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The sounds of Kel's heart were indistinguishable from the Dragon Emperor's footsteps, both somehow deafeningly loud.

In a span shorter than double that of a man's body length, yet taking seemingly hours to cross, Calix finally stood directly in front of Kel.

The torch's light bounced off of his face, revealing deep shadows under his eyes and around his lips. Filled with the glimmer of fire, his scarlet eyes danced as they focused on the timid archer in front of him.

A single bead of sweat trickled slowly down the side of Kel's face. Whether from the flames' heat or her nerves, she couldn't tell. She tried to swallow, but her mouth had gone dry.

Slowly, the emperor began raising one of his hands. With his index finger slightly extended and the rest curled naturally below it, the gesture seemed gentle, as if he were tenderly reaching for a strand of her golden hair.

Except not a single strand of Kel's hair was accessible. All of it was tied tightly on top of her head with a headband to hold it in place.

Her scalp tingled as she suddenly thought of her dream.

She could still vividly recall the emperor's hand tugging viciously on her hair as she struggled futility against his grip. All the while as he was dragging her closer and closer to that terrifying blood-stained block.

It wouldn't happen the same way as it had in that horrible nightmare, right?

Surely, the emperor wasn't about to angrily gra-

"Nng," Kel stifled a gasp as something brushed against her fingers.

With his extended hand, instead of a fistful of hair, the emperor had grabbed the torch, just above where Kel's own hand was curled desperately around it.

Standing face to face with the emperor, each with a hand on the torch, Kel felt the burning attention of the entire crowd, despite the fact that each soldier's head remained facing obediently forward. Everyone wanted to know who the pitiful new recruit was that managed to capture the fiery gaze of the Dragon Emperor.

Feeling the weight of the torch lifted from her, Kel immediately scrambled to grasp it again, only to realize that the emperor had taken it out of her hands.

Pulling the torch away from Kel, Calix then shoved it toward Matty, who, after another kick in the shin to startle him from his petrified state, eagerly accepted it.

There was no doubt in Kel's mind by now.

The emperor had recognized her. Handing off the torch was only the first step.

Would he drag her away now? Or throw her to the ground and deal with her in front of everyone?

"Heavy," the emperor murmured, finally tearing his gaze away from Kel's. "That torch is heavy."

Kel held her breath as Calix returned to the middle of the line and continued his march into camp as if nothing had happened. When he was finally out of sight, her legs began to buckle beneath her.

"Newbie!" Another member of their squad, Otto, grabbed her underneath the armpits for support while Alaric caught the swooning Matty whose torch had already been abandoned to the ground.

"Hey! Easy there!" Alaric called, doing his best to prop the boy up. "Don't faint here!"

"I… I'm alive?" Matty groaned, his eyes fluttering open.

Bracing herself against Otto's sturdy frame, Kel was overwhelmed with the same sentiment.

She was alive?

No, more than that. The Dragon Emperor had left her alone?

Had he not recognized her, after all?

The buzz of commotion from the other soldiers around the archers hardly had time to build before it was quickly stamped out by the superior officers. Kel was grateful for the dissipation of the unwanted attention as Otto helped her back to camp.

Once the little squad had arrived, they sat Matty and Kel down next to the fire while the rest of the members stood in front of them, their arms crossed threateningly.

"Just what happened out there?" the baritone voice of the squad leader, Severin, demanded of the two shivering soldiers.

Matty shook his head, "I really don't know."

"You two dunces must have done something to catch the emperor's attention!" growled Alaric.

"I didn't! I really didn't!" Matty pouted, turning his gaze toward Kel. "It was…"

The stares of the other four squad members followed Matty's, until they were all glaring accusingly at the troublesome newbie.

A painful knot rose in Kel's throat as she tried to speak up.

"I was just.. standing there," she choked. "But he saw me. He saw me right away."

"He?!" Alaric shouted. "How dare you call His Majesty in such a casual way!"

"Now, now," Otto calmly interrupted Alaric's outburst. "Can't you see that the poor boy is just as worked up as we are?"

The men argued among themselves for several minutes before finally, Severin called for them to stop.

"What's done is done. We won't speak of this again," he declared, silencing the rest of the squad.

"Instead, from now on," the leader continued, turning toward Kel once again, "you will do everything you can to stay out of the Dragon Emperor's gaze."

Kel felt a pang in her chest at Severin's command. She should have been relieved that she was supposed to avoid the emperor. It was something she was supposed to do on her own anyway.

So why did she feel so… disappointed?

You're crazy, Keliyah, she scolded herself. Do you want to get yourself killed?

"Hey, newbie! Do you understand?"

Alaric's irritated shout pulled her out of her daze.

Letting out a breath, Kel nodded.

"Yes, Sir."

Over the next several days, while Kel spent every waking minute half-convinced the emperor's guards would show up to drag her away, things went rather peacefully.

She had agreed to do her best to avoid the Dragon Emperor, but it seemed entirely unnecessary since, unsurprisingly, lower level soldiers never had a chance to come in contact with the emperor.

​ They never trained with His Majesty.

They never ate at the same time as His Majesty.

Even when the time came to move camp, they never traveled alongside His Majesty.

And so it seemed for a while that Kel, still plagued by incessant worries and baffling feelings, would be safe.

So it seemed.