Total pages in book: 138
Estimated words: 137958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 690(@200wpm)___ 552(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137958 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 690(@200wpm)___ 552(@250wpm)___ 460(@300wpm)
Watching this, oddly, Cass had to fight shifting in his seat.
And he had to do it again when she turned.
He had often seen the Nadirii fighting uniform, such as it was. And such as it was, was a body stocking under a leather breast plate stamped with an oak leaf and leather thigh, calf and arm shields. The only uniform he’d seen adorned in any manner during battle was Serena’s, and her breast plate held a wide oak leaf formed of gold.
Cassius had never seen their ceremonial uniform.
It consisted of front-lace, slender moccasins that rode up the calf. Above this, stockings made of leather dyed purple that came up to a point edged in gold on the upper thigh. These held tight with silver ribbon casings criss-crossed about the thigh.
On the top they wore a silver tunic that came down to the knees, but it was split up the front of each leg, all the way to the pubis, exposing a silver body stocking at the join of the legs.
The tunic was topped by a hard-leather, fawn-colored, close-fitting bustier that covered the breasts and came down in a split plate, the front edge over the pubis, the sides over the hips. These slits exposed skin from upper thigh to inner hips.
On the front of the bustier were deep reliefs of swirls of gold that came up the ribs and rounded the breasts, bringing attention to that specific area. A Nadirii trait. They took every opportunity to glorify anything female.
Then there was a trim, dark-brown suede belt with a gold buckle at the navel emblazoned with a white oak leaf.
And from the chest and around the shoulders and upper arms, the coral mantle of the royal house of Nadirii fell down the back to the ankles.
Around Elena’s forehead, as was around Ophelia’s and Serena’s (but it was only a band of suede with an oak leaf stamped disk at the front for all the other sisters, gold for the lieutenants, silver for the rest of the warriors), starting with a gold oval set with an oak leaf formed of amethyst in the center. This fed to smaller gold ovals that went around her head over her hair.
And Elena’s hair was golden, falling past her shoulders, the ends of the thick locks mingling with the gold swirls at her breasts and midriff.
“That was an entirely obnoxious display,” Cassius heard his father grouse as he watched Ophelia move up the steps to the podium.
But Cass froze, as behind the Nadirii queen, he saw Elena, who had been following her mother, turn abruptly.
Her face then lit with a bright smile and her arms opened wide right before a young girl with Elena’s golden hair crashed into Elena’s slender frame.
They wrapped their arms around each other and Elena gazed down dotingly at the girl who was jumping up and down, jarring Elena’s body, the girl’s mouth moving quickly in her excitement.
“She has a daughter?” he murmured, and felt Mac, who was standing at his back right, bend to him.
“Not that I know.”
“She’s right now embracing a daughter,” Cassius replied.
“We’ll find out,” Otho grunted over his left shoulder.
At that point, his attention was necessarily taken with Ophelia making her way along the podium.
Cass noted the Nadirii queen smiled genuinely at Jell, but not as genuinely at Seph at his side and gave a curious look to the other Go’Doan that had arrived, G’Liam.
He felt his mouth tighten when Ophelia then smiled warmly at True, as well as Queen Mercy.
Though she did not do it nearly as warmly to Wilmer.
She showed clear respect for Queen Elpis, even lifting a hand up to hold to her chest as she nodded to Mars’s mother.
She then again smiled warmly at Silence, who was sitting on high cushions stacked next to Mars, the Nadirii queen’s face going so far as softening, before the guard came up over her features when her attention turned to the king at Silence’s side and she assessed Mars openly.
She did the same when she was before Cassius, but to his surprise, she didn’t linger long before all manner of expression swept from her face as her eyes lit on Gallienus.
Finally, speculation moved over her features as she took in Aramus and Ha-Lah, giving them both a regal lift of her chin.
After that, without a word, she rounded Aramus’s chair, her lieutenants following her, and walked straight to the back, down the steps and into the waiting tent.
“Brother,” he heard drawled in a female’s voice, and he looked up to see Serena making her way across the podium to him, her brown eyes acidic, a supercilious smile curling her lips.
“Sister,” he rumbled, offering the same medicine in return and watching those eyes flash with fury when he returned her jibe and she didn’t like it much, before she strode in front of his father without even looking at him.