Wolf Lies (Rocky Mountain Pack Book 2) by Lucia Ashta

Author:Lucia Ashta [Ashta, Lucia]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2021-10-19T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

CASSIA

The immortal sensed the fear coating the inside of the throne room, imagined it dripping down the jade-lined walls like condensation, and relaxed. The many humans and newly turned vampires standing along the walls bled the emotion.

She’d last killed a master vampire of Shèng Shān Monastery nearly five hundred years before, but she assumed the story of how quickly and brutally she’d devastated him endured. She’d made a point of making the man’s death gory and bloody for just this purpose.

Then, Ji-Hun had been an apprentice to one of the seven masters. He, like everyone else on the mountain, was raised under the strict and demanding tutelage of the Shèng Shān warrior monks. He would have been required to practice their martial arts, for which the monks were well known, every day of his life since his training began. And Cassia had seen toddlers being guided through basic strength and balance building exercises. The warrior monks had no use for coddling.

There wasn’t much Cassia envied about the rigid and inflexible lifestyle of the monks, but she’d be a fool to underestimate their prowess or devotion.

She eyed Grand Master Ji-Hun as he descended from the dais that elevated his throne, more pompous than it had been during her last visit. Ornate and intricately carved dragons wove across the frame of his throne, their eyes a jade so bright that they resembled polished emeralds.

Though his posture was regal as befitted a self-aggrandized vampire, and his dark eyes studied her with unwavering intensity, he was frightened of her. She could tell. This truth was in the barely noticeable rigidity of his movements, the way his usual gliding grace hitched when he took the step down.

Molto bene, Cassia thought.

She traded in fear.

She relied on it to keep her alive.

Yes, she was a formidable opponent, of that there could be no doubt. Her father, despite his abundance of shortcomings, had seen that she learned to defend herself with blade and spear, and with the strength of her own body. He’d hired men skilled in the arts of battle to teach her how to compensate for her disadvantage in size and use her opponent’s greater weight against them. She was strong and agile and wickedly fast. Plus, she knew her way around practically every weapon ever invented. Just because she’d had to kill her father didn’t mean she rejected all that he’d taught her.

She kept up her training.

But she didn’t practice from sunrise to sunset, every day of her entire life as the monks did. She didn’t devote her every waking moment to thoughts of her advancement, both in body and spirit. What would be the point of living an eternal life if that’s how she was going to squander it away?

As Ji-Hun sized her up, she returned the favor, doing nothing to hide her blatant scrutiny. The man was lean and wiry, and she’d seen him fight before; he’d already been impressive centuries ago.

And vampires didn’t age or otherwise decline. He’d be stronger than ever before.

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