by HR Moore
QUEEN OF EMPIRE
By HR Moore
Published by Harriet Moore
Copyright 2013 HR Moore
Titles by HR Moore:
The Relic Trilogy:
Queen of Empire
Temple of Sand (coming early 2021)
Court of Crystal (coming mid 2021)
In the Gleaming Light
http://www.hrmoore.com
For Chris and for Alice.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
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Titles by HR Moore
CHAPTER 1
The river's crystal cold water kissed Anita's toes as she dangled them over the bank's edge. She tapped lightly at the surface, the sound blending with the trickling of water falling over rock. She lay back on the grass, looking up through the trees at the clear blue sky above, hot rays of sunlight beating down on her skin. She closed her eyes, imagining that she was just a normal girl, enjoying a moment of peace by the water.
The crunch of footfall shattered the silence. 'You won again?' said Cleo's familiar, excited voice. Cleo dropped down next to Anita, prodding her in the side until she sat up.
Anita fixed Cleo with impatient grey eyes. She inhaled, lines appearing on her forehead as she raised a questioning eyebrow. Anita had entered and won every challenge in Empire since she was twelve years old. She'd been so far ahead of those her age, that when she'd turned thirteen, they'd made her compete with the adults. By the time she was fifteen, none of the adults could keep up with her. People cared more about who came second these days, as that's where the real competition was.
'So nonchalant,' Cleo teased.
'It's hard to get excited about winning when you know you're going to win.'
'I don't know…Bass has got pretty close to you a couple of times,' said Cleo, mischievously. Her eyes glinted as she threw her long, silky, black hair over her shoulder.
Cleo onto her favorite topic of conversation so soon…that must be a record, thought Anita. 'Bass, beat me?'
Cleo barked a laugh, clapping her hands in delight.
Anita rolled her eyes. 'Come on, we'll be late if we don't get a move on, and it's Mind class first.'
Cleo was a Mind, but Anita was very definitely a Body. She could take anyone on when competing in Body disciplines. She had a fair amount of Sprit in her blood too, but Mind had always been a challenge.
She didn't really understand why everyone had to continue with these ridiculous classes for years after school anyway. She was twenty-five, but formal weekend education had to continue until thirty, the age when one's 'Centre comes together', whatever the bloody hell that meant. Allegedly, at the mystical age of thirty, one's Mind, Body and Spirit would blend into one. From that point, developing any one skill would become more of a challenge.
Anita found Mind enough of a challenge anyway. And seeing as nobody she knew had morphed into some new magical being at thirty, she suspected that it was all just propaganda. The Descendants and their council had a passion for the theatrical. However, today was not the day to challenge the Descendants' vision. She really didn't want to have to play chess for hours on end with a councilor, the punishment for being late, so it was best to be on time.
* * * * *
'Oh, look who's here,' said Cleo, playfully. She shot a sly sideways glance in Anita's direction as they approached the temples.
Anita looked around and saw the cause of Cleo's sudden excitement. She'd clocked Bass, with his tall, muscular frame, angular features, and short, sandy colored hair. Bass exuded his normal relaxed demeanor, leaning back against the base of a large oak tree, soaking up the sun's hot rays. His legs were bent, arms resting easily on his knees.
'He's looking for someone…I wonder who that could be…' Cleo was in her element, mincing her sparrow-like legs gleefully as they approached.
Anita gave Cleo a rough shove, putting an end to the strutting, but knowing all it would really do was encourage her.
'I see him every day at the observatory,' said Anita. 'He's probably looking for that girl we saw him with last week.'
But Anita knew Cleo was right: Bass was waiting for her. She could feel his energy perk up every time he saw her. It was a sharp intensification that directly corresponded with the wide, endearing smile that would spread across his face. Thank the Gods not everyone could feel energy, the fundamental lifeforce that drove everything in their world, and nobody knew she could. It was a skill reserved for the Spirits, but she had always been able to do it, ever since she could remember.
* * * * *
They rotated through their classes. First was Mind, where today the aim was to move an object using only the energy of one's mind. Everyone thought this was ridiculous; no one could do it, not even the councilor leading the lesson. A girl at the back had a hysterical moment, swearing she'd managed to move the flower she'd chosen, but she couldn't repeat the feat.
Anita wasn't a fan of the Mind Temple. Its gothic features made it oppressive, like the walls contained secrets and the doors might suddenly slam shut, locking you in, never to let you go.
They escaped the gloomy space and moved onto their next class: Spirit. Anita had always loved the Spirit Temple. It was so lofty and light, sunlight streaming in through enormous slit windows that extended up the clean lines to a spired point miles above. The flowers everywhere were free and wild. They flitted spontaneously in the light breeze that played across the open expanse of the temple's floor.
The Mind Temple had a number of closed off, secluded areas, full of dark corners where it was easy to hide, conspire and observe. In contrast, the Spirit Temple was one enormous open space. It was sectioned loosely into areas by the soaring columns that seemed too few and too high to effectively hold the walls in place. Obviously, Anita was most loyal to the Temple of the Body, but she had always felt an inexplicable pull towards the Spirit Temple.
The lesson focused on joint meditation, where two people sat opposite one another to meditate to a shared mental space in one or the other's mind. Here, they would have a shared experience invisible to the outside world.
This again had seemed ridiculous, until several months ago, when Anita and Cleo had been paired. They had each meditated to a boat on the sea. They hadn't seen one another there, but through much in depth comparison, they'd found that the details of the boat, the weather, the sea, had all been identical. Now they always tried to pair with each other to see if they could repeat the feat, or even get a step further.
Today, however, Bass jumped in before Cleo and Anita could pair up. As a result, Anita spent a couple of very uncomfortable hours trying to ignore Bass' soaring energy and closing herself off to anywhere his mind wanted to go.
It wasn't that there was anything wrong with Bass. He was gorgeous, with a tall, athletic frame, olive skin, and classic good looks. He was a kind, loyal friend, Anita's only real friend apart from Cleo. He usually came second to Anita in Body challenges, not to mention that he was intelligent, in an academic sort of way. He ran the energy observatory and came from a well-connected council family.
It was just that Anita
had never seen Bass as anything other than a friend. She saw the girls swoon when he walked by. Most of them would have, just because of his family connections, social climbing rife amongst Empire's well to do. Mothers with nothing better to do spent their days plotting how to marry their daughters off in advantageous ways. In addition, Bass was handsome, clever, and didn't have a big head about his background, making him Empire's most eligible bachelor.
But Bass' energy never shifted with other girls like it did with Anita. She'd tried to make it obvious she didn't see him that way; for her, there was no chemistry, but he'd never quite taken the hint.
Next up was Body class, where people were taught how to use their energy to influence the actions of their bodies. The lesson was on knife throwing, but seeing as Anita was a better shot than any of the councilors, she was allowed to skip it. In fact, she hardly ever went to Body lessons. She'd only show up if something like yoga was being practised, and only because there was a crossover with the Spirit disciplines.
Anita usually went for a run or a ride during this time, meeting up with Cleo and Bass afterwards to walk home. Today she stayed in the Spirit Temple; she could do with some actual meditation after her session with Bass…
* * * * *
Two long hours of not being able to concentrate later, her mind not in the mood to relax, Anita wished she'd gone for a run after all. She was getting ready to leave, when a sudden surge of energy filled the temple. Her head snapped up, a shot of adrenaline coursing through her as she searched for the source.
Her eyes snagged on a movement in the center of the temple, a man emerging from a newly formed circular hole in the floor. His mind was elsewhere, face angled towards the floor, the stone slab sliding closed unnoticed behind him. He started walking towards where Anita sat, transfixed, at the back of the temple.
He seemed weightless, moving apparently without effort, yet purposefully, with the grace of a highly trained dancer. He was tall with broad shoulders, and an athletic, lean frame. She assumed he was a councilor.
He looked up, towards the entrance, and Anita's breath caught involuntarily in her throat. He was ruggedly handsome, eyes a bright, piercing blue. They had both a depth that could have been a century old, and a life that hinted at a rebellious intelligence. His face was framed by tousled blond hair, neat enough not to be outlandish, but messy enough not to be conformist. His jaw was locked, lips pursed and twitching, brow furrowed, deep in complex thought.
Tanned, muscular forearms protruded from a loose, white shirt with casually rolled up sleeves. A heavy, red, floor-length cloak flowed around him.
Anita's blood stood still in her veins. Her energy bubbled uncontrollably inside her. It rose rapidly, as though riding on the back of a bird, frantically flapping its wings. It catapulted upwards from her stomach to her chest. Here, she could contain it no longer. It burst free with a force so strong that Anita feared there might be an actual hole, not that she could muster the will to tear her eyes away and look.
The man snapped out of his thoughts, immediately alert. His radiant energy diminished as he tracked her. His eyes found her without difficulty, scrutinizing every contour of her body, assessing the threat before his shocking blue eyes locked with hers.
Anita couldn't begin to read what she saw there. Confusion? Aggression? Wariness? Intrigue? It was all she could do to hold his gaze with her own inquisitive eyes, her energy shamelessly betraying her interest as he considered her from afar.
He stood stock still, she sat spellbound, considering her next move, when a crisp, impatient voice rudely shattered the silence. 'Alexander,' it said, as a second man strode confidently into the temple.
Alexander? It couldn't be…Anita's energy shifted, defensive and panicked. Alexander smiled, intrigued by her reaction.
'I'm coming, Marcus,' he responded, not taking his eyes off Anita for a second, 'is Gwyn ready?'
Shit. She struggled to regain some composure. Why were they here? Anita gathered the tremendous strength required to tear her eyes from Alexander, moving her gaze to Marcus. She was completely unprepared for what she found. Holy Gods; he too was perfect. He was as tall as Alexander, but his thinner form made him seem somehow more refined.
Whereas Alexander was wearing a loose shirt, slacks, and beaten up soft leather mules, Marcus was impeccably dressed in expensive, well cut attire. Everything seemed flawlessly in place, from his shiny leather brogues, to his pressed white shirt and expensive gold knot cufflinks, to his perfectly quaffed, short, dark hair and chiseled cheekbones.
His eyes were dark and opulent and contrasted with Alexander's for reasons more integral than just color. Marcus had none of Alexander's grounding. His eyes flitted playfully, looking for something, anything of interest. They were impulsive, giving the impression that life bored him. Like their sole occupation was to find something entertaining, to supply at least a small diversion before returning to the usual dull monotony.
Marcus too sported a floor-length red cloak, but he wore it with a different kind of authority, an audacious authority. Whereas Alexander seemed to flow when he walked, Marcus was more overtly commanding, arrogant, with clipped, impatient strides. His energy was the most potent she had ever felt, and as it flowed over her, it had a drug-like effect. Once again, the pressure in her chest built, nothing she could do to stop her energy from erupting.
Alexander turned casually back to look in her direction, the side of his mouth twitching almost unnoticeably. He raised one, infuriating, mocking eyebrow, flicking his eyes over her once more. This was mortifying.
'Come on. We haven't got all day,' came a curt, officious, female voice from the entrance. Anita couldn't see the woman, so focused instead on the vain struggle to get her energy under control.
Marcus spun briskly, striding past Anita to join the woman outside, without sending as much as a glance in Anita's direction. Alexander followed him, but stopped as he came close to where she sat.
'You should learn to control your energy,' he said, in a voice soft and low but commanding. 'With energy that strong, you're a very desirable asset.'
With that, he flowed out of the temple, leaving Anita dumbfounded, head spinning, drained and empty, wondering what in the world had just taken place. That he could read her energy was horribly embarrassing, but why had her energy reacted like that towards both Alexander and Marcus? That had never happened to her before. Her energy was usually so static, unless of course she found a new challenge…was this a challenge? How? What did Alexander mean about her energy being so strong? And what did he mean about her being an asset? Most of all though, why were the Descendants in Empire? They usually lived in Kingdom, close to the Grand Temples…they rarely came out here…
Anita spilled out of the temple and almost ran headlong into Bass and Cleo, who had just finished their Body lesson. 'Oh my Gods, did you see her?' Cleo practically sang. She was bristling with delight, wildly swishing the ends of her thin cotton scarf; Cleo's equivalent of rubbing her hands together with glee.
'I saw them in the Spirit Temple. Alexander appeared out of the center, and then Marcus came in, and then a woman, I think Gwyn, called them from outside. Gods…what are they doing here?' said Anita, the words a jumbled rush.
'Three of them?' said Cleo, jealousy all over her tone. 'We only saw Gwyn. She appeared from the center of the Body Temple, all flowing golden locks and cloak. What are Alexander and Marcus like? I bet they're gorgeous, just like everyone says.'
Anita felt a pulse of aggression in Bass' energy. Given she wasn't sure she could find the words to adequately describe them, even if she tried, she changed tack. 'More importantly, why are they here?'
'Don't know,' said Bass. 'Nobody in our class knew either. I mean, the councilor probably did, but he wasn't letting anything slip.'
'It'll give me something to find out at work then,' said Cleo. 'I'll see you there later?'
Cleo worked at The Island, a bar on an island, in the middle of the river, on the outskirts of town
. It was pretty much the only place to socialize in Empire, so that's where everyone went.
Cleo used her place of work to keep abreast of anything and everything that might be going on. She wasn't above slipping a few free drinks across the bar to help people on their way, not to mention that her skills of persuasion were the stuff of legend. So, she was right of course, the quickest way to find out why the Descendants were in town, was through Cleo, at The Island.
'Have fun,' said Anita, shooting Cleo a knowing smile. Cleo was about to be in her element; fun was an understatement.
CHAPTER 2
Bass decided to go back to the observatory and tried to persuade Anita to go too. He'd been paying close attention to the energy since the recent death of Philip, the reigning Spirit Descendent. He wanted to see if there had been any movement in the last few hours.
Interested as Anita was to see the effect this was having on the energy, she wanted to mull over what had happened at the temple. She opted for a run by the river instead. She would stop by the observatory and pick up Bass later, so they could head to The Island together.
After her brief encounter with the Descendants, Anita was like a coiled spring. She was angry at herself for her uncontrollable and embarrassing energy, and Alexander's cryptic comment about her being an asset had left her feeling vulnerable. She didn't understand why they were here, but the whole thing was deeply unsettling; she didn't like it one bit.
She ran for miles along the river, her long, muscular legs eating up the ground. The shallow, meandering water usually took her mind off whatever she was preoccupied with, but today it was no help. She ran faster and faster, but it just made it worse. She was more frustrated by the end than she had been at the beginning, and by the time she got to the observatory, she was in a foul mood.
