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 118 JAYLAH
Jaylah was afraid to ask. But she needed to know. "Did you poison Ghislaine?"
Alexander, having expected her to give him verbal permission to leave on his third slaver outing tonight, blinked. "As in...the Ghislaine that lives across the whole sea? No."
"Did you poison my horse?"
"I don't mind killing people but I draw the line at animals."
Jaylah's tense shoulders finally dropped as relief made her release her fingers from tight fists. "For once, I am glad for your moral reprehensibility."
"I haven't killed anyone you know since the High Priest. How could I? Ermalai has been vomiting nonstop for days and he demanded I keep watch over him in his vulnerable state. What did you do to him?"
"I gave him better than what he deserved for massacring my maids."
"Well, that was technically me." He shook his head a bit. "Wait, Ghislaine's here?"
"They all are: Zensa, Adelié, Sonia, and Margaux too." Her stare turned meaningful. "They say they have come because they do not have any beasts to kill in Razorwood. They say the darkness is moving westward. I do not suppose you know anything about that?"
"I don't bother myself with what your father does outside of giving me instructions." He sighed, bouncing his leg as he slouched in the chair. "You didn't tell them anything terrible about me, did you?"
"Not really. I am sure your lady-friends will still be enamored by your endless charm." Jaylah glanced to the open window behind her, which normally shed moonlight into her office when she worked late. There was nothing but navy dusk. "Given the clues you gave me, Antinoch was able to locate the place in question. It seems to be a shipbuilding plant on the north coast where new ships can be pulled onto the tracks, loaded under cover of the roof, and cast off directly onto their path rather than maneuver out of the harbor. It is two block away from the Xenilis Cathedral. You cannot miss it."
"Noted." He stood and pushed his chair back. "The victims...I'll figure out what to do with them later."
When he turned and went to leave, Jaylah was struck with the oddest sense of sudden isolation. Every time she blinked, she saw her maid's severed heads, Ghislaine's limp, fevered body, Thyros's foaming mouth. Do not leave me here alone, she wanted to beg.
"Do you need assistance?" she found herself asking before she could stop herself.
He stopped and fixed stunned eyes on her. "You want to come with me?"
"If you will have me."
His lips parted then closed as if he thought better of his immediate answer. A muscle tensed in his jaw. He hesitated, seemingly trying to pick between two options she could not guess. Then, blessedly, he said, "Okay. Don't hold me back."
