White Empress, Ashes of Love Sequel

Chapter 11

At the first sound of a shriek echoing through the entire palace, he was certain he knew the source.

His eyes popped open and his body sat up from the bed as more screams filled the air, bouncing off the marble and reverberating through the room.

He thought about lying back down. She said she would make his life miserable. Waking the entire palace in the middle of the night may just be the first step in her evil plan.

Another scream had him bounding from the room, thinking she was either an expert actress or she was truly terrified.

Perhaps she was having a horrible dream?

By the time he made it down the hall and around the corner to her room, there were already two servants and a guard at the door.

"I'll handle this. You may go," he ordered as he opened the door and stepped inside. The bed was empty, the corners of the room cast in shadow from the flickering candles near the center of the room.

His eyes scanned the space in confusion until they landed on her. She was standing on top of a chest of drawers, her face white as a ghost and her eyes huge like saucers.

He immediately strode over to stand below her.

"Come down."

Her answer was a silent and rapid shake of her head as she stared at the bed.

"I said -" he started before changing course and raising his palm toward her, beckoning with his magic until she floated down to him.

"No. No no no," she chanted as she turned, attempting to climb the dresser again before he wrapped an arm around her waist and brought her back to hold against him.

"What is it?" he asked. She was shaking violently, ripples of jerky motion running the length of her body. There was no possible way she was acting.

"S...s...snake. In my b...b...bed," she stammered.

"We don't have snakes here," was his immediate reply.

"Yes you d...do," she pointed at the bed.

He turned her toward him. "Stay here. I'll check. Don't climb my furniture."

He released her, walking toward the bed and lifting the blanket and pillow.

"No snake."

"Look under the bed!" she squeaked out, watching as he gave an eyeroll before kneeling to look.

"No snake," he said on a sigh. "Are you sure this isn't your way of making me and everyone else in this palace miserable? Will you scream and wake us all every night?" he asked in a flat tone.

"I don't know where it went," she said truthfully. "I'm not making this up! I am terrified of snakes and I have never encountered one in all the years I have been here. I sleep here one night and there is a snake in my bed. Coincidence? I don't think so," she stated with a glare.

"Like I said, we don't have snakes here in this Realm. What did it look like?"

"Bright green, slimy, big eyes, weird thing on top of it's head..." she said.

His eyes scanned the room then widened as he realized who her visitor was.

"Why are you terrified of snakes?" he muttered as he turned to view any disturbance in the air around the room. If Yanyou was here, he would surely cast an invisibility spell.

He glanced past her as she hiked her sleeves up, then jerked his head back when the round sets of scars were visible on the entire surface of both forearms.