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)
He had met Deja a few days ago. For the first time, I believe he was still learning what it felt like to be seen by a woman without a silk bag between them. He was still figuring out how to wear color. He was still figuring out how to laugh in front of other men. He was still figuring out that he was allowed to be a person.
And I was about to ask him to braid his soul to hers in a hole in the ground under a full moon.
Is that fair to ask of a man who just learned how to smile in public?
The other side of my brain answered immediately.
Is it fair not to tell him?
Because this wasn't only my decision. It was his. And it was Deja's. If I sat on this and didn't tell him, and then I walked into Tokyo with two beasts' worth of advantages he could have shared, and one of our men died because Rin couldn't see the death coming—that would be on me.
I would carry that.
The same way I already carried too many things.
He deserved the choice, and she did too. The fact that they had only been together for a handful of days was their information to weigh, not mine.
I’ll tell him after the briefing. Privately. Lay it out clean. The gifts. The cost. The full moon tonight. Let him take it to her. Let them decide together the way Tora and I decided together.
The decision settled into my chest.
We got to them and Reo began immediately with his announcement. "The hackers went through Akiro's phone. Once inside, they were able to connect to associated devices. Other phones. Tablets. From there, they mapped hotspot activity—every location where Akiro's phone had been active in significant concentrations."
Reo got in front of us all and stood next to a building I recognized.
Really, father?
"One location dominated.” Reo pointed at it. “Repeated visits over weeks. Long durations. The phone stayed active there for hours at a time, always overnight."
I frowned. “Hotel Gajoen."
The Palace of the Dragon King.
Chapter twenty-three
A Hundred Steps
Kenji
My father had chosen to make his last stand in a hotel connected to my title. The arrogance of it was so perfectly him that it almost circled back around to respect.
Almost.
The joke is on you, father. You’ll die there and I'll whisper, "I. Am. The Dragon King," in your fucking ear as you bleed to death.
I took in the miniature hotel in front of us. Even at this scale, it was striking—the ornate detailing on the facade, the layered rooflines, the faint outline of gardens pressed behind the structure.
The real Hotel Gajoen Tokyo was built in 1928 as a luxury ryōtei—a traditional dining estate where elite guests were entertained privately with food, art, and performances.
It had been rebuilt after the war and expanded into one of the most visually stunning hotels in Japan. Gold detailing on every surface. Lacquered ceilings. Hand-painted panels depicting mythology and nature.
The kind of excessive, overwhelming beauty that made anyone feel like they had just stepped outside of time and into a painting.
The animation company, Studio Ghibli had drawn inspiration from this hotel for its iconic bathhouse in the spirit world scene in Spirited Away— the towering, labyrinthine bathhouse, full of hidden rooms and impossible staircases.
And we were going to paint this epic location in blood.
I looked at Reo. “Do we know where my father is in the hotel?”
Reo got right in front of the building. "The hotel houses the Hyakudan Kaidan—the Hundred-Step Staircase. Built in 1935. This staircase connects to seven decorated rooms.”
Hiro shook his head. "And our father is at the top. Isn’t he?”
"Yes. In the seventh room." Reo reached for the hotel and pressed his fingers along the edge of the structure.
A beep sounded.
A panel swung open and revealed the interior.
The Claws got up from their chairs.
The Fangs came in closer.
Reo got a latch to hold the panel opening. “I had this building redone as soon as we knew the location.”
Hiro smirked. “You know there are no additional promotions after Roar. You can calm down with trying to show up everyone.”
Some of the Claws snickered.
Reo was all business as he pointed to the display within. “Take note of everything. You need to memorize this by tomorrow night.”
In front of us was a detailed cross-section that his men had built to replace the original miniature. I could see floors, hallways, staircases, rooms within rooms. Tiny figures positioned throughout representing the Fox's men.
Reo stared at it too. "The hackers are inside the hotel's system now. We have camera access, phone signals, movement patterns. We can see their men and have counted them. This is a decent representation of the guards’ placements right now."
Hiro nodded. “And will it change as they change?”
“Yes.”
Hiro looked at him. “Then, you’ve got my recommendation for a promotion.”