Chapter 35: With Honest Care

We sat across from Reigina Mathilde on the floor of the palace in a circle of rugs and pillows. This was what I had decided to call the structure at the end of the amethyst columns - a palace. I didn’t see any altars or shrines of worship, so I ruled this out as a religious building.

The space was long and open, supported by dispersed amethyst columns. Purple and blue curtains with silver-beaded embroidery served as doors to separate rooms, and others opened to wide glassless windows.

Sporting a new purpling bruise on her cheek, Reigina exhaled a long cloud of smoke, casually passing her amethyst pipe to Leyna, who sat a little behind her with the rest of her posse. The amethyst piece sat atop an open glass orb of water, like a two-piece bong or a bubbler.

“We started off on the wrong foot,” Reigina began.