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 21 JAYLAH
I was prepared to sell my soul to Draven for an extra layer of warmth.
After blended-together days of trudging up the mountains, we were nearing the highest peak in our journey. If my guess was correct, we had already crossed the border to Paragonia, or were at least near it. The closeness to the sky made air a bit shorter and my lungs hurt the first few days before adjusting accordingly.
I knew we were nearing the highest peaks because of the emergence of snow. At first, it had been nothing but a light dusting, barely perceptible on the dirt trail. But it quickly grew into a full ivory wonderland, frosting the trees' leaves and covering our trail. I marveled at the way it sparkled despite the dull sky.
Tilting my head, I watched as a thin flurry of snowflakes descended from the heavens. Never before had I seen anything so magical. It seemed to be plucked directly from one of my mother's stories.
"Your first time seeing snow?" Alexander guessed from my reaction, though I had muted it as much as possible.
"Yes. It does not snow in Oceana, not even in the mountains." I supposed he already knew that, given his prolonged time there.
"Hold out your hand."
Something about the fresh air in my lungs and snowflakes on my eyelashes made me strip off a glove and hold my palm to catch the precipitation. The moment I did, my skin was chilled to the bone and I jerked my hand away.
Alexander smirked as I quickly slipped the glove on again. "Now you have an idea of what it's like to be in your frigid presence all the time."
I said nothing, feeling ridiculous for even doing such a thing. He was right, I supposed—I did have a tendency to be cold. The previous Queen would tell me quiet benevolence toward a ruler's subjects was necessary to maintain a positive character, and that was the only mask I must wear. Of course, she would not have used the word 'mask'. I, however, believed aloofness came with the title of Queen; I could not afford to be anything but. Not that I wished for it to be any other way.
Some things were different out here, far from the servants, the advisors, the court intrigue. But other things never changed.
As soon as I had the thought, there was a strange sound from the left, where a steep hill narrowed the path. It was something like sand pouring through fingers. Only much louder and dangerous. It only hit me when I watched a few seconds more: the snow was building on itself to slide down the hill.
My breath jerked to a stop. This was how travelers were buried alive, suffocated and never heard from again.
Next to me, Alexander sighed as if this was nothing but a minor inconvenience. "I hate running."
For a split second, I looked ahead, weighing our options. Doubling back was too unpredictable. Running to the right would take us straight off the edge of a thin, spidery ravine with a river at the bottom. Squinting my eyes against the glare of the snow, I saw the path widened ahead when the hill dropped off. That was safety—or as close as I could get to it.
