The Empress' Descent

Chapter 38 - An Alliance

I twisted the knob open, the cold of the metal biting into my fingers. Derek and his aide crouched over a low lying table between them, stacks of papers towering at the edges. They seemed to be preoccupied with something but once the door creaked open, their heads flung to me.

Both of them scanned me from head to toe, faces contorting the more they took in my bloody cheeks and blood-soaked skirt.

Erix cocked his head back, incredulous as he arched his brows. "What, did the Lady kill someone on her way here?"

I ignored him and met Derek's eye, closing the door behind me. "We need to talk."

"Sure you do," Erix butted in. "And we also need to sort through these documents. Perhaps the Lady can come back another time. When she doesn't look as though she came from a duel-gone-wrong."

My gaze remained on Derek as I shot him a pleading look. Then, as if he'd been pulled back from his reveries, the violets in his eyes cleared.

"This sounds urgent." Derek blinked several times before turning to his aide. "Leave us."

"But—"

"Look at her. Does it seem like she came here for nothing?" Derek glared.

Erix turned to me, his features softening when he realized the severity of the situation, the desperation etched on my face. "Fine, I'll go."

"While you're at it," I told him. "Can you tell Anya to bring me a dress to change into? This one is soiled."

And I couldn't possibly parade myself in this state a minute longer.

"No kidding." Erix sighed, scratching the back of his head. "All right, all right. I'm only going to do it because I think your maid is cute."

Erix stood up from his seat and when he passed by me I said, "I have no plans of giving Anya to you."

"We'll see about that. I am quite irresistible." He offered me a sly smile. "Good day, Lady."

When he closed the door, I saw a cautious glint in his pupils. As if to tell me not to do anything unpleasant. As if I were a feral creature that cannot be trusted alone with his master. It was reasonable to doubt, but I thought it uncalled-for. In this body, I would not have a chance to go against the Reaper of the Underworld.

Erix's receding footsteps rang the hallway and I settled onto the couch he had sat on.

Across me, Derek had an apologetic expression. Yet it seemed like he could not take his gaze off the drying blood running down my cheek to my jaw.

"Don't mind him. Erix is a long-time friend of mine. I let him speak and act out of turn. And he sometimes steps out of line."

"It does not matter," I said truthfully. "I did not take any offense."

He folded his arms, tilting his head slightly. "Am I supposed to get used to seeing you covered in blood now?"

"This is not mine."

His lips quirked. "That much is clear."

I replied with a scowl.

Derek's focus was darting to my blood-stained skirt and cheeks as he failed to properly look me in the eye.

His fists went slack. He shut his eyes and exhaled roughly. It seemed as though he had been doing his best not to do anything, that all the logical reasons in him said not do something or much less point out my appearance. Like it was wrong to care for me.

Yet there he was, pulling out a white handkerchief from his breast pocket. I initially thought that he'd offer it to me. But he got to his feet and stalked toward me.