“Yeah. I jokingly call them The Silent Ones. They blend in. Staff, gardeners, vendors. Some stay in the hidden wings. Some choose the shadows. They serve him without ever being invited. They answer to no one except his mother’s last wishes to protect him.”
I brought my mind back to the present moment and took the old woman in.
She’s a part of Kenji’s mother’s family? She’s one of the Silent Ones and Yoichi is too.
Shivering, I considered their debate about the Burial Ritual. “W-what else can we do to give Kenji an advantage?”
Yoichi let out a long breath. “You don’t need to—”
“Aww, Tora. I’m glad you asked. Don’t listen to him.” The old woman smiled. “Tell me something.”
I swallowed.
“Are you ready to bleed for your Dragon?”
“I am.”
“And are you ready to lose something that is very precious to you?”
I peered at her. “What would that be?”
“The little tiger.”
“Excuse me?”
Yoichi sighed. “She doesn’t even know she is pregnant.”
The old woman gave me a sad smile. “But you know now.”
My bottom lip quivered as I placed my hand on my stomach. “I’m pregnant?”
“You are. Very new. Barely there. No heartbeat, but the animal spirit hovers over you, waiting for that heartbeat to come. It’s a little tiger spirit.”
I had difficulty gathering myself.
Yoichi blew out a long breath. “Give her time to process.”
“We don’t have time, old man.”
Yoichi growled again.
She turned back to me. “Sacrificing that little tiger will boost the Dragon’s control and cut all the time of the Burial Ritual. The little tiger's life force will become his, woven into his spirit beast.”
“And. . .what will happen to our baby?”
“Your child will die, but she will live inside the Dragon, merging with his power.”
“She?”
“Yes. She.” The Death Guardian gave me a sad smile. “This spell calls for an ancient bargain. A massive sacrifice.”
I looked down at my hand on my stomach.
“You sacrifice the child to save the man.”
I turned to her.
Her gaze went wild. “If the Dragon loses, the Fox wins, and the Fox will take Kenji alive and capture this island. The Fox willtake your child anyway, but not as a spirit-gift. He’ll keep you alive just so you can have that little girl. And when she is birthed, well. . .she will live a small, broken life in captivity.”
