Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 154368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 772(@200wpm)___ 617(@250wpm)___ 515(@300wpm)
“And you are correct. If you give her that kind of authority right now. You don't make Nyomi stronger. You ruin her."
My fingers tightened unconsciously around my own arms.
Reo shifted his weight, and for a moment his jaw flexed—pain leaking through despite his discipline. He pushed past it. "She will become what she's trying to stop you from being, and worse. . .you won't be able to protect her anymore. The moment a woman gives an order of death to any of your men, the world stops seeing her as your Heart and starts seeing her as a target you can't shield."
Those words landed heavy.
I unfolded my arms. “Yet, you see her as my queen.”
“I do.” He nodded. “A queen influences the king. She doesn’t swing the blade. And. . .permission is not partnership."
Hmmm.
Reo continued. "Asking her before you act doesn't make you equals. It makes you smaller. And it puts a larger crown on her head that any enemy can knock off."
I exhaled slowly.
He was right.
I hated that he was right.
"There's something else," Reo said.
I looked up.
"Nyomi's value—the thing that makes her yours—is that she's still clean." He held my gaze without flinching. "If she carries the weight of death, she loses the thing that steadies you. You'll have nothing left to come home to that doesn't smell like blood."
The dragon stirred in my chest.
Not in anger.
In recognition.
Against all logic, I picked up that damn glass of whiskey and took a small sip, needing it now more than ever. The liquid hit hard and slipped down my throat.
"She's still learning." Reo shrugged. "You don't hand someone fire while they're still learning how to stand near the heat."
Silence stretched between us.
I set the glass down, pushed off the desk, and walked to the window.
Outside, the morning sun cut sharp lines through the fog and ash that had come from the pyre. And somewhere along this island, the Lion was waiting.
I didn’t turn around as I spoke, "I hit you, because after my Tiger saw that pyre. . .she didn’t want me to touch her."
I had more to say to him, but that was all I could manage.
I heard Reo shift behind me. The soft creak of the chair as he finally lowered himself into it—an admission of pain he wouldn't have made if anyone else were watching. "I knew it had to be something like that."
I turned.
He sat with his elbows on his knees, glass loose in one hand. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were steady.
No judgment.
No resentment.
Just the truth, laid flat between us.
I frowned. "The hit to your ribs. . .it won't happen again."
“It will if I test your Tiger again.”
“But you won’t be testing my Tiger anymore.”
Reo didn’t respond. Instead, he studied me for a long moment. Then, he lifted the glass and finished the whiskey.
Aww. So, you think you have more tests for my Tiger? But do you have enough ribs?
I smirked.
And how can you still be so smug, even through all that pain?
Reo rose from the chair and put the empty glass on my desk. "She's strong, Kenji."
“I know.”
"Stronger than you give her credit for. The fact that she's in the kitchen right now, preparing for a party, making sure morale stays high. . ." He shook his head slightly. "That's not a woman who's breaking. That's a woman who's choosing to rise. Perhaps, there is a solution there."
“What solution?”
“Give her power over our people’s morale. She’s already taken that job anyway.”
The words landed somewhere soft. Somewhere I didn't let many things touch. I looked away before he could see what they'd done to me.
“And you can figure out other ways, Kenji. Nyomi’s power is more in the realm of moral, emotional, and stabilizing but. . .not executive. Not in our world of blood and death.”
Reo's suggestion seemed logical. It was a part of the hierarchy my Tiger could naturally fit into, her strength as a woman being utilized to bring unity among the men and women who called me their Dragon.
Power, it seemed, had many faces, and some were not drenched in blood.
“Either way, Kenji. You must give her an answer today.”
I let out a long breath and left the window. “I’ll think of something to say to her later, but for now. . .let’s go. We have the fucking Lion to deal with. Where is he anyway?”
“Right next to the pyre.”
“What?”
"The Lion looked at the pyre and said, ‘A barbecue? Delicious. I want to get a closer look.’”
“Of course he would.”
Reo adjusted his jacket one final time, hiding the damage beneath layers of fabric and discipline. When he looked up again, his expression had shifted—back to the Roar, back to the strategist, back to the man who would walk into a room full of enemies at my side without hesitation.
I moved toward the door.