A Wrath of Sparrows by Jacquelyn Benson

Author:Jacquelyn Benson [Benson, Jacquelyn]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jacquelyn Benson
Published: 2021-05-15T01:35:18+00:00

FIVE

THE SILENCE HELD FOR the space of a breath after the shock of Lily’s announcement. It broke with a roar.

The men and women filling the seats of the theater knew they had just been promised a show. They leapt from their seats, cheering like spectators at a Roman circus—all but three of them.

Jack Cannon regarded Lily with bemused surprise as though some part of him were pleased to learn he could still be taken off guard.

Behind Cannon, Zhao Min raised a dark eyebrow.

Sam Wu glared down at her with absolute fury.

The palpable force of his rage took her breath away.

Lily had known it must come to this. She had stolen his plan, robbed him of his chance for vengeance. He trusted her and she had turned that on him in what must inevitably feel like a betrayal.

The truth of that tore her apart, but to refuse would condemn him to far worse.

Her onmyōdō gave her no choice. Lily had asked for it and her strange power had answered in a way that was undeniable.

She had to fight Cannon, even if it cost her Sam.

Even if it meant risking her life.

Lily had overcome thugs in the street before. This would be different. Cannon might underestimate her for a moment or two, but he would very quickly recognize that he must treat Lily the same as any other genuine opponent he had faced in his life.

She was quite certain he had faced many of them.

Sam stepped closer, his voice a cawing whisper in her ear.

“This was my fight,” he rasped, the rage seeping off of him.

“Not anymore,” she replied.

“He’s going to flog you,” Sam promised. “He has you by three inches and three stone, and he ain’t some windbag. He will whip you, Lily, and when he does, he’s going to make you pay for it.”

Lily turned to him, refusing to be bowed by his anger.

“Look around you. Look at the uniforms, Sam. There’s a military police sergeant in the box watching every move you make. The minute you swing a fist they’ll be on you. You’ll be discharged, with nothing left for you but Cannon. He was on to you. This whole thing is a trap. You never stood a chance.”

He hated it—every word that came out of her mouth. It added fuel to his fury, turning it to something deeper and wilder, more indiscriminate in its target. It flared out of him, electrifying the atmosphere—all his pent-up rage at Cannon, at Robert Ash. At this world that kept twisting his life into knots.

The force of it broke Lily’s heart.

There was no time to do anything about it. The familiar weight of her staff was a beacon in her hand, calling her forward. Following it, Lily turned from Sam and stepped out onto the stage.

Cannon hadn’t yet spoken. His gaze shifted from surprise to a careful measuring. Lily knew he was making his own attempt to see the future, assessing what he could best gain from this unexpected opportunity that had presented itself.

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