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)
What’s wrong?
I looked over my shoulder and that was when I realized Leo had entered.
I straightened too.
Leo stood tall. His presence commanded the space with the ease of a predator surveying its domain. His grand ensemble blended ancient tradition with modern refinement, every detail steeped in the regal tones of blue and silver.
A deep sapphire-blue robe, embroidered with intricate silver dragons draped over his tailored charcoal suit. The high mandarin collar of the suit was edged in silver, framing his neck with sharp precision, while a sash of rich cobalt silk was tied at his waist.
A sapphire-studded dragon-shaped pin adorned his chest.
In his hand, a small velvet box rested.
He never even glanced at the women.
His attention was all on me. “Leave the Mountain Mistress to me.”
They didn’t hesitate for one second. Fast, they scattered like leaves in the wind, filing out of the tent with hurried steps.
And all I could do was hope to God he hadn’t caught anything about the guns.
Chapter twenty-one
The Monster’s Gift
Moni
Leo stepped further into the tent.
The air shifted.
It thickened, turning sharp as glass and pressing against my skin.
My breath caught, and I dove my hands into the deep pockets of my gown where the two guns rested like lifelines.
Leo’s presence wasn’t just there—it consumed the space. With each step, his polished leather boots thudded against the ground and that sapphire robe swirled around him like a stormy sea.
He moved with the kind of confidence that said nothing could touch him—because nothing would.
He stopped a foot from me and trailed his sharp gaze over my appearance—my crown of sapphires, my gown, the fur draped over my shoulders.
He took his sweet time perusing me, and that alone made the hair on my arms prickle.
There better not be any more tests, Leo, or I’ll shoot you. In fact. . .
Slowly, I wrapped my fingers around one of the guns, and the cool metal became a steady anchor against the tremble building in my chest.
Maybe, I should shoot you now.
The thought slithered through my mind like smoke, dark and dangerous.
What if I shot him now? What would happen?
So many possibilities unfurled.
My hand could move in a flash—take the gun out, point his way, pull the trigger, end this nightmare, end him.
One bullet.
That was all it would take.
He was close enough, and I had the element of surprise.
But even as the idea took root, my instincts screamed at me.
Leo was fast.
Too fast.
He wasn’t just powerful—he was a predator honed by decades of survival, a man who had likely faced more attempts on his life than I could count.
People stronger, smarter, and more ruthless than me had tried to take him down, and I bet he’d bested them all. Surely, he’d be watching for a flicker of hesitation coming from me, a twitch of movement.
He’d see it coming before I even lifted the gun.
Would he knock it from my grip?
Twist it around and press it to my own skull?
I tensed.
What would he do to me if I failed?
Shivering, I forced my fingers to loosen.
The gun slipped from my palm like a reluctant goodbye.
No—I couldn’t risk it. Not now.
Leo’s sharp gaze swept up to meet mine, as though he’d caught a hint of my thoughts. His mouth tilted in a cruel, knowing smirk, the kind that told me he’d played this game far too many times before.
I swallowed hard.
Not yet.
He might not know just how close I’d come to pulling that trigger, but the knowledge burned in my chest.
He curved his lips into a smile, the sort of smile a predator would wear when amused by his prey. “Look at you, Monique.”
His voice went low. “My little monster is now all grown up.”
I swallowed hard.
My little monster. He’s back at that bullshit. Still. . .don’t flinch.
I lifted my chin and met his stare head-on. “I’m not your monster, Leo. I’m your daughter.”
The line of his jaw twitched.
The movement was so slight, I almost missed it, but I didn’t. For a second, the gleam in his eyes dimmed, as though my words had clawed through his armor, just for a moment.
Then, it was gone.
“You can call yourself whatever you like,” he said softly and stepped an inch closer. “But the truth is in the blood, Monique. And in the violence. The death. You showed the East who you really are last night.”
His tone dripped with pride, but hearing it twisted something dark and sick in my gut.
He tilted his head. “Do you even realize what you did? How magnificent it was to watch you spill their blood, to see your hands steady as you delivered their judgment one by one? You honored me.”
I swallowed back the nausea rising in my throat, but I refused to look away from him. “I didn’t do it for you.”
He smiled again, unfazed. "Didn't you?"
“I did it for Lei and my sisters.”