Page 65 of Savage Throne
Aunt Min scowled at me. “You should already have been asleep, Lei. What are you doing out here at this time?”
“I wanted to check on Moni’s sisters—”
“Why? We have everything under control. Our girls are protected.” Aunt Min raised her eyebrows. “Do you think we can’t protect them?”
“No one said that—”
“I think that’s exactly what you’re saying by coming over here—”
“That’s enough.” I held out my hand and turned to Moni’s ladies-in-waiting. “There’s enough activity out here. You three can go to your rooms and get some rest. A lot will be happening tomorrow.”
Thandi stepped forward. “No disrespect, Mountain Master but we want to remain here just in case—”
“That is all disrespect.”
She blinked.
“I said go. You said you will stay. It’s disrespectful and I have no patience for that this evening.”
Duck cleared his throat next to me probably signaling to not be too hard on his new love interest.
In the meantime, Aunt Suzi leaned back in her chair. “I agree, Lei. They should rest. There is nothing more they can do tonight.”
“The Mountain Mistress’s sisters are here,” Thandi insisted with a clipped tone as if she were a few seconds from cursing us out. “If the Mountain Mistress is gone, it isourduty to stay with her sisters.”
“It is not.”
“Please, Mountain Master.” Thandi fisted her hands at her side. “I should’ve done more. I let my guard down at the cookout tonight. I should’ve stopped Leo from grabbing her before it got this far. . .and now, it’s all on us.”
I scowled. “It’s not.”
Lan stepped forward and crossed her arms. “We won’t leave them unguarded.”
“That’s nonsense,” Aunt Min snapped, waving the fan man away for a moment. “You’ll be no good to Moni if you collapse from exhaustion tomorrow. Now, off to bed, all of you!”
The three ladies refused to budge, and their faces were tight with defiance.
“Can they hear us, sister?” Aunt Suzi took a sip of her tea and then set the cup down.
Aunt Min huffed. “I’m sure they can.”
“But they are not moving.” Aunt Suzi wagged her finger at the ladies-in-waiting. “Now. . .if I have to get up and fight you three in this lovely dress. . .well. . .you will be in the hospital forweeks, not days. Dear God, this is vintage Valentino.”
Aunt Min took off her tiara and placed it on the table.
Aunt Suzi did the same.
Fen got next to Thandi and Lan, shifting into a fighting position.
Good god. I see what Duck means.
The throbbing in my head increased.
I stood there for a long moment, rubbing the relentless ache at my temples and weighing my options.
My eyes shifted from my aunts—perched on their loungers like queens surveying their domain—to Moni’s ladies-in-waiting, lined up in front of me with stubborn defiance etched on their faces.
This was not a battle I wanted to fight.
