Page 103 of Son of Shadows

Chounan. My only son.

That one word warmed him much more than it should have, and he had no idea why.

More than that, his father held him in his saddle, against his chest.

Like he mattered.

No one had ever held him like this. Not even Keiko. For the first time in his life, he felt cherished.

Haruki used her powers to push Orochi. “Close the gate!”

Shaking himself mentally, he did as they ordered.

Lightning flashed. Orochi screamed and his father’s horse reared. His father held on to him, making sure he didn’t fall.

A vortex swirled, and as it did, it sucked in Orochi’s soldiers.

All of them.

Unable to believe it, he looked up at his father.

Pride and relief shined in his eyes.

“You did it.”

Ryuichi smiled up at him. “We did it.”

How simple it sounded, but as he surveyed the damage, he knew better. There had been nothing simple about this.

Bodies lay strewn about. And all of them looked worn out from the fight.

Shima landed in front of Ryuichi. “Can I send my troops home?”

Ryuichi looked up at his father. “Can we?”

His father smiled at him. “You’re the commander. What do you think?”

So this was what respect felt like. He’d never experienced that before.

He liked it. “I think we’re good.”

Shima snapped his fingers and his soldiers vanished in the blink of an eye.

“So it’s over?” Ryuichi had a hard time believing that.

Ryukage stroked his chin, thinking. “Until he finds another way out.”

“Really?” Ryuichi said to his father. “Can he?”

His father laughed. “Let’s hope not.”

Masaru approached them slowly. “What now, Ryuichi-san?”

“We find Koichi and tell him the good news.”

Masaru held his hands up, then spoke sarcastically. “We lived. Yay!”

Ryuichi rolled his eyes. “No. The gates are closed, and now I can control them.”