Page 189 of Savage Throne
Shit just got even more real.
I dropped the shard of glass still in my hand and shrugged off my jacket and shirt, tossing them to the floor.
There was no room for hesitation now.
Slowly, he twistedImperial Lamentaround. “The song is calledThe Blossoms and the Blade. It’s a tale of love and victory, of loyalty and betrayal.”
I went over to my side of the table, grabbedSoaring Precious, and unsheathed it.
The sword came alive in my hand.
“I thought that song would be perfect.” My father gazed at the sword in my hand. “Don’t you think?”
“I’m surprised you didn’t pick something from Tupac’s discography.”
My father let out a dark chuckle. "Oh, believe me, son, Tupac crossed my mind. His words cut deep but they don't carry the weight oflegacy.”
Everyone began spreading out to give us more space, while others headed away.
My father continued. “You see, Tupac rapped about the streets—about loyalty and betrayal—but his story ended too soon.”
He put his view back onImperial Lament. “He didn’t have the time to etch his name into the kind of eternity my chosen song carries."
He turned the blade slightly, letting the moonlight ripple down its edge. "ButThe Blossoms and the Blade.That’s a story of triumph and ruin, of blood spilled not because it had to be but because it wasdestiny."
“Too bad I don’t have time to listen to the song. I only have time to kill you.”
“Too bad.” He snapped his gaze to me. “I guess I’ll hear her sing while you lay on the ground, your blood soaking the stone while her lovely voice rises in the air.”
The crowd gasped but I didn’t flinch.
I took one step forward. “Enough with talking,Father.”
For a split second, I thought I saw something flicker in his eyes—something that wasn’t hatred. But then it was gone, replaced by the ruthless determination of a man who would stop at nothing to win.
I held the sword in front of me. “Let’s now allowour swordsto have a conversation.”
He smirked. “Good idea,son.”
I braced myself, knowing that it made sense for him to leap back over the table and come for me.
Here we go. It is beginning.
But then, to my shock, he did something I didn’t expect. Instead of charging at me, he moved with a burst of speed in the opposite direction.
What the fuck?
He raced to an unused side of the platform that only led to a cliffed edge, where there was no railing, just an open drop plunging into the shadows below.
“No,” I growled, realizing his plan too late.
Fast, he shot to the cliffed edge and leapt into the air, soaring down the jagged edge of the mountain with theImperial Lamentgleaming in his hand.
Moonlight bathed his figure, turning him into a ghostly silhouette before he disappeared into darkness.
The crowd erupted into chaos, voices overlapping as panic took hold.
Shit. The game is back in his hand.
