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)
“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 allow our swords to 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 the Imperial Lament gleaming 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.
Chen got to my side. “You’re doing good.”
Fury bubbled under my skin. “I wanted to fight him here.”
“We knew that strategy was a long shot. At least, you got him to crack and you tired him out. That’s why he fled.”
“He’s got Imperial Lament.”
“And you’ve got Soaring Precious.” Chen stepped in front of me. “And more important, it’s not the sword that kills. It’s the man holding it. You know where he’s going.”
The Arena of Echoes.
I shivered.
Several weeks ago, I’d fought Duck there because he’d grabbed Moni’s panties. Now I would have to battle my father and kill him.
I swallowed. “Is Moni—”
“She’ll be down there.” Chen gestured behind me.
I followed where he was pointing.
Off the platform and further away, Moni struggled against Duck, Thandi, Fen, and even her sister, Jo. They held her back, their grips tight, but she fought like a wild animal.
Rowe Street Mob formed a line between her and the platform. It was clear Banks and Marcelo was determined to not let her get involved.
And in her hands?
A chopstick and a fork gripped tightly.
My baby.
She looked like she was ready to kill someone with them.
I turned back to Chen. “She tried to sneak guns to the feast.”
“She’s a proper Mountain Mistress.”
“Keep her away from getting in the middle of the battle and tell her that I love her.”
“I will.”
“If he. . .” I swallowed. “If he gets ready to kill me, and deliver the final strike—”
“I take Moni away before she can see the sword land and Duck and I will hide her from your father forever.”
I shivered.
Chen got out of my way. “Now, go kill Uncle Leo.”
Letting out a long breath, I gripped Soaring Precious tightly and raced to the edge of the platform.
Couldn’t just walk down the mountain, Father? Had to soar?
I got to the edge and without hesitation, I leapt off, gritting my teeth.
The wind tore at my hair and clothes as I soared through the air with my sword raised.
Moonlight bathed the mountain’s jagged face.
The cliffs gleamed like the bones of some ancient beast.
The drop was steep, the jagged cliffs rushing up to meet me, but in a whirl of plummeting motion, I whipped my sword through the air, twisting and turning my body in free fall, bouncing from ledge to ledge whenever I could.
I was a tumbling arrow, shot from the bow of vengeance.
The sensation was dizzying.
My muscles burned with effort.
My heart pounded in my ears.
A jagged outcrop loomed ahead.
With a twist of my wrist, I angled Soaring Precious outward, bracing for impact.
The blade struck the rock with a shower of sparks and I used the momentum to swing myself around the outcrop and onto a narrow ledge just below.
The landing was rougher than I intended.
Rocks skittered underfoot.
But there wasn't time to catch my breath.
My father was somewhere below, probably already waiting in the Arena of Echoes.
Come on. Don’t let him get down there to rest.
I launched myself off the ledge again. This time it was less a leap and more a controlled fall aided by Soaring Precious.
The sword’s razor-sharp edge bit into stone and ice alike as I descended in a whirlwind of motion.
At last, I spotted the Arena of Echoes far off.
The sparring ring was a masterpiece of shimmering blue stones where many Four Aces believed those stones granted unmatched strength and wisdom during combat.