Total pages in book: 104
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104141 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Grief didn’t split between them—it multiplied, doubled back, and left them unable to bridge it.
Seconds later, they turned and left the space.
Nyomi parted her lips and watched them walk away.
The violin’s sad melody continued.
Only two of us had not moved—Hiro and me.
Nyomi walked toward us.
I looked at my Tiger and hot rage rose through me.
Tora. Why? We were having fun.
She looked at Hiro.
I looked at him too, and what I saw almost knocked me to my knees.
My brother was shaking. Tremors in his shoulders and hands. His fucking mouth open like he wanted to scream. Those damn diamond fangs quivered too.
No. He’d been happy, Tora. . .and now. . .it’s ruined. . .
She got closer to him.
Hiro held up his hand. “Don’t touch me. . .not right now. . .”
She slowly nodded. “Okay.”
Hiro trembled as he looked at Nura’s face. “W-where did you get that picture?”
“Reo gave me his helper, Ali today and Ali was able to find some footage of Nura when she worked for you all. And there he—”
“I’m taking that picture with me tonight.”
“Good.” She nodded. “And uh. . .”
A tear spilled from Hiro’s eye.
I bit my lip and looked away.
“And. . .” Nyomi cleared her throat. “I have a locket on your nightstand with this same picture inside.”
A sob left Hiro that crushed me.
Shattered everything within.
Next thing I knew, Hiro walked by us and went to Nura’s image.
He continued to sob.
My brother.
The most dangerous man I knew.
Sobbing.
Spit trailing from his mouth.
Knees crashing to the ground.
And the sound that came out of him was a gutting noise pulled up from beneath his bones, a sound flesh should never be able to make without tearing first. And it was forced out of his mouth in uneven fragments. There was no control in it. That sound just harshly scraped the air, dragging my brother into madness.
No.
My chest cracked open behind the sternum, and I fucking wanted to kill someone just to make it stop. There should have never been a moment where my brother was unmade in front of everyone who loved him.
The monks rushed to Hiro. One lit the candles to honor Nura. The others grabbed Hiro to hold him up and he shook against them.
Goddamn it.
I sneered and turned to Nyomi.
She stepped in closer. “Kenji—”
"Why the fuck would you do this?" I tried to keep my voice down, but I was close to yelling.
She blinked.
Chapter thirteen
The Power of Tears
Kenji
Whatever fucking horror circus my Tiger had planned this evening, I would be shutting it down.
Right as I was about to roar, she spoke, "I wanted the Claws to have a space for joy and a space for grief. To remember their loved ones—"
"They're dead. All of them." My jaw ached from how hard I was holding back my rage. "What the fuck is wrong with you? We don't need this. We were having fun."
“Kenji. . .”
Hiro screamed and Kaede rushed over to help the monks. And I couldn’t even look that way. To continue to witness my brother’s pain was to break.
Fracture.
Splinter.
If I kept my view away, I could save my soul from cracking.
My heart from breaking even more.
And my Tiger had done this. She’d fucking betrayed us.
Nyomi touched my arm.
I moved it away. "Answer me. What do you want from us? Our tears? Regret? Guilt?”
“No—”
“You want us to fucking go crazy tonight?”
“They’re not going crazy, Kenji. Tears are—”
“We are at war. We don't have time for tears."
"It's not just about tears, Kenji. It's about space."
I snarled. "Space?"
"Space to feel it." Her voice stayed infuriatingly steady. "So the pain doesn't own them later."
And now Daisuke was fucking crying and reaching out his hand to his baby sister. And it wasn’t right. It was so fucking wrong. This was not what all of us had come to this ballroom for. Daisuke’s hand went over his own mouth like he was trying to put all the sobs back in.
I ran both of my hands through my hair, unable to deal with this. “I’m stopping this whole party right now—”
“No, you’re not. This is my party—”
“Your party is breaking my men—”
"If we all don't process the grief, it will destroy us later—"
"If we sit in grief, it will weaken us."
"No."
"Tora—"
"They need to let it out. They need to cry—"
"Cry!?" My fists closed. I leaned forward putting my nose barely a few inches from hers. "You want my Claws to fucking shed tears?"
She did not flinch. "If the Claws keep their pain buried. . .it doesn't disappear. It rots. And one day it comes out in a way that even you can't control."
"These are my Claws. They're killers. Soldiers—"
"Look. I know that I haven't been in your world long enough—"
"You haven't—"
"But I know this." Her voice sharpened. "We’re in a war against your father. You want soldiers who can shoot and kill on command. I want men who remember why they're pulling the triggers."