Atrocious Empress Better -

For fifteen years, she made cruelty into an art form.

For the first time in her life, the Atrocious Empress felt something she could not tax, outlaw, or punish. atrocious empress

She stepped onto the cobblestones in a simple gray dress. For fifteen years, she made cruelty into an art form

She passed a hundred, then a thousand, then ten thousand people. Each one looked through her as if she were already a ghost. Not one raised a hand. Not one picked up a stone. Not one sharpened a breath into a curse. For fifteen years

She walked past the baker’s stall. The baker, bandaged hands tucked into his apron, looked at the ground.