Page 218 of Savage Throne
My father shifted his stance. His gaze flicked between us. His confidence had been ironclad before, but now there was a crack. His steps faltered; his posture less certain.
She’d done what I couldn’t—shaken him.
He took a step forward. “We should talk, little monster.”
Her tone was deadly calm, her smile sharp enough to cut. “Yeah. Come here. Let’s talk.”
She was playing with him, toying with the man who had been my nightmare for as long as I could remember.
And she didn’t flinch.
My father tilted his head. “You’ve come to be the man that Lei couldn’t be? You’re here to help him out?”
She sucked her teeth. “You think you’re amanby cheating with the poison?”
“How dare you judge anything I’ve done; you’ve only just entered our world—”
“You ran off like a little bitch, climbed into a tree, and then grabbed some hidden poison—”
“That’s genius—”
“It’s cheating—”
“It’s chess—”
“The sort of chess where you know without a doubt that your son wouldbeat your assfairly so you had to out-maneuver in other ways.Bitchass ways.”
Damn her courage.
Damn the way she made my heart race faster even as my body begged to collapse.
Damn the way she made me proud to be hers.
And thank God for her.
Thank God for the fire in her soul, for the way she stood there.
Defiant.
Untouchable.
Seeing her was like a double shot of adrenaline coursing through my veins.
I forced myself to move, reached Imperial Lament, grabbed it, my fingers curling around its hilt.
Every movement was agony, but Moni’s presence pushed me forward.
How could I have thought that she would be a distraction when she was a reminder.
A reminder of everything I was fighting for.
Of everything I couldn’t lose.
She wasn’t my weakness.
She was my strength.
My father pointed at the stands, which was all chaos. I could barely check, but a small percentage watched as the rest fought each other. I was pretty sure even my aunts were battling too.
