Page 46 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Which is?” Maseo prompted when she failed to elaborate.
“Claim your reward for every scar carved into your soul by your monstrous sire.”
Everything Kizoshi said left Maseo puzzled. “Why is that something you want?”
“Because vengeance is what you deserve after a lifetime of suffering. It is the only reason I have restrained myself from the ultimate temptation for these past centuries.”
“Vengeance against my father?” Maseo asked, still trying to make sense of her vague words.
“Indeed. It will beglorious.” She said it with sadistic satisfaction, which further confounded Maseo.
Maseo’s brow furrowed. “I know he hates you.”
She laughed again, a delightful sound for such a grim topic. “I take great pride in that accomplishment. I reciprocate his hatred with the fiery passion of ten thousand burning suns.”
Maseo’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Because he won’t leave Kitsuki alone?”
“Indeed. He is a blight on this world.”
Her blunt answer drew an amused snort from Maseo. “Fair.”
“All my reasons to hate your shameful disgrace of a father could march to war and never run out of soldiers. If I ever tried to count the ways he has given me to loathe him, the world would wither before I reached the end.”
“Damn, and I thought I hated him.” Maseo shook his head with a humorless laugh.
“Oh, it is more than mere hatred. If suffering had a name, it would whisper his in the wind, etch it into the marrow of the earth, and echo it in the silence between dying stars.”
Maseo stared at her in stunned silence. “If you feel that way, why have you not killed him yourself?”
“He still had a part to play. But his time is almost at an end.”
“Because of the war?” Maseo guessed.
She chuckled. “Do you believe I would ever start a war my beloved brother would not win, especially against the likes of Nasume?”
“Good point.” Maseo felt more confident about what lay ahead in their battle against Kunushi. “But if you hate my father so much, why are you being nice to me? A Power like you should hate a half-human.”
“You forget I am also half-shifter.”
He flushed at her gentle reproach.
“But to answer your question about why I bear you no ill will, you had the choice to be as evil and cruel as Nasume, Kio, and Phaedra or different.”
Maseo blanched. “You know about Phaedra?” She was both Valdrion’s younger sister and Maseo’s ex-fiancée, a childhood friend whose complicated and toxic relationship with him had soured beyond repair. He considered himself lucky to have escaped alive from her.
“All too well.”
Her response didn’t set him at ease. “That feels ominous.”
“She is the least of your troubles.” Kizoshi waved away the topic. “Nasume being aware of your continued existence despite his best efforts to kill you is far more pressing.”
“How did he find out?” Maseo asked in shock. “And why has he let me live?”
“Because he is up to more nefarious deeds right now.”
Maseo blanched at the news. “Thank you for warning me.”
“Take heart in knowing you embraced the forgiving kindness of your dear mother in the face of trauma and tragedy.” Kizoshi’s expression grew distant, as if she saw threads of fate invisible to mortal eyes. “What is given in love often carries more power than what is taken in hatred.”
