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)
The least I owed them was the money it took to learn how to live without me.
They now had a new monthly allowance that provided enough for tuition, an apartment in Kensington, and food.
And I had a fresh start with my Tiger.
I took one last look in the mirror. The gold beading shimmered in the light and threw tiny sparks across the ceiling. The dragon-tiger pin sat over my heart as if she intended to brand me.
Naughty Tiger.
I smirked.
Someone knocked.
I crossed the room and opened it, and for a moment I just stared.
Reo stood in the hallway, and I almost didn't recognize him either. He wore a black tuxedo and black shirt with a tie the color of oxblood.
How did she know that red was his favorite color?
The suit cut close. The jacket pulled across his shoulders, clean and exact.
The color shifted when he moved his arm, making it appear more dark and wet.
Yet, the pin on his lapel sharpened everything. It was an opened dragon’s jaw, forged in gold and curved in an arc across the lapel. Each fang was carved and polished to a pale gleam.
I parted my lips and stepped closer.
Within the open curve of the dragon's jaw, thin concentric rings fanned outward, representing the rambunctious sound coming out of the dragon.
Aww. The Dragon’s Roar. Nice touch, Tora.
Reo’s hair was actually styled. Swept back from his face, the sides tapered, the top structured. He looked like he belonged on a magazine cover, not standing outside my door nervously cracking his knuckles.
Reo took me in. “The Heart outdid herself. She dressed you. Right?”
“Yes.”
He quirked his brows. "Do you like what I’m wearing?"
It was such an odd question to come from the Roar. Never had he asked me such a thing. Still, I shrugged. “I do.”
"Your Heart dressed me too."
Pride hit me. Then, jealousy. Would this always be the battling state within my chest when my Tiger took care of my men? Love and envy. Gratitude and rage.
My Tiger had dressed him, assessing his body, his coloring, his build, and selected clothes for him the same way she'd selected mine. She'd thought about his measurements. His preferences. The shape of his neck above a collar.
I smiled, yet gritted my teeth.
I knew it was irrational, but dragons were possessive territorial beasts that hoarded treasure.
I cleared my throat. "You look good."
Reo brushed his finger over the lapel. “Thank you.”
I leaned my head to the side. “Did she leave you a note too?”
“Yes.”
“What did it say?”
“I hope you like this. If not, you do not have to wear it.”
“Hmmm. Mine was longer and more romantic.”
Reo smirked. “Of course it was.”
“Let’s go.” I headed out.
My security team gathered, forming a tight ring around us—five ahead, two on each side, and five behind.
Reo fell into step beside me. "I looked into the Burial Ritual."
Tension gathered in my shoulders. "What did you find?"
"A lot." He exhaled. "Your mother's bloodline goes back further than I thought."
The hallway stretched toward the elevator.
I glanced at my Roar.
"The old Shinigami hunters came out of the mountains of Japan. They believed the earth itself was a living body."
I slowed my stride.
Reo kept his voice even. "For them, soil was flesh. Roots were veins. The lotus was the earth's heart flowering upward."
My chest tightened.
We got to the end of the hallway.
A guard pressed the elevator button.
Brass clicked.
The doors slid open.
We stepped in together. Security split— four holding the hallway, two stepping into the elevator with us, the rest taking the stairs.
The doors closed.
"The ritual does two things. First, it further binds the hunter to his spiritual animal.” Reo watched the floor numbers above the doors. “After the binding, the beast fights with the hunter and feeds on his enemies during combat. This weakens them before the hunter strikes."
I thought back to the illustration from the book.
That’s what the spider-shadow was doing, weakening the man before his hunter could kill him.
"The ritual grants another gift." Reo turned his head slowly. "It’s called. . .Death-sight."
The elevator started its descent.
"Death-sight?"
Reo nodded. "During the battle, the hunter sees the moment of a person's death before it happens. Two minutes out."
I stared at him. “How does he see it?”
Reo's jaw tensed. "The old texts were not specific on that detail.”
Goddamn it.
I pictured a battlefield.
My men moving. A shadow passing over one of them, showing their deaths, and me only having two minutes to keep them safe.
Or two minutes to watch them die.
My hands curled at my sides. "What else did you find out?"
The elevator hummed.
"There’s a big price to this ritual.”
I looked at him. “What is it?”
“The ritual binds you to the woman permanently."
I put my gaze on the elevator doors. "Define binds."
"My understanding is that the rite braids her soul to yours, and it can't be undone." Reo held my eyes in the elevator doors’ reflection. "If you die, she dies too. And vice versa."