Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 120336 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 602(@200wpm)___ 481(@250wpm)___ 401(@300wpm)
Jo pointed to Leo’s headless body. “Dude is dead.”
“Yeah.” I didn’t look that way.
Jo extended her hand toward me, holding a green gummy. “Here. Take this.”
I didn’t even argue with her.
Instead, I grabbed the gummy and tossed it into my mouth. The sweet, sour taste burst on my tongue, and I chewed quickly, focusing on the small comfort it offered. “Thanks.”
Jo looked at Lei. “Is he going to be okay?”
Master Wu answered for me. “He’ll be just fine.”
“Cool.” Jo let out a long breath. “I like him.”
I turned to her.
She lifted her view to me. “You’ve turned into one badass bitch, sis.”
My voice went heavy with exhaustion. “I’m trying.”
Hu stepped forward and cleared his throat. “We’ll need to get Lei and Moni to the Palace. Chen and Duck will take the bodies and handle anything else.”
I checked Chanel’s desecrated body further from us. “Can Chen give the Killer Crows Chanel’s body?”
Hu shook his head. “Lei must do it.”
“She’s already so decomposed. What if I did it?”
Before Hu could speak, Lei’s body jerked violently, his back arching off the gurney. His arms flailed weakly, the movements wild and uncontrolled, and a guttural broken sound tore from his throat.
“Lei!” I reached out for him.
Fast, Master Wu blocked my hands. “Let it happen. This is his body fighting back.”
Fighting back?
It looked more like his body was tearing itself apart. His legs kicked against the gurney and the black lines on his skin began to pulse, their edges glowing faintly as though they were alive.
It was a terrifying sight—those dark veins writhing like serpents under his skin.
Then, his body calmed.
Master Wu moved his hands. “Now, you can touch him.”
I went over and clutched Lei’s hand, squeezing tightly. “I’m here, baby. I’m here. Just hold on.”
His head snapped to my direction and his lips trembled as the last of the liquid disappeared down his throat.
“You have the antidote.” I swallowed. “You’re going to be just fine.”
Then, with a final shudder, his body went still.
Too still.
“Good.” Master Wu nodded. “The antidote is beginning to take effect, and even more. . .I’m sure he heard you.”
As if on cue, the black lines on Lei’s skin began to retreat. It was subtle at first, the inky tendrils shrinking back ever so slightly, but soon they were fading faster, pulling away from his temples, his jaw, his chest.
The glow dimmed, replaced by the golden hue of his skin returning.
I watched in awe, my hands still clutching his. “Yes. . .it’s working.”
Master Wu gave his assistant the empty vial. “The venom is being neutralized. His body will expel the remaining traces naturally.”
Lei’s breathing grew steadier, his chest rising and falling in a soothing rhythm.
The tension in my shoulders eased but the fear didn’t leave me completely.
Not yet.
I looked at Master Wu. “How long until he’s fully recovered?”
“Do not worry. But, he will go in and out of consciousness for several days.”
“What?”
“His body will need to completely rid itself of the poison.”
I shivered.
“After five to six days he will wake up,” Master Wu replied. “Just understand that he’ll need rest for another week after that. His body has endured a great deal and if you give me that urine. . .he’ll be even better.”
“Fine but Lei better wake up and be healthy.”
“Urine will do it.”
Jo scrunched her face up in disgust. “Whoa.”
The assistant handed me the bottle.
I took it and brushed away stray damp strands on Lei’s forehead. His skin was warm now, no longer feverishly hot. The worst was over, but the sight of him lying there, so still and fragile, made my heart ache.
Master Wu gestured to the gurney. “We’ll take him back to the Palace. He needs proper care.”
“Okay.” I glanced off to see Four Aces wrap blankets around Chanel’s body.
Chen and Dima watched along with several crows who landed nearby.
Other Four Aces came over to get Leo’s head. They wrapped it in blue silk and placed it in a leathered box.
Hu frowned. “I’m glad the crows didn’t eat that up.”
“Why?”
“Lei will need to show Leo’s head to Kashmere the new leader of the Killer Crows.” Hu let out a long breath. “She’ll need a clear confirmation that her brother and sister was avenged.”
“Maybe, the crows knew that.”
Master Wu and his assistants took Lei away on the gurney and we followed.
All I could think about was what would happen next?
Was everything over with?
Could we finally have our happy ending?
Chapter thirty-six
Home
Lei
Soon, I would go home.
Not the home built of stone and mortar, with grand halls and heavy doors. Not the looming Palace where power seeped into the very walls and echoed with ruthless wealth.
No.
Home was Moni.
She wasn’t a place I could point to on a map or claim with a deed. She was warmth in my chest, fire in my veins, and peace in a world that had always been death and violence.