Page 34 of Emperor of Havoc

She’s going to fight me every step of the way.

Good.

The party drags on for hours, but I stay, watching, listening. Kolya doesn’t make an appearance once. But his captains and allies are here. By the time the celebration starts to wind down, I’ve planted seeds with half a dozen men. Some of them are too wary to give me anything beyond polite nods, but a few—Yamamoto included—are willing to listen. They’re loyal to Kolya, but they’re even more loyal to survival. If I convince them that aligning with me is their best shot at staying on top, they’ll come around.

Everything I’m doing tonight is calculated. Strategic. It's all a means to an end.

The fall of Kolya Ishida.

But first… I need his daughter.

I findKatarina standing by the koi pond, gazing into the water as if it holds all the answers. The light from the lanterns casts a soft golden glow across her skin. I approach quietly, stopping a few feet away.

“You don’t look like someone who just got engaged,” I observe.

She stiffens but doesn’t turn.“Because I’m not.”Her hands move quickly above her shoulder, the gestures clipped.“This isn’t real. We both know that.”

“Real enough for them,” I reply, nodding toward the guests.

She finally turns to face me, her face stony.“What do you want from me?”

I step closer, until there’s only a breath of space between her body and mine. “I already told you,” I murmur. “Everything.”

Her eyes widen slightly, her breath catching deep in her throat. For a moment, neither of us moves. The tension coils tighter and tighter, until it feels like the air itself might snap.

“I mean from the real me,” she signs tentatively. “Not that other one.”

I smile dangerously. “You mean the one that wanted me to chase her, pin her to the dirty ground andfuck her?” I purr, letting the last words meander through the air between us to caress her ears.

“That me doesn’t exist.”

I arch a brow. “I beg to differ. And I believe myfingersare ready to take the stand as star witnesses.”

Her face turns crimson as I bring three fingers to my mouth and dramatically lick them clean. Her gaze locks with mine for a moment, her throat working up and down soundlessly.

Then, suddenly, the spell breaks and Katarina steps back from me.

“Stay away from me,” she signs abruptly before she spins on her heel and marches away, either unaware or not caring that my eyes linger on the way her hips sway as she does.

I smile, slowly and deliberately.

Not a chance, princess.

10

KATARINA

This "engagement"party feels like it’s never going to end. The hum of voices, the clink of glasses, the feeling of a thousand eyes burning into me—it’s fucking brutal.

I’ve perfected the art of smiling when I don’t want to, or nodding like I care what these people think of me. But tonight my patience is paper-thin, and I swear if Takeshi smirks at me one more fucking time, I might actually shove a fork in his eye.

Calm down,I tell myself, adjusting my gown as I move through the chaos and the crowd. I need a moment alone, a sliver of silence.

I skirt the edge of the gathering, slipping toward a quieter part of the room and a cluster of chairs set up near the wide glass windows. The koi pond outside shimmers in the moonlight, and for a second, I think how nice it would be to trade places with one of the fish.

“Katarina.”

I turn to see Hana Mori approaching. For a moment, her image in front of me blurs, replaced by the memory of the nightmaretwo months ago: two chairs, a burned-out office building, a see-saw board poised over nothing but air and ruins.

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