“I’m sorry. But I couldn’t deny who she was, no matter how much I wanted to.”
I look between Lin and Gaozu. “You knew who Lia was the first day she started training. You knew who and what she was before she even told me?”
Gaozu nods. “Yes, I’d often seen her fight in practice before. I knew her movements. I knew her eyes. It’s why she was placed in your team. I knew you’d see the potential in her. I also hoped you’d fall in love. I think we hit the jackpot on that one.”
“We really have been played all along,” Lia huffs. “So when I came to you with my plan you knew who I was anyway.”
“Yes, which made agreeing to what you requested of me one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I’ve known you all your life, Lia, from a distance, and to put you into harm’s way didn’t sit right with me. I had to trust you, though, and the prophecy. I hope you’ll forgive me.”
Lia falls silent. I motion for Gaozu to move so I can get closer to the woman I love, and he does without hesitation. I wrap my fingers around Lia’s hand, and lifting it up, I place it over my heart.
“The only memories we need now are the ones we create between us. The love we share, our bodies joined together.” I try not to look at Lia’s father when I say that. “What the world had planned for us has come to fruition. This is our time now, and I won’t leave your side again. I love you.”
“I love you too.” Lia raises her hand entwined with mine to her lips, and she kisses my palm. She then turns her attention back to Gaozu who’s now standing at the end of the bed.
“I forgive you. I forgive all of you. I found the true me on this journey, and that’s the best thing that could have happened. I no longer need to hide who I really am.”
“Which leads me on to another reason I’m here,” Gaozu adds, and I cock my head toward him. “You and Jaxon are free. I give you leave to go wherever you want in the world. The debts of your families are paid. In fact, all debts have been paid thanks to our victory over the Jīn Long. Your lives are your own to live as you want.”
I look down at Lia. A thrill of excitement at the opportunity to travel surges through me, but it’s mixed with sadness. I don’t want to leave the family I have.
“I’ll let Lia answer for us.” I search her eyes and know instantly she’s feeling the same as I am. Whatever connection we have between us is strong.
“Thank you.” Lia kisses my palm again before allowing me to place our hands on the bed. “We’ll not be going anywhere, though. We have one more task we want to complete. A loose end to tie up, but after that, our life will be here. It always has been and always will be. You may not need soldiers anymore, but we have plenty of skills we can teach people to help them protect themselves. I think that will be our future.”
“So you’re refusing my offer of freedom from the Yi Shu?” Gaozu looks astonished.
“Yes, we’ve always supported you and will always do so until the day we die. Just know I won’t be a silent little woman who cooks and cleans all day. I’ll be beside Jaxon the entire time. I’m his partner in everything. No questions asked.”
“I wouldn’t even dare. I’ll still need security in spite of the reduced threat. I think I know the perfect couple to be in charge of that. What do you say?”
Lia and I both look at each other.
“Hell yes. The female Chinese warrior and the blond demon forever.”
San Francisco in the winter can get cold, but Sweden at that time of year is a whole different league. I swear my feet are frozen and will fall off any minute now. It doesn’t seem to faze Jaxon, though. Maybe he has mystical abilities to deal with the cold, flowing through his blood. I no longer question anything since hearing about my father and Gaozu’s belief in and manipulation of the prophecy to free the Yi Shu.
Our world is bliss now, filled with fun and laughter, integration and respect—exactly how it’s meant to be. A few small factions did get together with old Jīn Long fighters, but we stamped them out before they had a chance to cause any real trouble. I still enjoy fighting. It gives me a thrill that has no comparison except for the time I spend in bed with Jaxon at night. We can’t get enough of each other.
After I left the hospital, my parents insisted we get married, and we didn’t protest—it felt like the natural thing to do. My mother is now on about grandchildren, but I’ve told her she needs to wait for them. I’m having too much fun being myself.
“So you touched something that’s mine, even if you didn’t rape her?” Jaxon smacks his fist into the face of the man sitting in the chair in front of us in a patch of crisp white snow.
The blond haired man is whimpering like a baby, and I want to chuckle. When I was being raped, this man, who looked so much like Jaxon, unsettled me. There’s nothing left of that man now, though.
“Actually, you touched something that’s mine, and you and your father ordered the murder of my parents—my mother was your sister,” Jaxon accuses, and shaking his head, he sends another punch flying into his uncle’s face.
We’re in the forests in the north of the country. No one will find us here. The body of his uncle won’t be discovered either by the time we’ve finished with it.
Jaxon has been working with one of his Swedish cousins to install him as the new leader of the Swedish faction once we’ve finished our job here. His cousin had initially insisted it was Jaxon’s place to lead, but my husband refused. He’s a Yi Shu and always will be. But he’s agreed to work with his cousin to ensure everyone is looked after. It seems his uncle had a similar vision of the world to the one Wang believed in—another good reason he dies today.
“My sister was a whore and as for that bitch…” The man spits my way, and crimson red mars the snow. “She loved every minute of what the other men gave her, and she begged me to take her, but I was too much of a gentleman.”
I smirk. “You’re lying. The only reason you didn’t rape me was because you guessed who I belonged, and you were too afraid. So don’t play the big man—you weren’t.”
“Liar,” he shouts.
“Jaxon, I’m getting cold. As much as you want to get revenge for your parents, I’m growing tired of this. He’s demonstrated he’s a coward—a man who’s willing to lie to save himself. He has no honor. Let’s end his sickening life.”
It’s Jaxon’s turn to laugh now. “I seriously married the perfect woman for me, don’t you think, Uncle? You killed your sister, but you couldn’t destroy the soul she gave to me. My mother will be remembered for her sacrifice and love. You’ll be forgotten, rotting here in the snow, while your successor takes over from you. A new leader who’ll look after his people.”
“You’ll never be accepted.”
Jaxon leans toward his uncle. “It won’t be me. I’m a Yi Shu. That’s where you made your biggest mistake, trying to align yourself with the Jīn Long. You chose power over truth and honor. You were wrong.”
I slide from the rock I’ve been perched on and pull my sword from where it hangs in its scabbard at my side.