🐲 Dragon and Phoenix (Path of Light and Fire Book #2) (Completed) 🐲

Chapter 43

He would not be so lucky.

The thudding of metal boots added to the stampede, so Turrent's hand went back to his sword. He switched to the front of the island and stayed low. When metal groaned against metal, Turrent guessed they'd locked the door.

Now Scout was stuck outside and he was inside with two of the guards right behind him. In that moment, he wished he'd mastered the two-blade style that Scout loved to use.

"Damn cowards," one of them spat. "Should've just locked the door."

Turrent waited until he could no longer hear the footsteps and then darted to the door, unlatching the bolts and carefully as he could.

Scout slid inside, placing his hand on Turrent's shoulder. "They should call you Reflex," he said. "I've never seen anyone react as fast as you."

Turrent shrugged. "I'd prefer something more sinister. A name that makes men hope they never see me and the ladies hope they do."

Scout rubbed his forehead. "I wish you would focus."

Turrent grinned. "I'm always focused."

-----

The walls of Castle Acadia were nicer than he remembered.

To be fair, I spent most of my time in jail, or hiding in Hatsuto's room.

Turrent was not a fan of artwork, but he had to admit the power in the paintings of kings. Each one looked strong and capable, expecting those who walked these halls to be the same.

His retinue marched in tempo, creating a rhythmic drum on the tile floor. It sounded of warriors who practiced more circumstance than skill with weapons.

Another reason to feel perfectly safe in this bubble.

When they reached the doors, engraved with a large hawk in gold, Turrent knew they'd arrived. There were two guards on either side of the door, who grabbed the large gold-plated handles and pulled them open.

Revealing the seat of power in Acadia.

He remembered his last visit, with Sakima and wondering if Misaki had any part in their earlier troubles. The way she sat upon the throne, with its jewel encrusted wings, he felt stupid for having not seen it sooner.

"I would have seen it," Scout's specter whispered.

You've picked the worst possible time, Turrent thought.

In his heart, he knew the hallucination was right. Scout would have made a great Tsuchinan if he lived. Even better than Turrent.

It was his death that had spurred Turrent to take his training more seriously, even if he couldn't help but inject a bit of dark humor into every aspect of it.

He glided through the door as if it was his right, ignoring the additional guards in the throne room.

While Misaki sat upon the throne, there a man in her old seat that represented the next person in line to the throne. It had to be her 'useless husband' as the former Heika had once called him. Yet that he sat there and not in the Heika's chair was a statement on its own. There would be no illusions of who was in charge here.

Misaki.

Sakima's former seat, that of the second in line, remained empty. That was a helpful bit of information. Turrent had planned to emphasize his lack of regard for the Seriens, but if Misaki still loved her brother, he could use that.

Misaki placed her hands on her waist and smiled. Her porcelain skin emitted a soft glow that Turrent found welcoming. It was an affectation that Turrent knew all too well. Resu, his last friend at the Blackhall, did the same. Her dress was a deep hunter green, slashed with white. Gold pins lifted her hair, revealing a long neck draped with a gold necklace.