Page 18 of Whispers of the Dragon
“She’s good,” Ryu assured him, snatching the root from his clammy little hand before Eira could take it. “This is it?” Ryu asked, holding up the pathetic root before throwing it down on the cart. “I think it might be more beneficial if you gave Eiraseveralbig roots at a time.”
A stunned Kenji took several moments to gather himself. “S-sure.”
Eira, who was in just as much shock, watched as Kenji fumbled to wrap a few newer and larger roots together while he attempted to make small talk with Ryu.
“I’m sorry. I don’t think we met. Who—”
“Ryu,” was the only information he offered to give, and Kenji took the hint.
“H-how’s this?”
“Well, it’s a start,” he said, satisfied enough before placing some money down on the cart. Then he dropped the bundle into Eira’s tote.
Kenji shook his head. “That’s okay. It’s always on the house for Eira.”
He didn’t bother picking the money back up. “In my village, men aren’t allowed to give single women gifts unless they’re betrothed.”
“Ryu,” Eira nervously stepped in. “Kenji’s just being nice.”
He didn’t dare take his eyes off the cart owner as he made himself clear, “Eira will no longer accept gifts from you or any other man in this village moving forward. If you dare to offer her another gift, either in or out of my presence, your family will find your body buried next to your roots.”
What the—
Wishing the ground would swallow her whole, she didn’t know whether to follow behind Ryu as he started walking away, apologize profusely to Kenji, or simply run in the other direction.
However, when Kenji got out from behind his cart, he approached her. “Eira, are you okay?”
Her instincts had her backing up right as he reached out to touch her.
“I don’t think you should be going anywhere with him—”
Suddenly, before Kenji could finish his sentence, he was grabbed by the back of his shirt, spun around, and his face met Ryu’s fist.
“Ryu!” Eira screamed.
She swore she saw him rear his fist back again, but her shrill must’ve stopped him.
With Ryu stomping off and everyone around rushing over, she contemplated what to do.
As she studied poor Kenji on the ground, holding his bloody nose, she figured he lookedokay-ish?Well, okay considering the punch he took.
“Sorry, Kenji,” she apologized quickly then made it out of there before she was completely surrounded. There were going to be plenty of people to help him, and she knew he would be all right.Right?Well, she hoped he would and that he would somehow forgive her in the future.
Trying to desperately catch up, she yelled out his name for him to stop. “Ryu!”
“Eira, I need a minute!” he yelled back over his shoulder, showing no signs of stopping.
It was only getting harder and harder for her to catch up to him, so much so she actually lost him. When she reached the house, she instinctively knew he hadn’t entered. Instead, she realized exactly where he must’ve gone. So, she dropped her tote by the front door before climbing the mountain as fast as she could. She had no signs he had actually gone this way until she finally reached the top of the cliff where they had first met. There, Ryu stood at the very edge, taking several deep breaths.
Eira stayed several feet away, just staring at his back. “You didn’t need to do that to him. He’s harmless.”
“Yeah, right,” he scoffed, still staring out at the ocean.
“Kenji is nice, and you’re just being jealous.”
Ryu spun on his heels and, in what seemed like a single stride, he closed the distance between them, forcing her to face his fury. “He’s playing you, Eira. That man is neither nice nor harmless. He knows exactly what he’s fucking doing!”
Unafraid, she practically laughed in his face at the thought of someone thinking of Kenji like that. “What …? By giving me a free root every few days? Yeah, he’s a mastermind.”
