Yuki grabbed him before he could fall.
"I'm good.” Aki hissed. “Protect the Dragon."
Blood was already seeping through his jacket.
I clenched my jaw, stepped in front of them, and returned fire. The flame lit up the stairwell like a torch. The man caught it full in the chest and tumbled backward.
“I’ll be fine.” Aki checked his shoulder.
Yuki checked his brother's shoulder, met his eyes, and nodded. “Let’s go.”
We headed up.
Two more men came running down the stairs after him.
Yuki shot the first one.
The bullet took him in the hip.
He fell screaming, rolling down the steps toward us.
We pressed flat against the wall to let him pass and Aki shot him in the head.
The second man leaped forward and came at me with a blade.
Yuki caught his wrist and twisted it.
The knife fell from his hand and clattered against a step.
Aki headbutted him and he went limp in Yuki’s grip. Next, the twins threw him down the stairs.
We raced up.
Once we hit the top, I burst through the door and entered the performance box.
It was one of the grand ones. Private. Overlooking the stage. Velvet chairs. A small table with champagne glasses still sitting on it. A balcony railing wrapped in gold leaf.
And ten men.
All of them armed and waiting.
Another trap.
I looked past them, through the door on the far side of the box, and I caught a glimpse of Akiro.
Just his back.
The chain of the kusarigama dragging behind him as he disappeared into the hallway beyond.
He used them to slow me down.
The door slammed shut behind him.
What a coward! Is this your chosen, Father? A runner?
The ten men closed in.
The first one came at me with a short sword. I ducked the swing and drove my elbow into his ribs.
