Chapter 20 The Hidden Island
Chapter twenty
The Hidden Island
Kenji
An hour later, the helicopter’s blades cut through the air, carrying us away from the main island and toward a smaller piece of paradise I'd kept hidden for years.
Nyomi sat beside me, her hand in mine, her eyes wide as she took in the view through the window.
The helicopter's cabin hummed with mechanical rhythm—a low throb that vibrated through the seats and into our bones. It was loud enough that we'd had to lean close to speak, intimate enough that her breath warmed my neck when she turned to ask questions.
The air inside carried the faint smell of aviation fuel mixed with her scent—black amber and ripe plum cutting through everything else.
She'd changed into island clothes before we left—a loose linen dress in cream that fell just above her knees, the fabric so light it shifted with every breath. Underneath, I could see the thin straps of her swimsuit at her shoulders, burnt orange against her skin. Her braids framed her face.
I'd dressed similarly casual—white linen shirt with the sleeves rolled to my elbows, lightweight khaki pants, and my own swim trunks underneath.
No tie.
No cufflinks.
No dragon armor.
The ocean stretched below us, impossibly blue, dotted with small islands like emeralds scattered across silk.
"Where are we going?" she asked over the noise of the rotors.
"Somewhere safe." I brought her hand to my lips and then placed it in my lap, holding it firmly. "Somewhere the spy can't reach us."
Understanding dawned in her eyes, followed by tenderness.
I needed this.
Needed her away from the main island, away from whoever was feeding information to my father. The guards following us in a second helicopter were the most trusted of my security team—men who would die before they let harm come to my Tiger.
But more than safety, I needed time with her.
More uninterrupted time.
Time that wasn't about war, strategy, or death.
Just... her.
As she watched the view, I studied her. Those thick, soft braids framed her beauty without taming it. Each one shimmered from the oil she’d used. The faint smells of honey and citrus lingered in the air of the cabin and mixed with her already intoxicating scent of ripe plum and black amber.
When the wind from the vents lifted a few of the braids, brushing along her collarbone, I felt a strange pride rise in me.
Honestly, the other reason I took her away from the main island was because I didn’t want to share her anymore today.
Hiro had cooked with her this morning. Reo would have found some excuse to be around her as well as the Fangs and Claws.
They were all becoming too comfortable with her warmth, too drawn to her light.
My main guards, too.
After she fed them her damned banana bread, they’d looked at her like starving wolves who’d just tasted something holy. The scent of sugar and butter still haunted my corridors. It served as a bittersweet reminder that she’d fed men who should never dare to crave anything that belonged to me.
That was the problem with having a Tiger in the Dragon’s den—everyone wanted to pet her stripes.
So I did what any dragon would do.
I took my treasure and fled the world.
If I’d owned an empty volcano like Korin and his brother, I would’ve flown there with her—hidden her deep inside the molten heart of it, kept her safe where no human eyes could find her.
But all I had was this secret island, a smaller paradise.
It would have to be enough.
“This is so breathtaking.” Nyomi rested her head against my shoulder. The simple weight of her calmed the inferno roaring under my ribs.
I closed my eyes and inhaled her scent—black amber and plum.
All fucking mine.
Hiro had shared her laughter. Reo had shared her food. My guards had even tasted her kindness.
But none of them would have this.
Not the sound she made when she sighed into my palm.
Not the way her warmth melted against me when I kissed the inside of her wrist.
Not the part of her that reached into the darkness of me and stayed there.
Now we were suspended between worlds—the main island behind us where everyone wanted a piece of her, and my hidden sanctuary ahead where I planned to keep her all to myself for as long as the war would allow.
The helicopter dipped lower, and wind buffeted the cabin.
Through the window, I caught sight of the smaller island—my hoard’s hiding place.
The small, private beach curved in a crescent of bleach white sand. Dense forest rose beyond it, and at the center stood the elegant pavilion I had built years ago, a structure of black glass and stone.
Staff moved with quiet efficiency, finishing up preparations.
But my eyes caught on three figures standing apart from the others.
Oh no.
Three women in deep garnet uniforms, positioned near the base of the stone steps. Even from this height, I could see them clearly—Yuki with her hair in that perfect knot, Mami with her hands clasped at her waist, and Hina, the youngest, who couldn't quite contain her smile.
There, they stood with perfect posture.
Reo sent them here? Why? I hadn’t planned on having my Tiger meet them just yet.
As I stifled a sigh, I felt Nyomi shift beside me.
I glanced at my Tiger and found her staring down at Yuki, Mami, and Hina too. Her expression was calm, but I was learning her well enough now to read the subtle tension in her jaw and the way her thumb had stopped tracing circles on my palm.
Other servants moved around the property—men in black uniforms carrying supplies, women arranging flowers near the pavilion—but Nyomi's gaze never wavered from those three figures in garnet.
She turned to me. "Who are the women over there?"
"Those are my Scales."
“Just Scales?”
“Yes.”
Her eyes flicked back to the window, studying them as we descended further. "They look super excited to see you."
I found that fascinating, being that we were still pretty high up in the air. The helicopter banked slightly, giving us a better view, but the women below were barely more than elegant silhouettes against the white sand.
"Super excited? Tora, you can see that from here?"
"Maybe. . ." Her voice was soft, thoughtful. "Or perhaps it's just that women have a certain instinct about when other women are a little more eager to see the man that they're falling for."
"Falling for?"
"Yes." She met my gaze directly, no challenge in her eyes, just honesty.
I brought her hand to my lips again, kissing her knuckles slowly. "You've already fallen, Tora."
A smile ghosted across her lips, but it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Who are those women, Kenji? They’re not just Scales."
Her words hung in the air between us, heavy and laced with an unnamed tension.
A rush of protectiveness washed over me.
I could almost see the gears turning in her head, fitting the pieces together. Those words revealed the depth of her intuition.
She will definitely find the spy tomorrow.
The helicopter touched down with barely a shudder.
I looked back outside.
Reo, why did you send them to the island? Nyomi didn’t need to meet them now.
Through the window, I could see my three Scales waiting, their faces now visible.
Yuki's smile was restrained but warm. Mami's eyes were bright with something I recognized—relief that I'd arrived safely.
And Hina, brave little Hina, looked like she might burst from joy and start bouncing around with giddiness.
The rotors began to slow, and in that moment of relative quiet, I turned back to Nyomi. "Their names are Yuki, Mami, and Hina. They're my personal Scales. Attendants who have served me since they were girls and I was a boy."
Nyomi's expression didn't change, but I felt her pulse quicken beneath my fingers where I held her wrist. “They served you when you all were kids?”
"My father chose them when I was young. Hand-selected them from families loyal to ours." I kept my voice even, factual. "He had them trained in obedience, elegance, and devotion. He called them my little handmaidens."
She raised her eyebrows.
"He intended them to eventually take my virginity," I continued, refusing to soften the truth. "That was their purpose in his eyes. They were chosen to serve me in every way."
Nyomi's jaw tightened, but she didn't look away.
"But my mother—" I paused, remembering her gentle hands brushing through my hair and her quiet wisdom.
"My mother taught me something different.
She told me that power means nothing if no one chooses to stay.
That if I gave them freedom, they would serve me not because they were bound, but because they wanted to. "
The helicopter's rotors had stopped now, but neither of us moved.
"So, at a young age. . .I gave them private quarters. Free time. Autonomy. Choices, not order." I brushed my thumb across Nyomi's cheekbone. "I made sure they had access to books, language tutors, music, and theater. Basically, anything my mother whispered in my ear to do for them, I did it."
"And you never. . .had sex with them?"
"I’ve never touched them and have no intention of it. If anything, I see them more as sisters."
Nyomi's shoulders relaxed, just slightly. “But. . .do they want you to touch them?”
"They belong to me in the way that everything in my world belongs to me.”
“Meaning?”
“They're protected. Treasured. If anyone dared harm a strand of their hair without my permission, I wouldn't just hunt that man, I would erase his bloodline."
Nyomi's eyes widened at the casual violence in my tone.
"But they're free to leave whenever they want," I added. "Free to choose lovers whenever they wish, with their consent and my approval, of course.”
“Why your approval?”
“They know too much about me to fall in love with one of my enemies.”
She put her gaze back on them. “They’re in love with you.”
"I don't think so."
"I do." Her voice was certain, no hesitation.
I followed her gaze back to the three figures below. Yuki's composed mask. Mami's nervous hands. Hina's devastating smile.
Had I been blind?