Mask of Hope (Mask of Illumination Book 3) by JMD Reid

Author:JMD Reid [Reid, JMD]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fallbrandt Press
Published: 2021-07-06T16:00:00+00:00

15

Foonauri settled the blonde wig on her head. She had purchased it not long after arriving, the Jade bit of her knowing she would need it eventually. Next, she applied the makeup to lighten her complexion. She would still have a darker tone, but she hoped it would be mistaken for a tan.

A winter tan . . . ? It shouldn’t work, but people saw what they wanted to.

The snow that had started out as a few flakes now fell with a steady presence outside the window. Night had fallen early. It would be a blessing. She could wear a cloak with a hood and not look at all strange.

“I hardly recognize you,” Pharaj said. He lounged at the door, staring into the dressing room. It was off their quarters on the third floor of the palace’s west wing. “It’s such a simple thing, changing your hair, but the effect is tremendous.”

“Especially when our spy doesn’t know what I look like,” she said. “Is he still watching the palace?”

“And standing out like a black dog running through the snowy streets.”

“Good.” If this man truly were Xiona’s master of spies, Foonauri needed to learn about him. Find out what his weaknesses were. What she could exploit against him. Blackmail, perhaps. If he had a mistress or a vice. Prostitutes, Tethyrian narcotics, even a preference for men would be useful in an Elohmite nation.

It was a true joy to become Jade again. She had her war fan in her purse and a flechette pistol strapped to her ankle. She wore a Roidanese dress, called a dirndl, so she wouldn’t stand out. It was strange to wear. It fit tight in the stomach and loose in the bust, the blouse framed by the deep, square neckline of the deep-green bodice she wore.

Her mask lay beside her. The flax markings on the cheeks were gone. She had replaced it with two swirls of purple on the cheeks. A Primary Color rarely used on a woman’s mask. She would protect and defend her family. Right now, she might not be wearing her naqaab, but it was with Jade in spirit on her mission.

It was time to take the war to Xiona.

Let’s see how she likes fearing the shadows, Jade thought, remembering that week where she’d feared Garnet lurking in every alley, waiting to be ambushed.

Jade would teach Xiona to fear the night and the dark.

“How are you getting out of the palace without being seen?” asked Pharaj.

“Did you know there is a small door on the west side of the palace beyond the storeroom that holds all those suits of armor?”

“We have a storeroom holding suits of armor?”

She gave him a look that spoke volumes then shook her head. But he favored her with a boyish smile that melted away her exasperation. “There’s a door that goes out into the garden. It’s half-hidden by some evergreen bushes. Then I just walk out through the West Garden Gate.”

“That’s locked . . . right?”

She tapped her leather wrap of thief tools.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.