Then the dragon-shadow moved his head and those ember eyes focused on me.
My skin prickled with heat.
It was so terrifying to have his attention.
I pulled my eyes away from the dragon-shadow and back to the man.
Water ran down Kenji's gorgeous face. Steam clung to the tattoos on his muscular chest and arms, and for a split second, I thought I saw even the inked dragons move on his skin, preparing for war.
I blinked and looked back at Kenji. “What’s going on?"
Kenji's jaw tightened. "We've got my father's location."
The words slammed into me.
My chest constricted. My heart kicked into overdrive. Fear flooded my system so fast I felt dizzy. My hands started shaking against his wet skin, and I couldn't stop them.
Stay calm.
I swallowed. "How many people are you taking with you?"
"Forty."
“Can you take more?”
“More would bring too much attention.”
"I need you to take a full military." The words tumbled out of me. "Take everyone. Take all the men. Take the Fangs and the Claws and everyone else."
That mask of death cracked and he smiled. “You want me safe.”
“Of course.”
"I understand, Tora, but where we are going, too many people will bring attention. We're going to have to slip as many as we can in without being noticed."
“Okay. . .”
“You have more questions?”
“Of course but. . .I know you don’t have the time to answer—”
“Ask me anything, Tora. You’re my Heart. It needs to be calm.”
I bit my lip. "At your father’s location. . .how many do you think will be there?"
"I'm not sure at this time."
My stomach dropped. "What if this is a trap?"
"It could be, but we're ready for it. This won't be the first time we've walked into traps. We're ready. We're going to kill them."
"You're. . .confident."
"Of course I'm confident." He smiled. A real smile that reached his eyes. "I have my dragon-shadow with me."
I didn't smile back. I couldn't. Because all I could see was that shadow looming behind him.
Massive.
