Page 85 of Sweet Dominion

Chapter sixteen

Hold My Tiara!

Moni

After napping for several hours, I woke up next to Lei, who, oddly, was fully dressed.

Once I got him up, we showered together and he mentioned that earlier he had completed a quick task before joining me in sleep. However, he refused to tell me what it was.

What did Lei do?

Anyway, none of that mattered now as I stepped out of the helicopter and took in the new sight of Lotus Blossom.

What the hell is going on right now? Who did all of this to Lotus Blossom?

Lei left the helicopter and got on my left. “Damn it.”

I wasn't sure if I had truly woken up from my sleep.

Naw. There’s no way.

I turned to him. “Am I still dreaming?”

With a frown, Lei scanned the new festivities and decor placed all over the property. “Unfortunately, you are awake.”

Shit.

“But. . .who did this?”

He let out a long sigh. “This has my aunts’ names all over it.”

“Oh.” I turned to look back at the scene around us and my breath caught in my throat.

While Lei and I slept, Aunt Min and Aunt Suzi had been very busy.

Lotus Blossom was now a carnival of wonders.

At the entrance stood a beautiful carousel, unlike any I'd ever seen. It was ocean-themed, with elegantly crafted seahorses painted in various shades of blue and turquoise. The detail was astonishing—each seahorse had glittery scales that shimmered in the sunlight, their manes flowing like ocean waves. Coral patterns adorned the carousel's base.

Currently, People stood at the top of ladders painting a few of the white mermaids brown.

Alrighty, I like the inclusion. . .but like. . .did we need a carousel for the cookout?

And speaking of mermaids, there were actual mermaids on the property.

Lei and I directed our gazes toward the two massive, adult-sized glass aquariums flanking the steps that lead to the porch.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

In the tank on the right, a gorgeous black woman swam gracefully, her mermaid tail shimmering in hues of gold and blue. She moved with such fluidity and grace that she seemed to be part of the water itself.

Two crows landed on the edge of the tank and gazed at her.

On the left, a beautiful Chinese woman waved at us from the top of her tank. She must have been getting a quick breathof oxygen. Then, soon she was back in the water, doing these striking circles. Her hair rippled in the water.

“I. . .” I held up one finger. “So. . .”

And that was when the orchestra began to play.

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