Page 123 of Lord of the Lone Wolf
“Which part of that revelation should shock me more?” Kisano asked, his scholarly mind reeling at the implications. “That you defeated soulvores with Auslin’s magic or that someone has the power to breach the barriers between realms and steal souls from the Beyond?”
“The important thing is we defeated them, although Kizoshi warned Ishibiya escaped. I fear the battle with him is far from over.”
Troubled lines creased Kisano’s forehead. “But Nasume is gone for good?”
“As far as I know. She has not implied otherwise, and you know our sister would not hesitate to warn us if he posed a continued threat.”
Kisano nodded, finding some comfort in that certainty. The thought of Nasume’s cruelty continuing to poison the world had weighed on his conscience, knowing that innocent people suffered while he remained safe in his library.
“There is something else that happened,” Kitsuki added. “Ishibiya summoned our father from the Everlight Vale as a lichen.”
Kisano gripped the table, his knuckles turning white against the dark wood. “Father? But how could you be certain it was him?”
“He maintained his consciousness and could speak,” Kitsuki explained. “He knew things only our father would know. His manner of speech, his memories, and his critique of my fighting stance. It was unmistakably him.”
Kisano’s mind struggled to process the information. The idea of their father’s soul being violated to serve as a weapon against his own children was too horrible to contemplate. “What did he say?”
The hesitation in Kitsuki’s voice softened. “He said that our mothers were well and had found harmonious peace with each other once Mitsuki and Nevris were banished to Blightmare Vale.”
“I can only imagine what those two did to face such harsh consequences,” Kisano said. They had both been sources of pain and conflict before their deaths, so it was unsurprising to hear their behavior in the afterlife had been no better.
“Father praised me as a ruler,” Kitsuki continued. “It surprised me since I assumed a warlord like him would disapprove of my peaceful reign.”
“I am glad to hear that the Beyond Realm seems to have mellowed him,” Kisano replied. Their father had been a complicated figure in life, demanding and often harsh in his expectations. It comforted Kisano to know death had brought their father wisdom and peace after a lifetime of fighting.
“He also gave you a gift.”
Kisano blinked in confusion. “For me?”
“He said he wanted to show you the affection he never should have withheld from you while he was alive.”
In all his centuries of life, Kisano could count on one hand the number of times their father had shown him direct affection or approval and have fingers left over. Tatsuki had been a king who valued strength and decisive action, qualities that had never come naturally to his scholarly son. It was only after Auslin had changed Tatsuki’s mind as Vanra that his father had paid him any attention.
Kitsuki reached into the air, his magic shimmering as he summoned something from his private storage. A book materialized in his hands, unlike anything Kisano had ever seen. The leather binding had a metallic purple sheen that seemed to shift and change in the light, revealing intricate markings that contained too much meaning for mortal eyes to comprehend.
With trembling hands, Kisano accepted it from his brother. The moment his fingers touched it, he felt a surge of power unlike anything in his vast collection. “I do not understand.”
“Father said you deserved to have the greatest library in all of Talwyn,” Kitsuki explained. “This is the only Beyond Realm text in the Living Realm, which makes your collection superior to all others.”
Kisano was too stunned to speak. Tears gathered in his eyes as he opened the book, turning the pages with the reverence of someone handling a sacred relic. The illustrations seemed to glow with an inner light, and the text appeared to shift andchange as he watched, revealing layers of meaning that his mortal mind couldn’t grasp.
Each page was a work of art beyond anything he had encountered in centuries of collecting. The knowledge contained within was vast and complex, touching on subjects he had only dreamed of studying.
“Father is proud of you,” Kitsuki added. “And not only because your dragon has emerged. He asked me to pass along his regrets for not recognizing your brilliance sooner.”
Tears welled in Kisano’s eyes, but he fought them back to avoid staining the beautiful book. “I cannot believe he would do something so meaningful for me. All those years, I thought he saw me as a disappointment.”
“His sincerity was unmistakable,” Kitsuki assured him. “He spoke of his regret for not realizing your worth until it was too late. It seems death gave him the perspective he lacked in life.”
Kisano closed the book, his fingers tracing the strange symbols on the cover. “So much has changed. Father’s approval, my dragon emerging, Sephen’s presence here. Sometimes I feel as though I am living in a dream.”
“Speaking of change,” Kitsuki said, his tone shifting to something more formal, “there is a matter I wish to discuss with you. I want you to be the new king of Kunushi.”
Kisano shook his head. “No. Absolutely not. No one wants an incompetent dragon to rule a wolf shifter kingdom.”
“That book you hold is proof that even Father believes in your ability,” Kitsuki countered. “You are what those poor people need to heal after Nasume’s abuse.”
“I have never left Tiora, let alone Valzerna,” Kisano protested in a panic. “Going to Norello is impossible. I cannot rule a kingdom when I cannot leave my library.”
