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)
I burned that morning when I saw that pyre.
I burned when he took me out later, fixing the parts of us that had been cracked.
And now Hiroko. . .
I took another sip of the sake. The liquid pooled hot in my chest and mixed with every ounce of sorrow I'd been holding since Kenji told me she was dead.
I’m burning now too. . .
Kenji's arms tightened around me.
I thought about yesterday. How he'd dressed me in red and gold. How he'd made me the phoenix—a creature born from ash, built to rise, wings spread and glowing.
I wanted to rise right now and be that woman.
Untouchable.
Luminous.
Fearless.
But the truth was simpler and uglier than that.
I was just burning.
Burning with grief so heavy it had weight, teeth, and a permanent seat in my chest.
Burning with terror—the slow, sick kind that whispered that death could come for more at this table soon because the war was not done.
Burning with love.
The reckless, ruinous kind.
The kind that didn't ask permission.
The kind that had claws and wouldn't release me even if I begged.
And yet. . .
Beneath the grief. . .beneath the terror. . .beneath the love that had wrecked me and rebuilt me and wrecked me again. . .
Resolve came.
The way iron changes in a forge. The metal glowing. Perhaps, I was glowing too as this forge of fire began to change me.
I didn't know what I was becoming yet. Only that the woman who had walked into Kenji's world weeks ago would not recognize the one sitting here now.
That woman had been soft and reckless.
This woman fed warriors.
Loved killers.
This woman was burning. . .
Kenji disrupted me from my thoughts. "I'm so sorry, Tora. I thought Hiroko would be safe."
"No. I understand."
"Do you really?"
"Yes." I looked at him with more tears threatening to spill. "I just don't want any more people to die, Kenji. I’m ready for the war to end."
“Me too, Tora. Me too.”
“Oh!” Reo yelled out suddenly, breaking the somber mood completely. "Did the Dragon tell you all the good news?"
The Fangs shook their head.
Reo smiled. "We have the Fox’s true location."
The table erupted instantly with cheers, laughter, and men slamming their hands down hard enough to make dishes rattle.
"Hell yeah!"
"Finally!"
“We’re going to kill those bastards!”
"Let's end this!"
I looked at Kenji. His sake cup sat still in his hand, and his jaw was set in that way it got when he was thinking three moves ahead. His thumb traced the rim of the cup once.
He’s more than ready to kill his father.
The table continued to cheer, but I didn't feel excited at all. All I could think was that. . .death was in the air.
Horrid.
Bloody.
Unmerciful death.
Yet, I remained quiet because they were so happy.
Reo leaned toward Kenji laughing about something that had happened during today's fight while gesturing wildly with one hand still holding chopsticks covered in rice stuck together by soy sauce.
The table exploded into noise. Toma was already reenacting some fight with his chopsticks, nearly taking out Daisuke's miso bowl. Aki was telling Yuki that he'd killed more men, and Yuki was calmly disagreeing with a mouthful of rice. Kaede listened to all of it with his arms folded and that unbothered expression, like he was too cool to brag.
The whole time, Kenji's warmth anchored me as the noise swelled. And I felt it settle into my bones, the truth of what this really was.
This is how they process all the death and violence. This is how they survive.
I turned back toward Kenji slowly while everyone else kept talking loudly around us. They shifted to background noise fading into a white static hum.
And then I saw his dragon-shadow rising up behind him.
There you go. I was wondering if you were okay.
It rose above Kenji's head like black smoke curling upward. It was wispy too, barely visible. Its eyes weren't red anymore. There was no menacing vibe coming from it.
Long day, huh? Are you okay?
It stared at me.
I gave it a sad smile.
It watched me and rested its chin right on the top of Kenji’s head.
I wish I could pet you.
Kenji smiled beside me laughing at something Reo said while lifting his sake cup up and making some celebratory toast.
The dragon-shadow stayed there.
Chin on Kenji's head.
Sad eyes on me.
We watched each other while the room laughed, argued, and ate around us.
And I understood that the shadow and I were the only ones in the room who knew the truth.
Kenji’s putting on a strong face, but he’s just as heartbroken that Hiroko and his other men died. He’s scared too. Terrified to lose more. . .
And yet, I knew without a doubt that there was more war. . .and death. . .to come.
AUTHOR’S NOTES:
We made it.
Book 5 opened with a massive pyre for the start of Act One (the Burning Arc).
Nyomi found herself deeper in a world of fire, burning bodies, and men who operated by codes she didn't understand yet.