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 1 Chapter 7 ALEXANDER
Standing to the best of my ability in the small hidden space, I watched the ship pull into a large bay. Green hills on the coast began to close in. Where they had been perched on white cliffs countless meters up from the sea in the bay's mouth, now they fell in a steady incline, peppered with colorful fields of flowers. The sky outside was the same as it had been during all the days at sea: perfectly blue.
My gaze narrowed on the small buildings perched on the cliff's incline, trying to determine where this port was. Wherever we were, it was not a place I had been before.
In my pocket, my grip tightened on the firesticks. I'd covertly grabbed them from a partially-open crate near my head while the princess searched for food outside of the hiding place. It was the reason I had agreed to help her get out in the first place.
This was my opportunity to strike the sticks and throw them to the wooden ground. The entire ship would light in flames, burning everyone inside. Including Jaylithia Imperatrix. It was only fair, I figured, after how many cities her and her men had burned to the ground.
But I would not. This was not yet the time. She was watching my every movement, clearly anticipating an attack. As soon as I pulled the firesticks from my pocket, she would unsheathe her swords and realize I could still lead her to Draven's locket without hands.
I hardly cared that she never let me out of her sight, and trusted me even less. As soon as her soldiers led me out to her ship, I knew exactly what to expect from her. She was afraid of what I would do, and I wanted to keep it that way. I wouldn't step out of line until I had a good enough reason to. And it would come.
So I refrained from lighting the entire ship on fire, no matter how greatly I wanted to.
Facing the princess again, I saw that she was anticipating a fight, probably in case a pirate came down here and tried to sabotage the mission she so desperately wanted to accomplish. I had no such worry; my only concern was getting the hell out of this place via the cracked hull before any seafaring criminals saw us.
There was no telling if the pirates would retreat belowdecks to remain inconspicuous among the many other merchant boats. The ship remained suspiciously quiet from above, and it felt strange to not hear the pirates making a ruckus for once.
The room seemed to be strangely tense, as if with one wrong move, everything would go wrong. The air hummed with danger and warning. It felt as if we were smoothly sailing towards our silent deaths, and I somehow knew one way or another, my fate would be sealed.
The boat suddenly stopped. Chains sounded from afar as the anchor was dropped. The princess's gaze snapped to me for a split second, worried about what I might do now that dry land was so near. I couldn't help but smile.
