Page 30 of Haunted

“You don’t need me.”

“You’re right. I don’t need you.”

“Then it’s settled.” I turn toward the door.

Her next words are a whisper. “I want you here.”

By the creator in heaven. Her confession strokes my spine. I whirl from the room. I will not acknowledge how this woman affects me.

I take comfort in the fact that the empress is more than willing to show her weaknesses to me. But whatever draws her from Caer weighs heavily on the empress.

I don’t take comfort in that.

24

Ever since our argument, I track the empress when I come for my weekly visits. When she’s not on her day missions, she’s alone in her chambers. She has taken to seclusion.

She doesn’t train anymore. She doesn’t punish prisoners as she used to. I’m not sure I’m pleased that others are languishing in their cells as opposed to being sentenced to death.

Her brother has been gone for weeks, though he’s easy to find. He’s all over the south, drowning his grief in ale.

They’ve both become lax since the regions are secure. Would this be a good time for Neifion to move forward with plans of revolt?

When I tell him, he tells me to bide my time. Be patient.

My patience is running thin, but I come as I’ve promised. The empress never seems pleased to see me anymore. Her soul is noticeably heavier and heavier every time I grace her presence.

Her darkness has overwhelmed her.

I prepare myself once again to feel the drain she has on my psyche as I glare at the guards standing erect outside her sitting room.

Empress Rhianu’s voice is raised beyond the door. For a minute I believe someone is with her, but she’s upset. Even the guards can hear this. I don’t like them privy to her moods. They will take it for weakness.

I pause with my hand on the door. “Stand guard at the end of the hall. Tell no one to disturb us until the empress emerges.”

One of the guards stiffens in defiance.

“Go, now!” I say.

They both nod and shuffle down the hall. Once they reach their post, the first guard sneers, sending me his loathing. He can think what he wants. The empress would support my request. I’m invaluable to her despite her distance.

Her voice comes through the door again. She is begging. I’ve never heard this tone in her voice.

“You can’t ask me to do this!” she exclaims.

I wait. Who is with her? If she was conversing with her dragon, the conversation would be silent, in her head.

I creak the door open. The empress doesn’t budge, but she’s aware of my presence. She kneels on the floor, alone, with tears flowing down her face. Her arms shake. Perhaps she was talking to Aerona, but I can’t imagine what they’d argue about.

I brush into the room and kneel beside the empress. Strangely, my heart swells in agony for her. This surprises me. I would take her sadness away if I could. Why? I owe her nothing. Perhaps it’s because she is, after all, a woman—a woman who’s hurting.

A woman who I recognize has vulnerabilities.

“Your Highness,” I murmur. Nothing else. No movement. Only those two words.

The empress turns to me and gasps between sobs. The dark smudges around her eyes tell the tale of her distress.

Forgetting that she’s a monster, a coldhearted murderer, I desire to ease her suffering. I care not for what has caused it, but only to take it away from her.

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