Page 52 of Emperor of Havoc

I clench my jaw and manage to nod my head once more, just barely, in the direction of the letter chart.

“Hang on.”

Nina starts pointing at each letter one at a time. I nod when she gets to “T”. Then “A”. Then “K”.

Her brow furrows. “Takeshi?”

Clench-and-nod, slightly.

“You’re worried about him?”

I make as much of an “eh, maybe?” face as I can manage. Mostly, I’m curious if he’s dead or not, being thatI’mthe one who poisoned that sake.

“He’s fine,” Papa says quietly. “Still paralyzed, but I hear he’s talking, and able to sit up.”

Are you fuckingkidding me? Ofcoursehe’s further along in his recovery. Ofcoursemy plan utterly backfires, leaving me still frozen in bed and him happily on his way to being up and dancing around.

Dick-fucking-head.

“He’s in the guest quarters on the other side of the gardens,” my father adds. “He’ll probably end up spending the night, until Dr. Kim gives him the all-clear tomorrow.” He sighs as he looks down at me, smiling as he pushes my hair back. “I’m so glad you’re okay,Koshka.”

“Same,” Nina adds softly. She holds up the grid. “Anything else?”

I nod. Then nod again when she gets to F. She smiles, not needing any other letters.

“Furrcules is staying in my room for now.”

I pout a little. Papa chuckles. “As much as he loves you, I won’t let you share a room with that tiger until you can move.” He frowns. “He could think you were incapacitated prey…”

As if! Furrcules wouldnever. And yet…okay, if the big lug decided he wanted to snuggle my face, as he often does, I wouldn't be able to push him away from my mouth and nose.

“I’ll take care of him, promise,” Nina smiles. “You'll have him back tomorrow.”

“We’ll leave you to rest now,” Papa says. “But this isn’t over, not by a long shot. Don’t worry,” he growls. “Sergey is going to pay dearly for this.”

I follow them with my eyes as they retreat, the door clicking shut behind them. The silence that follows is thick, oppressive. The numbness in my body is a cage, holding me still while my mind races.

At some point, I fall asleep. When I wake up later, it’s dark. I try to sit up.

Nope, not there yet.

But Icanmove my head, and wiggle my fingers and toes, and even lift one of my arms. I turn my head to the side, glancing at the clock and seeing that it’s midnight.

The door creaks open.

For a second, I think it must be Furrcules, sneaking out of Nina’s room to come visit his favorite human. But then I hear it.

Feet.

Not paws.

Feet.

They approach, slow and deliberate.

“If you thought your little stunt would stop us from consummating our union…”

Takeshi’s voice is a low, dark growl.

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