“Is that right?”
“Indeed.” There was a wry curve to Harlow’s smile. “I found several parts most fascinating and am looking forward to discussing the details with you later.”
Kira was betting she wouldn’t enjoy that conversation or the repercussions that came from it.
There was a subtle amusement in Harlow’s gaze that disappeared almost as quickly as it had come as he focused on their guests.
“House Kashori has grown bold since the last time I dealt with them,” Harlow said in a pleasant-sounding voice that was still vaguely threatening. “To think their heir would make demands of an Overlord.”
The woman maintained her calm as she sent Harlow a respectful bow. “It was not my intention to make demands.”
“Whether it was or not, that is exactly what you’ve done.”
There was an air of disapproval in Harlow’s words that made those in front of him stiffen.
The woman’s face showed alarm as her head lifted. “No—“
The pressure in the air dropped as fury settled on Harlow’s face.
“You’ve arrived at the gates of my fortress, a place used for centuries to declare vendettas, then insist I call forth my niece. Do you expect me to stand idly by while you challenge her to a duel?” Harlow’s voice had grown to a thunderous roar by the end of his statement. “Has Kashori grown so fat and bloated that they’ve forgotten how Roake earned our name?”
Boden placed one hand protectively in front of the woman, keeping his gaze on Harlow as a precaution. “You’re mistaken about our purpose here.”
Kira had to give it to the woman. She was brave in the face of Harlow’s wrath. Even Kira felt the hot splash of his anger, lapping at the periphery of her senses.
In the same position, Kira wasn’t sure she would have risked poking the beast further.
Who was she kidding? She probably would have taken a giant stick and whacked him on the head with it.
“Oh?” Harlow said in a silky voice that managed to sound scarier than the shout of before. “Then enlighten me—why have you come here?”
“To apologize,” the woman burst out, ignoring the way Boden tried to stop her as her gaze found Kira. “That’s why we’re here. To atone for attacking you.”
The air went electric.
Ki manifested around Harlow, a rare phenomenon that Kira had experienced a handful of times. It coiled around him, snapping and crackling as the pressure in the atmosphere dropped.
Storm clouds roiled above the fortress. Thunder cracked.
A monster looked out of Harlow’s eyes. “Tell me again. You did what to my niece?”
seventeen
Kira shook her head. Poor fools.
“I guess when you were telling stories you forgot that part,” Kira drawled, forcing herself not to flinch as the heat of Harlow’s anger threatened to spill onto her when he glanced at her.
Was this what others felt when she lost her temper?
The tightness in the chest and the crushing knowledge that a single wrong move could be their end?
Kira breathed through the overwhelming power.
Movement from one of the windows above caught her attention as Elena was pulled back into the fortress by Raider.
He sent her a hand signal that said, “I’ve got your back.”
It was unnecessary. Partly because Harlow wouldn’t hurt her. Mostly because Raider stood no chance against the Overlord.
