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 16 JAYLAH
My stomach churned when the full weight of the situation hit me. Taking into account the year or so my father took war slaves, Khan would have only been a child. My gaze was still on his scarred hands. Initially, I brushed off the signs of healed wounds on his body as a sign he lived a dangerous life as a mercenary. But now I was thinking otherwise.
Though I knew little of the slave-master relationship, it was clear Khan did not belong to a kind man.
I looked away, not wanting to accidentally meet his gaze. As the Itionic woman said, "I am sure your master is offering a large sum to whoever returns you," I stared at the ground. Even for my great dislike of Khan, I still felt as if I should not be listening to any of this.
Though I had, of course, discovered this without expecting to, I did not anticipate the understanding that flickered through me. His hatred for me and desire to kill my father made sense. We took everything from him. If I was face-to-face with the man who killed my mother and sister, I would act similarly.
"My words hold weight here." The warden took a threatening step closer to the metal bars. "If I say I found you innocent, Khan, I would get away with shipping you right back to Oceana."
In my peripheral vision, I saw how the mercenary's hands shook with rage. "Come here," the woman ordered, unlocking the door with a large set of iron keys. I would not have been surprised in the slightest if Khan took the opportunity to reduce her to a bloody corpse the moment he stepped foot out of the cell.
Khan stepped forward with predatory stillness. The woman stared up at him, still smiling. "Oh, how rich you will make me."
"Perhaps at your next job, Berrocál," said a male voice from the right. "As you will no longer be employed in my services."
Lorenzo Çenturion, King of Ition, entered the dungeon in all his glory, cape flapping at his heels. Green-uniformed soldiers flanked him. I smirked at the look on the warden's face as he demanded, "Unlock the prisoners." My cuffs hit the ground. Khan's stony demeanor didn't change, even as the warden was forced to make a shameful exit.
At that, the King fixed his kohl-lined eyes on me. "As I expected. There is no one else daring enough to upstage me in my own celebration. By throwing one of Sauron's swords at my very fetching face, no less."
"I apologize, Your Majesty. You have a great many admirers. I was forced into extreme measures."
He gave me a look. "'Your Majesty?' Now Jaylah, I thought we were closer than that."
