldiers were dragging her mother and her aunt through those woods. They each struggled to try and free themselves but to no avail. Rayna ran after them trying to stop them. The winds were blowing hard and rain was coming down as she ran with everything she had, fire licking the tops of the trees. 

But as she was running through the jungle a snake stood in her path. She could hear her mother and aunt's screams and she tried to get past the snake, but then it snapped forward and finally went for the kill. And it did leave it's mark. But that was not what killed her in her dreams, but a scorpion from behind that she did not see.

Rayna woke up at the snakes strike and the scorpion stings gasping for air in a panic.

"Bad dreams again?" Rayna wiped her head over to see Cyrus standing in the doorway of her room, like dejavu. "What happened this time?"

Rayna looked down at her covers not making eye contact with him. "Um, same as always just running through the woods." She didn't want to tell him the truth, that she saw his mother being taken. 

Usually her dreams these last few years have consisted of her just running through the jungle after her father and never coming back. She hasn't had the dream of her mother in years, not since she had been pulled into that dream by the mysterious warlock. But now she was dreaming of her aunt with her. The thought alone did not settle well in her stomach. She was terrified of what it could mean.