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 35 JAYLAH
The next night, I figured I would eat Adelie's dinner of tomato broth and sweet tarts quickly and retire to the tent to begin having Alexander read from actual books. The soup was still steaming when I began downing it. My mother would have disapproved greatly.
But my plans were put on hold when Zensa sat wordlessly beside me, holding her own soup to warm both hands. There was enough space between us to make the action not necessarily an act of camaraderie, but I knew something had shifted between us since she broke down before me.
Out of the side of my eye, I watched her, wondering what this new development meant. But she was staring straight ahead with that razor-sharp gaze, so my eyes dropped to her outfit. Today, she wore a red dress with no second sleeved layer under it, leaving her tattooed arms bare against the unusually humid day. Whether I liked her or not, I had to admit the garments she wore were always eye-catching and flattering. They were not exactly like the other womens' breezy, soft-colored dresses with low necklines, instead made of thicker cloth and with petticoats hanging in strips in the front.
"Are you originally from Paragonia?" I asked. I could have remained quiet all dinner, but I was tiring of that after doing the same for nights.
"I am Tilanic," she said, confirming my suspicions drawn from her looks and clothes. "That used to be home."
I wondered if her departure had anything to do with her being pregnant but would never ask. "Your clothing is very elegant."
Touching her parted skirts, she replied, "My dresses are also Tilanic-made, as I am sure you suspected. They are a bit over-the-top for living so humbly out here, but I enjoy them."
"I am of the same mind. If I was not in the business I currently am, I would be attired leagues more respectably." I put my finished bowl aside. "My face has not been this bare in so long."
"Oceanics use cosmetics then?"
"Not as fervently as Paragonians, but certainly. In the summer, women crush berries to stain their cheeks and lips."
Zensa seemed the most interested in anything I had to say since we met, which for her, was not much. "We did the same at home. I miss lining my eyes with kohl to make them as spiked as razors." Not that she needed it; her long, dark lashes flattered her eyes nicely. But I felt the same.
I nodded. "Sharp enough to impale our enemies."
"Oh no," Ghislaine feigned annoyance as she passed by us from retrieving seconds. "Now there's two of you." Zensa must have expressed her love for primping her appearance one time too many to the archer.
