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)
“Ryu …”
“You’re okay. I’m right here,” he quietly assured her that she could do this. “And I know you will not disappoint me.”
Strangely, at his words, the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Ryu.
Since the incident, Eira had always felt like a disappointment not only in life but to everyone and everything, including her dead parents. In this moment, she might have been less than adequate on the outside, but she’d be damned if she was less than adequate for her fated mate on the inside, too. So, even though Eira didn’t quite know where the sudden spirit came from, she continued on, hoping to prove not only to him but to herself that she could do it.
Holding her head high to the best of her abilities, she thought she would be grateful to reach his home, but she suddenly came upon seeing what she could only describe as palace doors. Swallowing hard, she only hoped what awaited inside would be a lot easier to take.
I mean, this has to be the worst of it, right?
When they entered the safety of the palace, she was happy to find it desolate. She was about to tell him how hard what she had just done was for her, but her thoughts were taken away by the beauty of the architecture and the intricately ornate things around that were either the color of Ryu’s dragon or made of jade.
“Wow …” Eira breathed, her breath taken away.
“Do you like it?” he asked, staring at her like how she did the beauty of her surroundings.
Too wrapped up in looking at everything around her, she missed the pride on Ryu’s face for what she had just done.
“Do I like it?” she scoffed, wondering who possibly couldn’t. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“It took me a while to get used to it as well.”
Eira hadn’t even heard anyone entering; she turned to find an older man and a young woman standing directly behind her. If they had been a snake, they could have bitten her.
Both of them bowed their heads as Ryu introduced them.
“This is my sensei, Kage, and his daughter, Yuri,” he said before proudly waving his hand toward her. “And this is Eira … my fated mate.”
Blushing from the shock of him introducing her that way, Eira politely bowed back with a kind smile. “Hello.”
“We are honored to meet you and serve you in any way we can,” Kage announced before placing a firm hand on Ryu’s shoulder. “I’ve been training you since you were a little boy, and I couldn’t be happier for you. You have waited a long time for this, Ryu—we all have.”
Yuri smiled sweetly at Ryu. “We both couldn’t be happier.”
At her smile, Eira felt like a dull caterpillar next to an alluring butterfly. Yuri made the villagers outside look less than in comparison, and Eira had already thought herself inadequate enough next to them.
She hated comparing herself to other girls, but Eira found she couldn’t help it as she stood next to Yuri, who was flawless perfection. Lowering her sleeves out of habit to cover more of the scars on her hand, she let her veil of fiery locks do the same to her face. She only hoped Ryu wouldn’t take notice of her sudden lack of already barely-there confidence.
“Is Father here?” Ryu asked.
“In the other room, I believe.” Kage motioned with his head in the correct direction. “I hope to see you tomorrow, bright and early. You haven’t trained in a while, and I expect to get you back in shape.”
Ryu simply laughed and said from over his shoulder, “Yeah, you wish.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Eira quickly said before they disappeared.
Not finding his father where he had expected him, Ryu decided for them to stay put. “I’m sure he will be here any minute.”
Her nerves only somehow seemed to skyrocket knowing she was going to meet his father, but truly, the palace was such a work of art that it kept her distracted for another moment. Her eyes landed on a smoky black vase that had golden veins branching out like lightning that reminded her of the scars on her body.
Noticing her fondness for the piece, Ryu smiled, clearly remembering a fond memory. “My mother picked that vase.”
Her fingertips carefully ran along one of the golden veins. “Well, she has good taste.”
“That she did,” a strong voice echoed across the walls. “I see you have returned and, this time, with what you should have brought with you last time.”
“I have,” Ryu forced out with a squared jaw, bowing to his father with what seemed like difficulty. Then he introduced her, “This is Eira, my fated mate.”
She tried her best not to blush again, though she really didn’t think she’d ever get used to him introducing her that way. It made her heart sing that he would introduce her with such pride.