Page 108 of Savage Throne

Several feet away, Song sat on a carved chair near the entrance of the tent. There, he held a delicate porcelain cup in his hand, sipping tea as though he were in a palace instead of a tent on a mountaintop.

He tipped his head at me and smiled. “Good afternoon, Mountain Mistress.”

“Did I sleep most of the day away?”

“You did.”

“No. I wanted to get up early and—”

“It’s fine. You were up all night defining your legacy. And then there was theDragon PulseLeo put into your tea.”

“The what?” My heart quickened.

“Dragon Pulse. A rare tea blend meant to embolden the spirit. It gives you courage, confidence, and occasionally brings hallucinations.”

I thought about last night. “Does it. . .does it make you see really crazy things?”

The images came back to me now—the dead men, their lifeless eyes suddenly alive, their bodies rising and then lumbering toward me.

My chest tightened.

Song nodded slowly. “It can. What matters is whether youcontinueto see them after the effect wears off.”

My breath hitched. “I don’t want to be crazy.”

A genuine chuckle escaped him, though it carried no warmth. “If you can live in the East and not be a little crazy, then I salute you. But. . .I’m afraid it’s inevitable.”

I blinked. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to get dressed for the feast.” He set the cup down on the table next to him with a soft clink.

The feast. . .

It wasn’t just a meal. It was a gathering, a prelude to the battle that would decide everything. A place where everyone would watch, waiting, whispering, building tension until it snapped under the pressure of bloodshed.

Dear God…

The feast wasn’t for celebration—it was for farewell. We just didn’t know who we would be saying goodbye to.

My stomach twisted into stressful knots.

Don’t worry. Lei will kill Leo. He has to.

Somehow, I had to be ready to watch it all unfold.

I swallowed hard and turned my gaze back to the mountains outside the tent. The peaks seemed sharper now, cutting into the horizon like jagged knives.

I thought of Lei, his unrelenting strength, his rage barely kept in check.

This battle was the moment his entire life had been leading to, the culmination of all the pain, manipulation, and training Leo had inflicted on him.

This fight to the death was inevitable.

Everyone knew it and had been waiting for it since the day I met the Four Aces.

But knowing didn’t make it easier to accept.

I closed my eyes and let the chill of the mountain air brush over my skin, trying to steady my breathing.

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