The Emperor's Dream - Chapter Twenty
Wanyi soared in slow circles above the Owl District. By the time he had made it back to the Buffalo Gate, his shock had mostly worn off. Now his mind raced.
**Chapter One**
**Welcome to chapter twenty of The Emperor’s Dream, an epic fantasy novella from the wider world of The Mhong Chronicles. I’ll be publishing chapters each week, but remember, these are some of the very first drafts, which means you’re in on this at the very beginning. Thank you for being here, friend. We're getting close to the end, now. I hope you enjoy it.**
3 Days Until the Vote
Wanyi soared in slow circles above the Owl District. By the time he had made it back to the Buffalo Gate, his shock had mostly worn off. Now his mind raced.
Chengroh is dead, he thought to himself for the hundredth time. That meant Rohdan, his grandson, would take his place, and Wanyi would lose his majority on the Council. Five to four.
Ramreunya threatened Meisun and the Owl Clan. How did he even know about Meisun? It had to have been Jinhua who told him. Or did Ramreunya have eyes and ears on Wanyi just as Wanyi had set Meisun and her Band to watch Ramreunya? He tried to think of how to protect her, but couldn’t come up with any good plans. The thought of her coming to harm made him sick. And that was on top of the dread he felt for his own people.
Wanyi had spent the last hour flying above Shanshia, trying to determine his next best course of action. Who should he tell first? Where should he go? When and where would Ramreunya make good on his threat? What would become of him and Meisun?
He knew he could tell his clansmen to flee the city. They could hide amongst the others who were packing up and moving east. But not Meisun. She would stick out anywhere in Hukan. And it wasn’t as if she were Wanyi’s to command. Yes, he cared for her, and yes, it seemed she cared for him in return, but no commitments had been made. He couldn’t ask her to stay, couldn’t command her to leave. Not with any certainty that she would obey, at least.
Wanyi made his decision. He would return home first, settle things there, get his people to start packing. That would be where Yishan would wait for him, assuming Tang delivered Wanyi’s message from that morning. Then he could prepare himself for his conversation with Meisun.
Silent Lord, help me.
The manor house felt eerily quiet when he arrived. No one there could yet have known what had happened in Ramreunya’s camp. He went first to the common room, where Yishan was most likely to be waiting for him.