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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Act 3 Chapter 61 ALEXANDER
The moment the bounty hunter returned to the tavern with Igor Razkoff's location, everything became sharper, realer. For years, I suspected he was out there somewhere, but knowing the bounty hunter had seen him with her own eyes changed the way I felt. I'd been searching for years. Finally reaching him felt like I was living out some distant dream.
"He's at the Azuliné Moriare," the bounty hunter said, checking her nails. "It's the biggest casino in the eastern half of the city. You can't miss it."
"What times was he there for?"
"All day. If you go now, you will find him."
Why the hell was he at a casino? I wondered to myself. Perhaps he'd gotten a job there after what happened to him. And if he'd gotten a job, what did that mean for the rest of them? My foolish heart leapt with the possibilities.
"When will you tell me who it is we are meeting?" Jaylah asked as we went out the tavern entrance, set on a beeline for the Azuliné Moriare. I knew she was worried about where I was taking her, especially as she carried the power of Draven on her back. But for the first time, my thoughts were far from overpowering her and making her someone else's problem. I was here. Of course I'd had leads before—the same ones that gave me the location of the City of Luck in the first place—but now my efforts were finally paying off. Part of me was amazed I'd made it this far. Deep down, I never thought I could.
As the city prepared for the second night of Chakranti around us, I was deep in my thoughts. How would he receive me? It had been eleven years. I knew the time it had been down to the day; I counted every night to help calm myself to sleep. To remind myself why I kept going on like this.
The Azuliné Moriare was indeed impossible not to notice. As a massive circular edifice, it took up an entire block on its own. The domed roof caught the sunlight. I looked to each side, where there were two front towers built into the main building. On the top of both stood a deity with a scale in her ivory hands. The goddess of fortune. Both good and bad. This was where lives were made prosperous and ruined all in one.
Though it was in the middle of the day, the inside glowed with life, light from inside reflecting off the front pillars. He was in there. This moment felt too surreal to be true.
I wordlessly began ascending the low incline of stairs to the entrance, not caring if Jaylah lost me in the crowd. In fact, I half-wished she would; I hated sharing parts of me that were only mine to see for so long. But perhaps just this once I wouldn't mind, given the circumstances.
It was free to enter, but the doors were made of opaque glass. That was how they drew their clients in, for outsiders could hear the chaos from inside, but could not lay eyes on it. As soon as I went in the impossibly-tall doors, the smell of expensive cologne hit my nose. Despite its opulent exterior, I hadn't imagined it would look the same on the inside. After all, many more people lost everything here than those who benefitted from it. But alas, it was beautiful.
