116: The Empress’s Heart (part 1)

The Empress’s Heart (part 1)

It was a very strange dream, whispered by an otherworldly aura that had invaded Adela's room. It felt too real to be a mere fabrication, too significant to simply wake up from.1

Cursed is a desert that envelops Healers in its sands...

***

"Your Imperial Majesty…" came the voice of her most trusted guard from behind the silk draperies of her bed, the holiest place in her palace.

The Empress disregarded the summons, her day filled with tormenting tidings that seemed to besiege her from every direction. All she yearned for now was to relax in the company of the two men within the lavish embrace of her grand canopy bed.

Her blindfolded toy was already nibbling on her breast while her hand admired the size of her other toy. His bagged head added to the allure of his delicious body, a pleasant aftereffect of not wanting his mouth near any part of her since his face was so ugly. 

They were both Healers, her favorite kind. 

"Your Imperial Majesty," her guard called once more, "Alkadim stands outside your chambers, seeking an audience with you."

…Almost, her favorite kind. 

She pushed the man's head away then completely de-robed as she sat up, moved to the edge of her bed, covered her mounds with her long jet-black hair, and took a deep breath.

"Open the draperies and invite him inside immediately," she commanded.

The masked guard bowed and obediently parted the draperies of the empress's bed as she had instructed, then exited the chamber. Within a brief span of time, the subject of the Empress's attention entered the room.

A formidable creature perched atop the food chain, he bore the guise of an angel by default. His cascading mane of golden hair was bound, while his piercing sky-blue eyes, filled with disdain, were rimmed with black, casting a lethal contrast against his fair complexion.

She eagerly anticipated the opportunity to mar that pristine visage of his.

"Alkadim," she gasped, her voice slightly breathless. "Hurry and kiss my ring."

His gaze, previously focused on the two men by the bedside, lazily shifted to the mentioned ring. He concealed his surprise upon recognizing the symbol, but his eyes were mostly captivated by the ominous aura emanating from it.

The Empress's powers were growing stronger.

She was well aware that he could perceive the dark energy emanating from the ring—a perfect vessel for her curse. There was no better candidate in the entire Empire to test its potency than Alkadim.

"...Since when did you take an interest in falcons?" the beautiful monster inquired, his voice dripping with sweetness.

She extended her hand upward, "Enough talk. Just kiss it."

He leaned down, one hand clenched into a fist behind his back, and placed the tips of her fingers over his palm. As his lips lightly brushed over the ring, a sudden zap of illumination filled her chamber, directed at him.

Her laughter echoed through the room as he looked up, seemingly bored with her games.

"Did it hurt?" she asked, her excitement evident.

He offered her a cold smile. "It tickled."

Her laughter faded. "You're no fun. This is a victory for the human race."

She gazed fondly at her ring then kissed it herself before tucking it beneath one of the cushions on her bed. "A lesser monster would have fallen to his knees before my new artifact."

He gave her a nonchalant look. "Where did you acquire it?"

"Why do you ask? So you can go and inform your shapeshifter allies?" She smirked. "Now get down on your knees and let me unravel your hair."

He complied, tilting his head slightly for her. "Shapeshifters are bound by oath to serve you."

"Yes," she mumbled, her hands running through his hair, envious of its shine. "Until the very last of my descendants, those creatures shall serve me."

"What about the ring?"

A smile spread across her face. It was unusual for him to ask so many questions, but she found it somewhat endearing.

"The ring came attached to the finger of the severed hand I obtained from the slaves' den."

The image of a beautiful woman with almost white hair under the sunlight flashed in his mind.

"Is it the hand of the Emorian Queen?" he inquired.

She wished it were.

"It doesn't matter. I will not rest until this empire is rid of every last one of them..."

He could never comprehend the witch's fixation on the enslaved race.

"They are tainted blood," she hissed in a disgusted tone. "All of them."

As she continued playing with his hair, he cast a longing gaze at her neck, wishing he could snap it and free everyone from her presence. Even if it meant sacrificing his own immortal life and allowing the darkness within her to consume him, he would have gladly chosen that option, if not for his one and only mate.

"How is the Oracle?" she sang the question as if she had the ability to read his thoughts, her irritation evident in the change of her heart rate.

"I do not discuss my mate with anyone, and you are well aware of that," 

He heard the grinding of her teeth as she clenched and unclenched them.

"How unfair of you... Is it so terrible for me to inquire about my own twin?"

He met her words with a vacant stare. The Empress and the Oracle couldn't have been more different.

Her bronzed complexion turned paler. "Take a good look at my mates, Alkadim."

He cast a pitying glance at the two men standing behind her. "Humans don't have mates."

She disregarded his remark, "My sex mates are on full display before your eyes, while yours remain hidden from me... It only drives me to intensify my efforts to find her."

She couldn't deceive him. The Oracle was tucked away in a place inaccessible to the Empress or anyone else, deep within the mines of the enslaved race, surrounded by a labyrinthine mental barrier.

"Or perhaps you've already changed her? Do share..."

A genuine, melancholic smile escaped him. "That would be selfish of me."

"You can be selfish, once or twice," she teased, grasping his head firmly with both hands. "If you give me what I desire, I will cease my search for her once and for all, you can be certain of it."

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