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Kel's chest rose and fell heavily as her breath rushed out in short bursts. Beads of sweat had accumulated around her forehead and collarbones, mixing with the blood dripping from her nose and mouth.

So far, Soren had only been playing with her. He brandished the knife threateningly, but never actually slashed at her with it.

Still, the coy man leaned against the wall opposite of her, arguably in worse condition than she was. Several of her punches and kicks had landed successfully, and bruises were already forming along Soren's arms.

As Kel watched her opponent warily, trying to slow her panting breath, she realized she was more out of shape than she thought. The months spent in the Dragon Emperor's palace without so much as a friendly spar had noticeably weakened her skills.

"You keep surprising me," Soren smirked, straightening back up.

Kel quickly resumed a defensive stance as the man took a step toward her.

"I'm a little bored now, though," he continued, "and you look like you're almost out of steam."

"Ha. Try me!" Kel spat, raising her fists.

Her bedroom door was nearly out of sight now, and the exit was almost in reach. She was so close-

Phweeeet!

She was interrupted by an ear-piercing whistle coming from Soren's pursed lips.

Immediately, a group of armored figures burst through the door. In a matter of seconds, they had easily overpowered Kel.

"You said you don't want this?" Soren questioned as she was forced to her knees in front of him.

He crouched down, holding the knife's tip at her throat with one hand and grabbing her chin with the other, forcing her to meet his eyes. "Too bad. That's not one of your options."

"If you try to take me, I'll fight you at every turn!" Kel retorted, yanking her face out of his hands.

She glanced back toward the bedroom before adding, "And the moment you lower that knife, you know the Dragon Emperor will be after your head as well."

She'd been so focused on the fight, that until now, she had all but forgotten that the emperor was still somewhere back there. There's no way he hadn't heard the commotion.

What was he doing?

Noticing her glance, Soren chuckled. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about him either."

He nodded to the guards who weren't already occupied with restraining Kel.

"I'll take care of this one," he commanded. "You go get the one back there, probably still sitting on the bed like a statue, praying I don't break his new toy."

As four guards broke away and began marching toward the room, Kel caught a glimpse of a familiar freckled face.

Alaia?

"A-Alaia!" She called out after the group. "Alaia, wait!!"

Unsurprisingly, the girl didn't so much as glance in her direction.

"Ha!" Soren laughed. "You think she'd listen to you?"

Slowly, he leaned forward until the tip of his nose brushed against Kel's cheek.

"Don't forget, Princess. This golden hair alone won't give you any power," he whispered. "You need me for that."

With another laugh, he stood up and barked some more orders to the guards.

Kel craned her neck to stare down the hall as the soldiers obediently pulled her to her feet and began dragging her toward the exit.

The emperor would be fine, right?

Don't worry about him, Kel sighed to herself, reluctantly looking away. Focus on yourself.

Even as she said it though, her mind was instantly overwhelmed with thoughts of the emperor again. Logically, she should have known he'd be fine. There's no way a man as shrewd as the Dragon Emperor came here unprepared.

However, despite all the reasons to believe the man would be safe, Kel couldn't quite calm her worries. Was this the burden that came with having strong feelings toward someone?

As they stepped out into the main tunnel, Kel gasped in shock. It was completely empty. The once bustling main street now looked like an abandoned shaft.

"Where is everyone?" she called out toward Soren's turned back. "Where are you taking me?"

"I kindly informed everyone ahead of time to clear the way while I dealt with some intruders," Soren shrugged without bothering to turn around.

He refused to answer any more of Kel's questions as they made their way through the massive passage and off into a side branch. After a while, she gave up and resigned herself to glaring at the back of his head.

Pretty soon, their path began to look familiar. Kel had been distracted the last time she was here, but there was no way she could mistake this place. She still remembered Alaia skipping along this very passage, excitedly describing the room it led to.

"You should have been here once before," Soren smiled, coming to a halt at the tunnel's end. "On your little tour previously with Alaia."

"Why did you bring me here?" Kel demanded.

She could already see the many magnificent crystals glowing an eerie greenish-blue color just inside the room.

"Because I'm angry," Soren answered cheerily, motioning for the guards to shove Kel through the door he was holding open.

With a grunt, Kel stumbled to the floor as the soldiers followed their master's command.

"Stay here for a little while," Soren instructed, turning to leave. "In the room of glowing crystals."

"Hmph." Kel grimaced at his disappearing figure.

If nothing else, at least this was better than being dragged to his bedroom again. Though, it was an odd place to keep a person.

Getting to her feet, Kel dusted her skirt and looked around.

The room of glowing crystals.

It was the kind of sight a person never forgets, even if they only see it once.

How lucky to be locked away in such a dazzling space. In reality, it was no better than an elaborate prison.

Just before the door closed, stealing away the last bit of candlelight from the tunnel, Soren's voice echoed into the chamber.

"I'll bring a friend for you later on, so look forward to it."

Whatever that meant.