Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 55059 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 275(@200wpm)___ 220(@250wpm)___ 184(@300wpm)
A foot lashed out, aimed at his knee. He was barely able to move in time to let the blow hit the outer side of his thigh.
Limping, Ryu parried with a hard stomp on Kage’s foot, grinding the tender flesh under his heel until Kage fell backward. Ryu showed no mercy, driving blow after blow down onto his once trusted friend until the master no longer fought to rise.
“You are a fool, Ryu. A child from you mixed with my blood would have the capacity to become a legend.” A small trail of blood dribbled from the corner of Kage’s mouth.
Ryu stared down at the broken master with pitiless resolve. “A legend you would have tried to make into a monster to be feared and create havoc across the world. Eira brings generations of love with her. Her courage and bravery are shown on her face. You might see Eira as weak, but I see a warrior. A warrior capable of weathering the storms our future holds, compassionate to those who we protect, and most importantly, she will teach our child to hold those same values to keep those like you with evil in their hearts at bay.
“I have served your punishment for the crimes you have committed against the islanders. I will now serve your punishment for attempting to kill Eira.” Ryu didn’t give Kage time to react, lashing out to rip his windpipe out with a bare hand before throwing it down onto a weakened chest.
Turning away, Ryu gave him his back while Kage choked to death on his own blood.
He came to a halt, seeing his father standing just a few feet away. He had clearly watched it all, as his head hung in sorrow.
“Kage was like a brother to me. His father was my mentor, as Kage was to you. I had no idea of the evil that lurked in his soul.”
“Nor did I,” Ryu agreed. “Their evil could no longer be hidden once Eira came to the village. He was determined to kill her before we could create a child and the cycle passed on.”
At the mention of Eira’s name, his father gave a start. “That is why I came here. Her grandfather stole a boat. They are heading back to their home.”
“And you didn’t stop them?” Ryu asked the obvious, all while he was grateful his mate still walked this plane.
“Son, I think you are forgetting which one of us can still fly.”
“Oh, right,” Ryu remembered, ready to let his dragon finally be free.
“How do you plan on convincing them to come back?” he asked his son before the transformation was complete.
When Ryu spoke, it was between half-man and half-dragon. “Who’s to say I’m going to give them a choice?”
Watching his son proudly start to soar the sky to retrieve his mate, Tatsu had one simple request. “Maybe just convince Eira to come back. You can leave the other two.”
34
You’ve Seen Ryu Eat Someone?
Eira scanned over the water, hoping to see land coming nearer. Finally, she was able to spot her grandparents’ village in the distance.
“We’re almost home.”
Her grandmother shifted on her ample bottom to look over her shoulder, back to the island they had left. “Can you not make this tub go any faster?”
Her grandfather stopped rowing. “What did you say?”
Eira wanted to scream at her grandfather. “When you’re escaping, you don’t stop and let them catch up to you!”
“Why are we escaping again? I liked it there.”
She could only gape at him. “We’re escaping because someone was trying to kill me.”
“I’m going to miss being served breakfast in bed.” He sighed longingly. “We should go back.”
“Old man, I’ve served you breakfast in bed for the last ten years!”
“You give me porridge. I’ve gotten used to having a rolled omelet with steamed fish.”
“You want fish for breakfast? Then you can get up and go catch it in the morning!” She whacked her husband with each of her words.
Eira wanted to scream at her grandparents for arguing out in the middle of the ocean. “We need to hurry! Here, give me those—”
Her grandfather looked at her like she had lost her mind when she went for the paddles. “What’s the hurry? We don’t see any boats leaving the island. Even if they left now, they wouldn’t be able to reach us before we reached home.”
“Give them here, you old fool. I’ll do the paddling.” Leaving him no choice, she snatched them out of his hands. “You should be ashamed of yourself. You’re more concerned about what you’re going to have for breakfast instead of your granddaughter’s safety.”
“I stole the boat, didn’t I? You and Eira can stay home. I’ll return to the island and keep an eye out for Ryu.”
“We don’t know if he wanted her dead, too!” her grandmother screeched at him.
She barely managed to keep herself from screeching and sounding just like her. “Grandmother, please …”