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 2 Chapter 92 JAYLAH
The rumors had been true. The Kalingi were coming for Jaylah.
She left the meeting with her mind swarming with worries. The Kalingi diplomats would arrive by tomorrow, and it was up to her to invite them in or turn them away. None of her advisors even had any idea what they wanted.
Turning them away would be the easy option. However, she could not risk worse relations with Fas Kaling; after her father defeated them, barely refuting their attempt to subjugate Oceana again, they had been less than benevolent. Trade was a tenuous thing with them, especially as they made known that their military strength was only growing. Perhaps Jaylah could crush them once she was married and officially had both Navrika and Oceana in her pocket. But now, hostile relations with Fas Kaling was the last thing she needed.
No, Jaylah would have to entertain their desires. She would have to be her mother's daughter.
Jaylah and her men turned into a hallway that would take them to their next foreign relations meeting with the Navrikans. Their group blended with a train of Navrikans, most of which wore the heavy coats of their homeland out of pure spite. Sweat shone on their foreheads, but their somber faces never broke. It was a particularly humid day for spring, and Jaylah wore a blue dress of the thinnest fabric possible. Her hair was lifted off her face and neck, and even that was barely comfortable enough.
Walking aside the Navrikans by a few paces, her eyes caught onto Alexander. It seemed he was considered one of them, but the others sensed he was there for a purpose more macabre than theirs. As if having felt her attention, his eyes slid to Jaylah's. They narrowed as he gave her a meaningful nod, his pale face darkening as they passed away from a series of windows. Just as fast, he was turned forward again.
Was that his signal that he wanted to meet up with her in the secret passageway tonight? It was so soon after their last rendezvous. She could only wonder what he wanted, and pray that it did not include intel for Ermalai. It was bad enough the Czar had sent him sniffing around her once.
Jaylah thought of it all throughout the day. When the day was over and the time came to slip away from her chambers, she felt oddly tense. Perhaps Ermalai was not done punishing her for Dmitrievich's death.
She found that she was correct. Alexander stood in the passageway, slipping his hands into his pockets as he straightened at her approach. "Took you long enough. For a moment, I thought you would be too stupid to know to come here."
"A single nod can signify a thousand things. Consider yourself lucky I knew what you meant."
"We do need a better signal. What about..." Coming up with no verbal explanation, he gave a series of complicated hand movements that cast dramatic shadows in the candlelight.
"How would that ever come naturally?"
"Admittedly, I just wanted to see if you'd do it and make a fool of yourself in front of the court."
