Free Curse of The Seventh Sword: The Gauntlet of Feona by Kelechi Agu

armor smiled again.
    “I am merely bringing you a message Sidion.  Your time is running out.  He will be coming soon.”
    “Who will be coming?”
    The man in the golden armor turned around and began walking back inside.  Sidion tried to follow but he felt a force push him back.  Or was it that he was walking in place?  The doors began to close again.
    “Wh o is coming? Rikard! Who is coming?”
    “Someone greater than I ever was.”
    The doors finally closed.
    “Who?  Rikard!  Rikard!”
    Sidion Vror opened his eyes and shot up from his bed breathing heavily.  He was completely drenched in sweat, despite a cold and gentle early morning breeze, sifting in through his window.  It had been a dream, or rather a nightmare.  Sidion got up from his bed and paced back and forth in his room trying to make sense of what he had just experienced.  He noticed that his hands were trembling, and it annoyed him.  He was afraid, but he didn’t know what it was that terrified him.  He decided he needed a bath to clear his head.  Sidion walked past the elegant curtains of his bedroom into another that had freshly plucked sweet smelling flowers stashed on each side of its walls, in concrete holders that had been built specifically for them.  In the center of the room, was an artificial hot spring, which he promptly immersed himself in.  He leaned against the wall of the spring and let the hot bubbling water sooth him.  There were also beautiful naked women who were on their knees surrounding the room.  They knelt below each stash of flowers awaiting orders of any kind from Sidion.  It didn’t take long for Sidion to beckon for one or two to join him and give him a scrub.  As they gently scrubbed his back and abdomen, Sidion closed his eyes and took a deep breath.  At that moment, a guard walked in to the king’s chambers and stood at a respectable distance, waiting to be acknowledged.
    “What i s it?”  Sidion finally asked.
    “Your highness, lord Trudor has returned from his trip to Gor, and requests to speak with you.  He says he brings news that can hardly wait.”
    Sidion sat up and motioned for his robes.
    “Very well.  You are dismissed.”
    The guar d nodded respectfully, turned and left the room. 
    Sidion dried off with a woolen cloth and then slipped on his silk red robe and a pair of sandals made from animal skin.  He walked around the hot spring towards a door that led into a hallway lit with flame torches hanging from either side.  Sidion followed the path as it turned right and descended into a set of stairs that led to what seemed like a huge study or library.  It was a grandiose circular shaped room lined with huge bookshelves that stood like massive wooden giants.  The ceiling arched into a dome made of the most expensive stained glass paintings in the kingdom of Angweleth.  The floor was a well-polished marble, covered in different sections with highly decorated mats and rugs.  On top of the mats and rugs were study desks and chairs.  There was a huge table in the center of the room on which lay a spread out map of Angweleth.  Trudor stood at the other side of the table. 
    “I see you have returned.”  Sidion spoke.  “You were away a bit long er than I expected.  What did you find out?”
    “Your highness.”  Trudor nodded his head lowly.  “ Jaynea is alive but I have confirmed that the princess was killed during the attack… I am sorry your highness, I couldn’t get there in time.”
    Sidion’s gaze shift ed downwards toward the marble floor and almost as suddenly, a wave of grief came over him.  But soon enough, he regained control over his emotions.  Taking a deep breath, he asked.
    “You say Jaynea lives.  Have you brought her to me?”
    “There in lays the problem your highness.  She seems to have found friends with skill enough to deter my team from apprehending her…  It is as a result of this unexpected resistance, that Brutus is dead.”
    “How is