The words of the high priestess could not leave Selene's head. She tried not to let the thoughts to consume her, but she couldn't.
Something wasn't right about the news of the high priestess.
It was obvious and it was deeply felt by the ones she communicated the words to.
What did she mean by the clouds were gathering?
More importantly, why were they all dreadful by those words? What was going on?
This was a part of the Xyiom world that no human got to see or know about. If Selene wasn't held against her wish in Khael's chamber, she would not know that something like that went behind closed doors.
She couldn't see the clouds because she was trapped, so she could not tell if the high priestess was speaking in literal terms or in a world that they had always lived in and understood its patterns and logic.
No human in the captivity of the Xyioms ever had the luxury of seeing the clouds so yet again, if Selene wasn't in Khael's chambers, she would still not be able to decipher it.
The Xyioms were a world on its own, enamored by things that the mere human eyes could not fathom, which was why they always had power over the humans. Only the lucky ones ever got out safe and alive, but they were few.
And their lives never remained the same.
It was through the stories of the few that got out of the Xyioms' world alive that Selene and other humans like her had an inkling of what they were like, but never for once did anyone speak about the high priestess until Selene allowed herself to be captured.
Actually, surrendered herself to be captured.
Then the king's interest in her had granted her the liberty of hearing her name being mentioned and now, she had seen the mysterious spiritual figure that no human had ever seen.
Selene could tell that darkness had covered the Obsidian Keep.
She knew this because of the howling sound that she could hear from a distance. It was an indication that it was nighttime. Selene knew this because she had been here long enough to be able to tell.
Selene paced around the chamber again.
"What should I do?" She asked herself deeply.
Pondering. Thinking. Wonder.
Khael hadn't returned since then and even after the high priestess's message, they had all dispersed with a hidden sense of burden etched on them.
Well, from what Selene could see.
She was getting more and more restless.
Deep in her thoughts, and absent-mindedly from her own physical environment, Selene idly leaned on the chamber door and she played with its knob.
"I can't just continue to stay here," she continued speaking to herself. "Especially as I have no clue as to what is happening. Besides, I have been here for way too long," Selene added.
She felt like she had been trapped in Khael's chamber for an eternity and it was driving her towards insanity.
Selene twisted the doorknob absent-mindedly.
Much to her shock, it opened the door.
The door wasn't locked!
She oddly recalled that when Khael had been summoned for the brief meeting, the warrior hadn't exactly shut the door.
So the entire time, Selene had allowed herself to stay trapped when she could have walked out of the chamber and plotted another escape.
Silently, Selene peeped through the small opening to check if any of Khael's warriors were lurking around and safeguarding the chamber, but to her greatest luck, the entire place was devoid of any Xyiom.
"This is your time, Selene," a tiny but brave voice said to Selene.
It urged her and filled her heart with an intense courage; one that she had never felt before, not even when she pretended to be a boy or tried to escape with Lyra.
This was her chance, and she would not let anything stop her from taking it.
She had exercised so much bravery since she made the decision to save Lyra, which didn't end up working for both of them, so now wasn't the time to relent.
Quietly, Selene tiptoed into the dimness of Khael's inner chamber.
"If you get caught again, it might not end in your favor," a voice warned Selene.
She ignored it.
Selene walked through the dimness, careful not to cause any noise whatsoever.
As soon as she managed to step out of Khael's inner chamber, she met them; two Xyiom warriors in position.
One of them was the one who had thrown her a cold stare earlier in the day.
"She doesn't visit often, but most times, we know that her presence isn't exactly for good," the other warrior said.
Selene leaned closely to the wall, trying to make herself as invincible as possible.
She knew that they were talking about the high priestess.
"And she always speaks to King Khael alone. I wonder what made this visit different," the other one continued. Then he turned to the one who obvious didn't like Selene and asked, "You were the one sent to call the king; did you hear what her message is about?"
He shook his head slightly.
"I was dismissed," he simply answered.
That was enough for Selene to know that they were just as ignorant about the situation as she was. Selene looked around, trying to find another way she could use without drawing their attention.
"And ever since, they have all been locked up in their domain," the other warrior said.
"I need a minute," the first warrior said. "Can you watch alone for now?" He asked.
"Yes," the second warrior said.
The first one leaving gave Selene insight about an exit that she didn't see before now.
She could not believe that she walked out of Khael's chamber with hopes of escaping again when she didn't even know her way around. She was thrown into his chamber so fast that she didn't get enough time to master the in and out of it.
Selene followed the way of the warrior silently when the other warrior looked the other way.
She was endangering her life, but she wanted to try again.
He clearly hated her and would love to see her head roll on their land, but Selene believed that there would be other doors.
Blindly and slowly, in the dark, quietly, with a
beating and racing heart, she walked through the path.