“The Princess and the witch have failed in the carrying out of their task, my imperial emperor. I ask your leave to take their heads.”
The room spun quickly about Shilah, and abysmal fear wafted through her. She gathered her power and scanned the general’s aura pattern, seeking a weakness and found none. She could not die here. The liberation of her people rested on her shoulders alone.
The emperor stood, his flowing silver robe studded with gems swirling around his ankles “Hold your sword, General Shenzhen. They have executed their tasks beautifully. They have proven that a Darkan can be controlled. They have proven that the chakras buried in the dark ones can be pulled onto this plane and controlled completely by us. We have found a most brilliant weapon in the war to come. And these weapons are the Princess Shilah and the witch Amirah.”
The general hesitated, distaste flashing across his face. “My emperor?”
“The task I set before them was to breach the wall that separated man from beast, bringing the beast to the forefront. The princess executed that task exceptionally, and with the help of the witch’s incantations, they were able to steer the demon into attacking the Games of Fyre, and the kingdom of Nuria.”
“Their task was to capture the Nurian king, my emperor, and they failed.”
The Emperor smiled, and it was so beautiful it forced Shilah to look away.
“The task was to show they could command a Darkan to draw forth his beast power and to direct that Darkan. Think of the possibilities, general, for our army. To have such a power in our control will be glorious indeed. And they discovered something that will position us beautifully. The woman who fought to protect the king of Nuria houses a most fearsome and legendary beast—A Dracan. I want her in my dungeon before the next moon night.”
“And the king?” the General asked, canting his head to the side.
“We will use the Dracan to take the king.” The laughter that pulsed from him wavered with his might.
Shilah’s chest tightened as power lashed at her, biting at her skin. She breathed through it. “Sovereign Emperor of Mevia, I have fulfilled my bargain. I respectfully demand we complete our oaths.” Her heart thumped in her chest, and she took some comfort from the fact that only the Darkan who looked on silently felt her dread.
Cold eyes settled on her. “The agreement my, sweet princess, was your aid in interpreting the book of Oracle to decipher a way to make the Phoenyx’s power mine. Have you discovered the way?”
She hesitated. Had they not been over this? “Its power cannot be harnessed, emperor. It is pure rage. For the Phoenyx to be pulled forth from King Ajali, all would be incinerated. Its heat rivals the suns of the Omniverse,” she rasped hoarsely.
Some indecipherable emotion flared in his eyes, and her stomach tightened.
“Then you have not fulfilled your bargain.”
No! “The witch and I have scoured the book of the Oracle, the tombs, and scrolls. We presented our findings. The Phoenyx cannot be pulled from the King of Nuria.”
“But it can be harnessed, hmmm?”
After a deep pause, she continued, “I doubt that I have the strength or control to call forth such a power, even with the witch’s incantations. And doing so would be suicidal, for all present would be incinerated and the entire planet would be at risk of destruction.”
He purred in pleasure as if planetary destruction would suit him well. “Are you confirming that you are useless to the execution of my plans, princess?”
Asked so blandly without a hint of power thrilling his voice, Shilah knew she faced death. “No.” She could squeeze no more out of the tight clasp on her throat.
“You will soon be able to practice on the Darkan who houses the Dracan. If it takes you years, you will control this beast as you did the others.”
Years. A petrifying knowledge slammed through her. The emperor had no intention of ever releasing her, a lifetime’s imprisonment. She was a new prize for his army. How foolish she had been to place herself and her sister in his power. Shilah had been at once arrogant and naive.
He threw a thick book, and it landed at her feet. She picked up the massive tome. She skipped the first page and balked from the depiction drawn there. Even though a picture, it reeked of vicious evilness. She swallowed as she realized she held a tome that cataloged the Darkans’ beasts, their strengths…and weaknesses? How had this come to be in the emperor’s clutches?
“Learn about all that a Dracan offers, for I will have control of it.”
She executed a shallow curtsy and then walked away from his throne. She ignored the garbled whimper from the witch, hating that she was unable to offer aid. Shilah had not been abused for her supposed failure because she was the only Imperial Serangite in the kingdom of Mevia. Witches peppered Amagarie after ripping portals into the Omniverse to ab
andon their realm eons ago. The Emperor could kill Amirah and have another witch in his service in a few hours. To acquire another Serangite? That might take him another hundred years. Still, she reached out to her, brushing against her mental shields. The witch allowed her in, and before Shilah could speak, the witch said, “I thank you for thinking of me Princess Shilah. But it does not make sense for both of us to die. If you try to render me any aid, the Emperor will make you suffer for it.”
Shilah faltered, her throat tightening at Amirah’s pain and despair. “I will bargain for your release—”
“No! I appreciate your kindness but I have a plan and you interfering will only make my life more difficult. The Emperor will believe you care about me, and I will simply become another tool to control you!”
Swallowing back the denial, Shilah ensured she did not glance in the witch’s direction as she rapidly walked from the chamber, quickly planning how to proceed. What to do? She had explained to the emperor the dangers of harnessing the power of the Phoenyx and binding it inside of himself. He was willing to risk war with Nuria to attain his obsession. There were many whispers in the castle of his plans to capture the Nurian King, but she had been disbelieving until they had been whisked to the outer walls of his palace to direct the beasts she and the witch had pulled from the Darkans to attack Adara, the Capital city of the Nurian Kingdom.
To capture the king of such a nation was undoubtedly an immense folly, but the confidence of the emperor shook her. He was either incredibly powerful, more so than she comprehended, or absolutely mad. The rustic beauty of the empire did nothing to soothe Shilah’s frazzled nerves as she lightly ran up the thickly carpeted stairs that led to her guest quarters, passing several armored warriors who stood with rigid awareness along the large hallway.