Whispers of a Dead Empire

Chapter 85

"Mother, does Mr. Kharon scare you as well?" Nyx's face hung low as she curled into my lap. I ran my fingers through her hair as I fought the swell of emotions that seemed to dominate my being. It was so strange to have someone treat me like this. I never once thought I would be a mother in all of my years, but here I was. There was so much that terrified me and a lot of things that haunted me since childhood. I was worried that I would turn out like my parents, which I refused to do.

"No. He is a very kind man." I told her as I patted her head before wrapping my arms around her.

"His eyes scared me. They raged like a fire, and he looked like a demon emerging from the darkness."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the way she described him. Kharon was much like a grandfather, more than anything else. "Don't worry, Kharon is one of the nicest people you will ever meet. In fact, he was the first person I met here, and he has helped me through a lot."

"Ms. Alessia said the same thing. But I am still unsure about him." She yawned as she nestled herself more into my lap. "Mother, I'm tired."

"Poor thing." I cooed softly as I kept running my fingers through her soft, silk-like hair. "Would you like to go to bed?"

"Mhm." She murmured softly as I glanced up at Alessia. Her arms were crossed, and she was leaning against the wall. She seemed like she was lost in her own thoughts, so for a time, I would leave her be. I wrapped my arms around Nyx carried her over to my bed.

The little girl giggled as I hefted her up into the air, and I felt a warmth that spread through my chest with each pulse. Was this how my mom felt when I was younger? The thought sent a cruel knife through my heart as I realized just how much I missed my parents. I wanted to make everything right and see them again.

I pushed open the door to my bedroom and gently tickled Nyx, causing her to release a new batch of giggles as she struggled to getaway. "Mother, stop right this instant!" She cackled like a madwoman as I brought her over to my bed and laid her down.

She took a few heaving breaths as I tucked her in. "Will you lay with me for a while?" She gazed up at me, her eyes wide and her lips stuck in a pout.

"Of course." To be honest, I really didn't because I had things I needed to do, but I also needed to make sure that she stayed happy. I refuse to put her through what I went through.

She scooted over for me, and I slid under the blanket. Nyx quickly threw her arms around me as I tried to position the blanket over us. Once we were both comfortable, she tugged on my arm and laid her head on it, and stared up at me. "Mother, why do you wear that mask?"

I reached up and ran my fingers across the smooth metallic surface. "There is no real reason right now. I have it, so the people outside of Asteria don't see my face. Other than that, I just forget that it's on most days." I reached my hand up and quickly pulled it off.

Nyx stared up at me for a short time, her eyes drinking in my features with greed. "Mother, you are beautiful."

I chuckled quietly, unsure of how to handle the compliment. It's not very often that I get called that. "Thank you, Nyx. I'm glad you think so."

She nodded her head, and she closed her eyes, and we both fell into silence. The warmth of her body radiated from her in waves, washing over me. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was something that I wasn't used to. I laid there for a while, and stared up at my ceiling, trying to figure out what my life was coming to. Here I was, lying in bed with my familiar, who was acting more like a daughter than anything else. Not too long ago, I talked to a god, and I have an army at my beck and call. Not to mention I was an empress, at least by my design.

If I was anyone else, I feel like this would be my peak, but I wasn't satisfied yet. I wanted more. No, I needed more. I would claw my way to the heavens to get what I wanted. I will keep expanding Asteria. My armies will grow, and I will erect beautiful cities. One day, the entire world will know my name.

But those thoughts seemed alien to me. I recognized the mental voice as my own, but it felt like there was something more there. Something that sat in the back of my mind, pushing me forward, it whispered to me, telling me that there was more power for me to take as my own. All I had to do was tame it. Break it, and form it to my will. The more I pondered on the thought, the more I wanted to do it. This was my land and my people, and I will do everything I can for them. My eyes grew heavy as the rhythmic breaths of my daughter lured me into sleep. I yawned and rolled over and wrapped my arms around her. Perhaps this wasn't so bad at all. It would take some getting used to.

When I woke up, I forced myself to sit up straight. My body felt beyond well rested, and the exhaustion that had plagued me throughout the day yesterday had long since vanished. This was the best that I have slept in quite a long time. I glanced around the room and saw that Nyx had vanished, but the sounds of childish giggling from my office told me that she was still close by. I rubbed away the remnants of exhaustion that hung around my eyes and stood up. I stretched for a bit, cracking a few of my joints and causing a gentle burn to envelop my body. Once I was finished, I went to see what Nyx was up to.

When I walked into my office, I saw that Nyx was playing the wolves who had returned. Grim had a small scar that crossed his face, just under his eye that trailed to his muzzle. One looked fresh, and it seemed like he was missing two of his pack mates. Poor guy.

Nyx, however, didn't seem to notice and was busy rolling around with one of the smaller ones. While the wolf seemed to have a solid fifty kilograms on her, she seemed to hold her own. I rested against the wall and watched her for a bit, letting her have her fun.

After a little while, she finally noticed me and shot up like a bullet. "Mother!" She screamed as she rushed over to me and threw her arms around my legs. Once again, I was surprised by her sudden onslaught of affection, but I quickly recovered and rubbed her head.

"Hello, Nyx, did you sleep well?" I asked as I decoupled from her.

"Yes, mother, I did." She told me as she scampered around the room and towards a chair.

I followed suit, went to my desk, pulled out a piece of paper, and looked at the message that Kharon had sent me while I was passed out.

Mistress,

Redrick had stopped by and brought a gift for you, as well as payment. I told him that the next shipment would be ready in a few days for him to take back. There was also an ambassador for a kingdom known as Corinthia. We have brokered a trade deal between us and the kingdom, though it's a bit more secretive. The only stuff that we need to do for them is to create weapons and ship them off. We will receive raw materials in return, and I even secured a few books you may find interesting and useful. I will be by later to drop off his gift, and further discuss the negotiations.

Kharon

I read the paper and nodded my head. Good, I can double the output of resources with that trade deal. Perhaps I could build mines and then use it as leverage for later, on top of bringing in my own resources. Though I would have to figure out if it would cost less essence just to convert it or go through the manual smelting process. If that was the case, I would have to find someone familiar with the process cause I had no idea what to do.

As for books, those would come in handy. I could actually field a mage corp, which would benefit and help expand my army a bit. Not to mention I could start getting Nyx trained to protect herself. Hell, if even one of those books contained information on how to smelt or item creation by hand, I would be in a good spot.

"Mother, what are you thinking about?" Nyx's voice chased away my train of thought, and I looked over at her.

"Just trying to figure out how to tackle the day, there's a lot I have to do and balance," I replied as I planned out the next portion of the resources to trade. I recently created a new concrete mixture, which required a bunch of trial and error. At first, I had no idea what I needed to do to make something like that. I knew for sure that I needed gravel, sand water, but I knew I didn't have limestone or anything like that after that. But what I had on hand was a bunch of bone powder, which I assumed was close enough to what I needed. Though I tried to ignore where the powder came from.

"So you have to work today?" Nyx asked as she kicked her feet and pouted once more.

"Sadly, yes. I need to keep working if I want this domain to stay together. Besides, I have to start training once more, and I want you to join me."