Total pages in book: 100
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101427 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 507(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
There was only so much of her to go around.
Even when she held me, part of her was waiting.
Waiting for footsteps.
Waiting for headlights in the driveway.
Waiting for a man who rarely came home on time.
Then, in the dream. . .someone suddenly whispered from the opposite direction, “Ms. Palmer. . .”
The voice came from down the hallway.
Low.
Careful.
Male.
But, it wasn’t my daddy’s voice or anyone else I remembered.
Curious, I wiped my face quickly with the back of my hand, smearing tears against my cheek as I turned from the view of my mother in the rocking chair next to the window.
The voice came again, closer now. “Ms. Palmer. . .”
The sound hovered in the dark. I had to know who was there and why they were calling my mother. My feet padded forward on the cool wood. The hallway was long, longer than it had ever been in real life.
“Ms. Palmer. . .”
My stomach tightened.
My breath caught as the hallway darkened even more, and the air turned sharp and cold.
The voice repeated, still gentle, but now more insistent. “Ms. Palmer. . .”
The dark rippled.
The floor beneath me gave way.
And just like that. . .I woke up, opening my eyes.
What?
Golden beams poured through the curved glass. Outside, the sea glittered like it was made of diamonds.
Still, the dream clung to my chest like damp lace.
My hands were curled under my chin, and I was lying on my side, still halfway tangled in the sheets. For a second, I didn’t move. I just blinked, trying to remember where I was, how far I’d come, and why my heart felt like it had been scraped raw in the night.
I wasn’t six anymore. I wasn’t barefoot in a quiet house filled with perfume and grief.
I was here, in the Dragon’s bed.
The cherry blossom tree stood quiet in its black stone planter. A soft breeze from the ventilation system lifted its petals.
The curved windows offered a view of the world I didn’t think I’d ever earn. A private sea. A sky like brushed gold.
All around me was elegance. Black sheets. Deep red silk. A low table with a decanter of amber whiskey that looked untouched.
My copy of When the Dragon Swallowed the Moon was opened right in front of me on the bed.
My fingers rested on the page where Korin had been carrying Sol into some space to meet his twin brother.
A man cleared his throat behind me. “Ms. Palmer. . .”
Oh.
In the dream, I had thought someone had been calling for my mother, but he had been calling me.
What the hell?
The silk sheets rustled as I sat up, turned around, and found Sako standing beside the bed with an unreadable expression on his face.
“Oh.” I yawned. “Good morning.”
He gave me a soft nod. “I am so sorry to wake you, but your friends have insisted that I do.”
“Friends?”
“Mr. Zo and Ms. Hiroko—”
“Oh. Yes. My friends.”
“Ms. Palmer—”
“You can just call me Nyomi.” I rubbed my eyes. “Give me one minute please. I’m still waking up. My head is a bit foggy.”
“Of course, Nyomi.”
I stretched a little and then looked to the other side of the bed. It hadn’t been touched. Not one wrinkle. The black silk remained taut and smooth, the pillows untouched. Not even an indent in the sheets.
I looked back at Sako. “Did Kenji come to bed?”
Sako clasped his hands in front of him. “No.”
“No?” I echoed, trying to sound casual, but it came out too soft.
Sako hesitated just a moment too long. “The Dragon was. . .busy.”
“Busy?”
“Yes.”
That was it. Just yes. But something in the way he said it made me pause. There were layers in that word—busy. It felt deliberate. Chosen with care. Too neutral to be innocent.
What the fuck did I sleep through?
Sako cleared his throat and adjusted the cuff of his white linen sleeve. “Your friends have been standing at the door since this morning. I tried to encourage them to return later, but they were quite adamant. It is now the afternoon and Mr. Zo, in particular, has threatened the staff—multiple times.”
My eyebrows lifted. “Zo threatened your staff?”
“He said he would start flashing people and causing chaos.”
That sounded odd being that Zo was the biggest scaredy cat I knew. I couldn’t see him threatening the staff of a Yakuza boss, unless. . .
I smirked.
Hiroko. She got him to say that, Interesting. Why does she want me awake right now?
Sako spoke, “Mr. Zo claims it’s an emergency and that it involved 'Royal black girl priorities.'”
“Wow.” I blinked. “That sounds like Zo. Alright. You can tell them to come in. Sorry that he bothered you. I’ll talk to him. That won’t be happening again.”
“Thank you, Nyomi.” Sako bowed and rushed off.
Sighing, I swung my legs off the bed, letting my toes sink into the soft tatami mat beneath me. The weight of the dream still lingered, thick in my ribs. But now something else layered over it—disorientation.