Mark of the Empress | The Empire Saga #2

Chapter Four

 "I have been thinking about how we can do it."

They were lying in bed a few nights later while Bria slept in the living room. The sheets rustled as Treyan adjusted himself to face Alex. She remained quiet as she waited to hear what he had to say; his accent seemed exceptionally heavy that evening, and the purr would have lured her to sleep if Treyan wasn't so adamant on having a conversation.

"There's obviously a way," he continued, as though lost in his own thoughts. "So many Keys lead to this realm, there must be one which remains open that can lead us back."

"How could you know?" she asked sleepily. "You were the one who initially placed the Key when you first arrived." Treyan had, in fact, been in Boston for quite some time before he finally confronted his Empress.

"Where you were involved, yes. As far as I know, each of those have been used, occupied, destroyed, or closed indefinitely."

"What do you have in mind? There's not exactly a store down the street that we can walk into asking for one to be made."

"No...that's true, even with the book. That doesn't mean others do not exist."

Alex remained silent, waiting for an additional explanation.

Treyan smirked. "Contrary to what you may think, Empress, you weren't the first to be brought from this realm to the Empire."

She rolled her eyes and rested her head on her arm. "You think there might be additional Keys remaining from the retrievals of prior Empresses?"

"I don't truly know, but it's not as far-fetched as it may sound. Empresses may not have been found. They could have resisted, and their keys never activated. The only way we're going to find out is by looking for them."

"That's assuming there were others from Boston, which would be like searching for a needle in a haystack. You don't even know where to start."

Something flashed behind Treyan's eyes. He did know.

"What? Who?" Who else could he possibly know from this realm?

Then it hit her.

"Do you mean your mother?"

"She was from New York. That's where I'm going to start."

The realization that there were others like Alex was not new to her—that was how the Prophecy seemed to work—but actually placing Treyan's mother in a specific time and place seemed surreal. She had met Saratanya once, on her own deathbed, and it was the former Queen Empress' kiss that saved Alex, just as it was Alex's kiss that saved Treyan. She reached her fingers up to the starburst-shaped scar on her forehead without realizing it.

"It's a start, and I need to do something," Treyan reassured her as his eyes burned into hers.

"How soon would we leave?"

Instead of answering, her husband only stared at her, and as she gazed into his blue eyes, it slowly occurred to her that he meant to go by himself.

"You can't go, and definitely not alone," she declared, sitting up in bed.

"I have to, Alex. It's the only way." He leaned up on his arm but winced as the healing but still painful wound on his back tweaked a muscle.

"See? You've only just started to truly heal. It's too soon."

"It's soon enough, and you know we've wasted time here while the Empire remains unprotected. New York is only three hours away, probably less by train."

"Sara and I—"

"You will remain here in Boston until I return. This is the safest place for you. Reylor can't leave the Borderlands and like I said, there are no remaining Keys for him, and no book for him to use to make any others."

"That you know of." She was starting to panic, and her voice began to rise. Treyan shushed her so as not to wake the sleeping baby in the bassinet at the end of their bed, or their unwanted guest sleeping on the couch.

Bria.

"What about Bria? You can't leave me here alone with her. I'll end up murdering her."

Treyan chuckled as he lay back down among the pillows and soft blankets. "You won't be here with her. She'll come with me."

"What? She'll stab you in the back again the moment your head is turned."

"Doubtful she'll make the same mistake twice, but I'm not ready to have her out of my sight, and like you said, I'm not about to leave her here with you.

"It should only be for the weekend," he continued as he held out his arms to her, a silent request to lie back down. "You'll have Crystal nearby should you need anything."

Reluctantly, Alex returned to her pillow and laid in the arms of her husband, but she knew sleep would not come to her that night.

"When are you planning on leaving?"

"I'll leave with Bria first thing in the morning, once I update her on our plans. We'll head down to South Station and see what we can get for last-minute train tickets."

She looked at him from over her shoulder, and he gave her a gentle kiss before returning his head to his own pillow.

"I'll make sureI say goodbye before I leave."