𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐍𝐎𝐓 𝐀 𝐒𝐔𝐂𝐂𝐄𝐒𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘. 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 𝐑𝐔𝐈𝐍𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍.
It's the beginning of a new age when Jaylah Imperatrix seemingly returns from the dead to reclaim her throne. And in perfect timing.
In her absence, evil has be...
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Act 3 Chapter 58 JAYLAH
One morning before setting out, we were planning out which cities were safest to travel through to the City of Luck, which was closer than I ever expected it to be. It was just days before we reached it now.
"I think we should go to Houissons," Alexander told me, gesturing vaguely to the map I spread over his bed because he was unable to read fast enough to find it. "Wherever it is."
I gave him a sidelong look, trying to detect any hidden motives. "Why?"
"Because I've heard it's safer than most cities we've travelled through. Not everything is a trap, Imperatrix." At my disbelieving scowl, he waved a flippant hand. "It was merely a suggestion. We'll go somewhere else then."
I chose to travel instead to Épizon, which was further inland than Houissons. It was much larger too, taken up mostly by factories whose lengthy cylindrical stacks emitted so much smoke into the air the sky was dyed permanently gray. The sun shone partially through it, giving the afternoon an orange haze. The streets were mostly empty, as most citizens were busy working in the factories at their day jobs, inspired by the technological advancement of Tilana in the west. Of course I had never been to Tilana, but this was how I imagined it: thrumming with new machinery come to life.
The beginning of the city was on a decline, which meant that the landscape past the city was occasionally visible through the uneven gaps between rooftops. The City of Luck. Its skyline was a vague smudge against the fog of the sky, but I could already tell how sprawling it was—the size of many smaller cities crushed together. It nearly stole the breath from my lungs.
Finally the end was in sight. We were so close.
This made my determination increase tenfold as we strode through the city. If we wasted no time, we could make it past the other end by the end of the day.
Alexander's voice broke through my thoughts. "What...is that?"
Expecting either Daggen's men or Alexander's rival, I whipped my head around, heart sinking. "Where?"
But he was eerily calm in the way the ocean was before a hurricane. "Don't you hear that?" There was a distantness behind the gray of his eyes.
I listened. Far away, there was a sound like a cry. No, not one. Many.
Before I could say anything more, Alexander moved forward like a sailor to the song of a siren. My hands burned for the hilt of a sword, but I refrained long enough to follow him silently, if only to stop him from doing anything irrational. We were so close to safety, and I would let nothing jeopardize that.
The few people who did roam the streets paid the muffled screaming no notice. Either they cared too little to investigate it, or it was commonplace.
