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 84 JAYLAH
It was a sunny day and the two women were spending the morning in the gardens once more. "Do you remember being out here with your mother and sister?" Klymene asked. It was the first instance she had mentioned Jaylah's family since she arrived.
"I do. I was quite a handful."
"You were, but I enjoyed the challenge. And it paid off, did it not? Look at us now."
"My mother likely saw it differently."
"Your mother enjoyed the serenity of the gardens. She loved the simplicity of planting a seed and being assured that a beautiful flower of her choosing would sprout from it. I hate to break it to you, but you are anything but serene."
Though Jaylah knew she was teasing, it felt like a blow to her newly reformed self. "Nor am I simple."
"There is nothing wrong with it," she said, sensing the shift in Jaylah's demeanor. "You were not what she expected. You were more. And because of it, you anticipate the attacks coming for you and you survive in spite of them." Jaylah heard what she meant in the cracks between her words: They were not enough to anticipate your father. That is why they did not survive.
It was meant to be a compliment. She was calling Jaylah strong. But she did not feel the appreciation from it that she once may have. Why should Jaylah have been the one to survive solely based on her ruthlessness?
Jaylah caught a glance of red uniformed guards ahead and said, "Navrikans," to warn Klymene and Antinoch, who walked behind them with their escorting soldiers.
"That reminds me," Klymene said, "You will want to consider upping security with foreigners within these walls if you have not already."
Jaylah nodded. "Guards are stationed everywhere. I have made sure that the Navrikans cannot move without being watched."
"I believe it is necessary to go even further. You will need eyes and ears within their groups. You will need to establish a series of spies that will only be loyal to you so that you may truly have one over the Czar."
"Loyalty is built on trust. They do not trust me, therefore I cannot trust anyone."
"Make them trust you. It is time for you to take back your court and bend them to your will."
True trust was not something one could force. Yes, Jaylah could always manipulate them into her bidding—or worse, resort to threats. But that was a relationship based on fear, not trust. And Jaylah had seen firsthand how relationships based on fear quickly turned sour. Either way, Klymene's advice was only becoming more brutal now that Queen Euadne was not there to chide her for putting ideas in Jaylah's already darkening mind.
Antinoch made a small noise of warning as the Czar came into view, speaking curtly with his band of men. Jaylah forced her gaze onto Ermalai and only Ermalai as recognition lit on his face when he glanced ahead to them. "My dear Jaylah," he said, holding out a hand, "You have a newcomer."
