Path of Bones Read Online Free Page B

covered with odds and ends the Empress had accumulated over the years: bits of jewelry, armor, a heap of silver coins, gold nuggets mined from the Grim Titans.  Empress Azaean used the chamber for private meetings, or else when she needed to be available for a select few but chose not to grace the Throne Room with her presence.  The air smelled of incense and beauty powders and was nearly silent.
    Knights of the Grail Order waited just outside the room, and even their proximity sent a chill down Argus’ spine.  The Empress’s honor guards looked no different than any other soldiers of the White Dragon Army, but those with any knowledge of the Order knew better.  Most Grail Order knights were well-trained in the arts of assassination, and the senior members had been tempered with specially concocted elixirs which greatly enhanced their vitality and stamina.  Of course, an unexplained side effect of that serum also rendered Grail Knights emotionless and excessively violent, but Empress Azaean seemed to prefer them that way, leading some to question whether the side effects had truly been unintentional after all.  In any case, the Grail Knights were eerie and dangerous, just like most things altered and twisted by Veilcraft.
    The waiting, Argus decided, was the worst.  The Empress had a powerful presence, not just because of her command of the Veil – the flow of magic around her was like a wave of volcanic heat – but also due to the very force of her personality, for even without the benefit of sorcery Empress Azaean filled a room like the glow of a star.  Her every word radiated authority, and her gaze was enough to turn even the most confident men to ice.  Anticipation of meeting with her that morning had kept him from sleeping much, though in all fairness his insomnia was nothing new. 
    I need to do something about that.  Some nightshade elixir might do the trick. 
    The tall doors to the chamber were thrown open.  Grail Knights in white plate held their long-hafted swords at perfect ninety-degree angles ahead of them.  Their faces were covered with smiling golden masks, and they moved into the room and took position on either side of the throne.  Argus stepped back, trying his best not to appear like he was in full retreat.
    Empress Azaean swept into the chamber without a sound, seeming to glide rather than walk.  The Empress’s long dark hair was unbound, and she wore a pure white dress paler even than her exquisite skin.  Her eyes sparkled like sapphires, and her lips were pure ruby.  Upon her entrance the chamber was taken with the electrical charge of a coming storm.  The world always seemed to slow when the Empress was present, frozen in the shadow of her power.  It was easy for Argus to look upon her and lose himself. 
    The Empress didn’t seat herself on the throne, as Argus expected, but walked straight over to him.  He instinctively fell to one knee, quivering with fear. 
    “ My Dragon,” he said.
    Empress Azaean strode past him and went to the window, where she looked out over the city.  Argus watched her shadow on the floor.
    “Rise,” she said.  Her voice was music, sweet and powerful.  “Talk with me.”
    Argus stepped next to the Empress.  She smelled of jasmine and lilacs, and the sun lit her skin so it shone like creamy gold.  Argus held Leviathan’s Tears folded in his arm.  He could see all of Ral Tanneth through the window, and the white stone structures and tightly packed buildings drowned in winter sunshine.  The sky was pale and tall and free of clouds, and White Dragon flags positioned on dozens of rooftops fluttered furiously in the strong wind. 
    “ We’re moving forward, My Dragon,” Argus began.  “Over the course of the next few days I’ll gather the group that will track and retrieve the Dream Witch.  In the meantime, Toran Gess and I will monitor her movements to ensure we’re ready when she locates…her target.”
    Empress Azaean offered him a