Change of Darkness (The Change Series Book 3) by Jacinta Jade (best new books to read txt) 📕

lifted her gaze and took in the whole of Xarcon City, which was laid out in a circular pattern before the palace, a great wall curving around its outer edges.

And beyond those walls, rocky terrain that grew in size until cliffs rising in the distance became mountains, the purple sky hanging heavily over all of it.

Siraay breathed in deeply, savouring the crisp air, which she had never been able to appreciate from within the warm environment of the domed arena. Finally, she was where she wanted to be.

Now to look the part.

She turned from the view and strode back into the room, her step brisk as she looked about for her servant.

The female was by the bed, facing away from Siraay as she perfected the arrangement of the pillows.

‘His Lordship had new outfits made up for you, lady,’ the female said meekly as she finished with the bed and positioned herself beside a section of the wall close by. The servant lifted and placed her hand on a rounded inset in the wall, and a rectangular portion of black stone slid inwards and to the side, revealing a number of garments hanging within.

From her position in the centre of the room, Siraay nodded in approval. ‘I’ll bathe first, but I’d like some refreshment. Fruit,’ she ordered.

The female nodded and pivoted, her face and eyes still turned towards the floor. ‘Of course, my lady. I’ll go ask the kitchen to prepare something for you now.’

She turned and began to walk towards the door, but Siraay stopped her.

‘Wait,’ she commanded.

The female halted instantly.

‘What is your name, in case I have need of you?’

The female slowly rotated to face Siraay, her eyes finally lifting to meet Siraay’s, an almost sad expression in them. The servant swallowed before speaking, and her voice was soft as she responded.

‘My name is Trelar, my lady.’

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

TRELAR.

Siraay pinpointed the name in her memory. It was like hunting down facts about someone else’s life. Yet she could recall certain memories now, of Trelar and her former self growing up together, of the pair of them giggling during the day before the Change ceremony, but the feelings attached to those memories were foreign, unconnected to her and who she was now.

Although Siraay would be interested to know how Trelar had come to be in the service of the Xarconians.

Not by choice, obviously, judging by the silver band locked around one of the female’s wrists.

But Siraay appreciated Chezran’s choice in appointing this female as her servant. Even though she no longer felt the ties that had originally bound her and this female together previously, judging by Trelar’s face, and the glimmer of hope still buried in the depths of the female’s eyes, Siraay knew that her new servant would never try to hurt her, and would be loyal.

‘Trelar.’

Siraay pronounced the name slowly, and hope bloomed larger in the servant’s eyes. This would be fun. ‘I’m glad to see that you managed to land on the right side of things. This is the best place you could be.’

She spoke briskly, moving across the room towards the warm bath that Trelar had prepared for her, still keeping the female in sight as she climbed the steps.

It was quick, but because Siraay was watching for it, she saw the pain flash across her former friend’s face as the new hope died as quickly as it had been born.

‘Yes, my lady.’

A pause for a moment, and Siraay almost smiled derisively as she watched Trelar try to collect herself again.

‘I will ask about the refreshments you desire,’ she said finally, giving Siraay a hurried curtsy before turning and walking rapidly from the room, closing the door silently behind her.

The smile Siraay had been holding back bloomed across her face, and she shook her head and snorted. Sentimental fool. She would enjoy playing with the female’s hopes and dashing them to pieces, over and over again. It was only a question of how long that particular game would last before Trelar realised that the old Siray was never coming back.

She turned away from the door, dismissing the memories of Trelar and her former self easily, considering the room as she began to undress by the sunken bath.

Perhaps she should have been overwhelmed by the opulence around her after the recent days and nights spent in the arena, the pit, her cell, and all the stark accommodations, or lack thereof, before that. Yet as Siraay looked around, taking in the wall hangings, gauzy curtains, and gold embellishments of her room, she instead merely judged the room as suitable for her new position—as the right hand of the Lord of Xarcon.

Satisfied, she flung her shirt, stained with sweat, dirt, and blood, away from her and bent over to make quick work of the laces on her boots, sliding the boots partway off with her hands before playfully flipping them off her feet with deft flicks of her ankles.

Her excellent aim had each landing one after the other on the dirty spread of cloth on the floor that had been her shirt. Her trousers followed soon after, sailing through the air to join the growing pile with accuracy.

Sliding her fingers beneath the band of her undershorts, Siraay pushed them downwards, letting them fall around her ankles. She lifted one foot to step out of them, and another quick jerk of her other foot sent the shorts sailing to land on her boots. Her socks soon followed, and then Siraay began unwinding her chest wrappings, her arms moving through the procedure automatically while she reflected on the pile of old garments that had been her training gear.

Physically, she was no different than she had been before her … awakening. But now, she had the confidence to match her physical abilities. And it made all the difference when you truly knew what you were capable of. It was as if all Siraay’s inhibitions, all the moral debates that had previously existed within her, had been removed, so that now all that