I blinked.
That shadow stretched behind him along the marble floor and up the walls—massive, serpentine. The shape of it shifted as he moved. A dragon. Formed of smoke and menace. It slithered in his wake, with eyes that weren’t quite visible, but somehow. . .still watching.
It didn’t roar.
It just coiled behind him like a warning.
I blinked again, and then it was gone.
I’m losing it.
I put my view back on Kenji.
He didn’t even glance at me.
He simply walked to the center of the space, where his shirt had been discarded on the floor during our earlier game ofpower and lust. He picked it up with one hand, shook out the folds, and slid his arms into the sleeves like he was arming himself.
What is going to happen now?
His movements were slow.
Intentional.
Each button he fastened was the click of a chamber loading.
And then. . .the door opened again behind him.
Two men stepped inside.
Who is this?
They moved in absolute silence—tall, unreadable, carved with muscle. They didn’t enter fully, just flanked either side of the door.
I didn’t know their names or titles, but I knew power when I saw it.
They didn’t look at me, but their presence was enough.
My gaze went to the tattoos near the corner of their eyes.
What is that? A kanji? What does it mean?
Kenji must have noticed me watching them. “Don’t worry, Tora. They are my Eyes.”
“Oh.” I looked back at them.
These are the Eyes. Wow.
I assessed them again. Both men were tall. Silent. Dressed in tailored black, their postures so still they didn’t seem human. But it was the tattoos that kept my full attention.
Kenji didn’t look back as he fastened the last button of his shirt. “They’ll be with us for the rest of the night.”
I glanced at the one on the left. The ink by his eye looked sharper when he tilted his head. “What are their names?”
Kenji adjusted the cuff of his sleeve. “Their names are Eyes. That is it, Tora.”
I frowned. “But surely they have names.”
Kenji shook his head. “For you. . .they don’t have names.”
