Page 130 of Savage Throne
“Of course it does,” another kept her voice low. “The Mountain Mistress is excellence itself. The Mountain Master would not have picked her, if not for that.”
I blinked.
Their words sent a strange warmth spiraling through me, but it wasn’t vanity that gripped me—it was power and it swelled in my chest.
Then, the soft hum of activity paused as the eldest of the women entered with something extravagant in her hands.
I widened my eyes.
Oh wait. . .
In her hands was a delicate crown, a masterpiece of sapphires and silver vines that wove together in a complex design. Tiny dragons had been sculpted into the silver, and diamonds served as their eyes.
“So. . .” I stared at it. “Is that. . .really necessary? I’ve never seen Lei with a crown on.”
“The Grand Master demanded it, Mountain Mistress.”
Of course he did.
Smiling, she lifted the sapphire crown and placed it gently onto my head. The jewels glimmered and traced the curve of my scalp.
The woman stepped back. “I believe she is ready.”
I put my view back to the mirror.
Fuck.
I barely recognized the woman staring back.
She was strong.
Fearless.
A true Mountain Mistress. . .I supposed.
There was a profound silence in the tent as everyone drank in this image.
The soft padding of footsteps broke the quiet.
Oh good.
The woman I’d sent to retrieve my guns slipped back into the tent, moving quickly but with a deliberate care that told me she knew the stakes. Her gaze darted nervously to the others, then locked on me.
In her hands were two small guns, wrapped tightly in a swath of silk to probably disguise what they were.
She clutched them to her chest like sacred relics. “I couldn’t find yours, Mountain Mistress, but I grabbed the first two I could find.”
“That’s good. I just need something that can shoot.”
“I made sure they were loaded.” She unwrapped the silk with trembling fingers and revealed the guns beneath.
“Thank you so much.” I reached out, taking one gun at a time and quickly inspecting them. The cold metal felt solid, familiar, like an extension of me. I slid the magazine from each, verifying the rounds before snapping them back into place.
A sharp gasp came from one of the younger attendants.
I flicked the safety on and nodded at the one who had brought the guns. “What’s your name?”
“Melli.”
