UNEDITED EXCERPT
PROLOGUE
I’m cold and drenched, but I’m not moving anywhere. The rain continues to flood down, making it hard to see through the window I’m standing in front of. A drop of water lands my eye and I blink it away in annoyance only to be hit with another droplet. No matter what, I refuse to tear my gaze away from the two figures I can see inside. It’s Ryuu and his young daughter. He’s reading her a story from a book, by the fireplace. She’s sitting on his lap, dressed in a white, frilly nightgown, smiling as she points at the pages.
My mind travels back to the years I was a small child, after Ryuu supposedly found me beaten and almost unconscious on his doorstep. He never read me stories. Not like this. He never sat me down and laughed as I pulled faces. Never brushed or played with my hair and tied it into a loose braid. No. I lived out most of my childhood in a dark room with nothing but fighting equipment. I trained day and night, six days a week, while he watched and would hit me with a thin stick every time I messed up. On the seventh day, I was allowed to rest, but would have to spend the day with my head buried inside books, after all, education was still important.
I was never his daughter, I can see that now, I was taken for one purpose, to be his ultimate weapon. He knew the moment he slaughtered my family what he wanted of me, and I fell into his sticky trap. Well, not anymore.
A movement to my left distracts me and I immediately glance in the direction. It’s one of Ryuu’s guard’s, who is not quite dead.
I’d snuck through a secret entrance, only key members of the family knew about. I was one of them. The place was heavily guarded, as I anticipated, but no one quite expected me to appear through the underground passageway. I killed all of the men, well almost.
With a tiny groan, I make my way over to the barely alive man. I drag him up by the shoulders and take hold of either side of his head. With a quick, firm flick, I snap his neck. The sound of his bone snapping brings a smile to my face.
Dropping his lifeless body, I return to the window. Ryuu and his daughter are getting to their feet. He kisses her on the forehead and I watch as she skips credulously out of the room.
I reach behind me and wrap my fingers tightly around the handle of my large dagger.
It’s time to hunt.
Michelle Congdon resides in Sydney, Australia. She enjoys reading books of all sorts of genres, watching way too many movies and TV shows (and Disney cartoons), singing out aloud to her favourite tunes, and going on adventures involving food and travel. Michelle is loud, talks a lot and shares an ever-growing list of book husbands with a friend. She has an overactive imagination, and has tried to put it to good use by sharing stories with anyone willing to listen.
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