Mark of the Empress | The Empire Saga #2

Chapter Nineteen

Everything was in motion before Alex realized what was happening. It happened so fast, yet it also felt as if time had nearly stopped, and they were all moving in slow motion.

What no one wanted to consider was the chance that they were already too late.

Their heartfelt goodbyes were said swiftly to Saratanya. She had given Treyan something when they parted from their embrace, but Alex was too flustered to pay much attention. Alex welcomed her to their apartment should she ever need an escape from New York, and if things didn't work out as they had hoped, Saratanya offered sanctuary to them as well.

Treyan held onto Bria, literally, as they walked closely down the street, while Sarayna was swaddled against Alex in a sling. He was muttering to Bria harshly in their language, and she was responding just as quietly, but Alex was so distracted that she couldn't exert the effort and energy it would take to translate it.

Crystal's apartment wasn't far, but it felt as though the trek through the city took forever. It began snowing, and a light dusting was underfoot. It would have been beautiful for the Christmas holiday if there weren't more important, time sensitive items that required all their immediate attention. That was even if they did end up going through Crystal's apartment. It was a long shot, but it was the most logical option, and the only one they had to go with.

That Lexan was there, and so close to them that entire time, and yet had never revealed himself made Alex the numbest. She felt as though she failed him as a mother, despite the fact he was taken away from her before she could truly prove herself to him. She held Sarayna close to her heart while they traveled down the darkening Boston sidewalk. The upside to the holidays was that there weren't many people out and about to raise questions as to what the three—four—of them were doing while rushing in such a mad hurry.

Crystal's apartment was an old brownstone near the Public Gardens, a three-story building that looked much older on the outside. She lived on the top floor, and they stopped to arch their necks up to see if anything could be viewed from one of the many windows.

Sure enough, there was a light blue hue emanating from the front window of the apartment—the light from a Key that remained open.

The urgency that exuded through them was almost too much to bear. Alex could hardly get her fingers to work right to get the correct key into the door's lock. So much so that Treyan needed to take the keys from her hand and open the door himself because Alex was too nervous to get the job done. Once the door was open, Treyan ushered the two women quickly inside and up the stairs to the third- floor apartment. All was quiet, which was good for them, but bad for Crystal.

The hallway outside the apartment was quiet and dark, except for the blue light that pulsated beneath the door. Treyan didn't wait for the keys this time and rammed his shoulder against the door as hard as he could. It didn't budge at first, and she knew he had most likely dislocated his shoulder upon impact, but that didn't stop him from trying a second time, or a third, before the door finally gave in and burst open. Holding his injured arm against his body, they rushed into the apartment to see what waited for them.

The apartment door opened to the main living room. The centrally located fireplace housed the portal that would lead them all back to the Empire. The blue heatless flames swirled in a roaring darkness of eternity as Crystal lay unconscious on the floor in front of them.

Alex would have run for her friend if it wasn't for the shadowed form that emerged from the chair nearby, now blocking their way.

"I was wondering when you'd be joining us."