Chapter 4 The Many Faces of Power
Chapter four
The Many Faces of Power
Kenji
“Thanks.” Reo lifted his glass again.
This time, he didn’t stop at a sip.
He took a longer swallow, the kind one only took when no one was watching who might mistake it for weakness. And surely, the whiskey worked its way down, easing the tightness in his shoulders.
After Reo swallowed, he exhaled slowly through his nose.
I inclined my head once. “Take another if you want.”
With no hesitation, Reo took the second sip, smaller than the last but deeper than the first, and then he crossed the room and set the glass down on my desk.
To my surprise, he rolled his shoulder once and winced despite himself. Then he looked at me and huffed a breath that might’ve been a laugh. “I forget how heavy your fist is. It’s worse than a steel boulder.”
I didn’t smile.
But something in my chest loosened.
He was still standing.
Still sharp.
Still my Roar.
And that mattered more than anything else in the room.
I didn’t lift the glass to take my first sip.
Instead, I set it aside next to his. It wouldn’t be wise to drink before a surprise visit with the Lion. “My Tiger asked me for permission power.”
“Your Heart asked for that.”
I swallowed.
Reo leaned his head to the side. “What sort of permission power does she want?”
“When she saw the pyre, she demanded I tell her when I make choices like that—before I give the order.”
Reo went still.
Not the stillness of disapproval.
Something else.
His eyebrows lifted—just a fraction—and his gaze cut sideways, away from me, toward nothing in particular. His mouth pressed into a line that wasn't quite a frown.
For a moment, he didn't speak. Then something flickered across his face.
Brief.
Almost imperceptible.
If I didn't know him, I would have missed it entirely. But I did know him. And that flicker looked dangerously close to respect.
Of course you would like that she demanded that.
I frowned. “What?”
Reo picked up the glass. Once he had a nice gulp, he set it back down and smirked. “Your Tiger definitely has sharp teeth.”
“She does.”
“It’s too bad she is unable to use those teeth. At least not yet.”
“She’s new to this world. But the horror of this morning. . .”
“What was your answer to her demand for power?”
“I didn’t answer her.”
He widened his eyes. “You will need to answer her before the day is over.”
“Will I?”
“Yes.”
“I am the Dragon. My silence is enough.”
“And she is your Heart, Kenji. You’ll have to use words with her. Careful. Loving. Respectful words.” Reo shrugged. “That’s of course if you want the bed to be warm tonight and not cold.”
I came close to sneering, but had no one to truly be pissed at. “You think I should give her that much power over me?”
"That's not what she actually wants."
I raised my eyebrows. "Explain."
Reo didn't respond right away.
He turned toward the window, and let one hand press flat against his ribs, right over the clean shirt. The pressure was subtle, but I caught the way his fingers spread wide and tested the damage beneath the fabric.
For a few seconds, Reo stared out at the morning light.
The silence wasn't empty.
Then, Reo turned back to face me and dropped his hand from his ribs.
And I knew that the movement cost him. I saw it in the tightness around his eyes, the fraction of a second where his breath caught before he smoothed it away.
“She doesn’t want your begging for her permission, Kenji.
What she really wants is certainty of not being terrified like that again.
She wants some sense of control after all the shock. That's human."
I considered what he was saying.
"She's trying to anchor herself to something that won't move."
I didn't interrupt.
"Your Tiger woke up to a pyre of enemies that is quite normal in our life. Yet. . .for her. . .it is not normal at all. You two have only known each other for a few weeks. She’s had a jagged learning curve as you’ve taken her into war right after the second date.
And now the pyre. . .that kind of horror doesn't ask for logic. It demands the illusion of control."
“The illusion?”
“Yes.”
“But do I give her this permission?”
“What do you want to do?”
“I don’t think she can handle it. She doesn’t understand the nuances. Perhaps, many years from now I would agree to discussing some things but. . .her permission? That is not my way.”
“And you are correct. If you give her that kind of authority right now. You don't make Nyomi stronger. You ruin her."
My fingers tightened unconsciously around my own arms.
Reo shifted his weight, and for a moment his jaw flexed—pain leaking through despite his discipline.
He pushed past it. "She will become what she's trying to stop you from being, and worse.
. .you won't be able to protect her anymore.
The moment a woman gives an order of death to any of your men, the world stops seeing her as your Heart and starts seeing her as a target you can't shield. "
Those words landed heavy.
I unfolded my arms. “Yet, you see her as my queen.”
“I do.” He nodded. “A queen influences the king. She doesn’t swing the blade. And. . .permission is not partnership."
Hmmm.
Reo continued. "Asking her before you act doesn't make you equals. It makes you smaller. And it puts a larger crown on her head that any enemy can knock off."
I exhaled slowly.
He was right.
I hated that he was right.
"There's something else," Reo said.
I looked up.
"Nyomi's value—the thing that makes her yours—is that she's still clean." He held my gaze without flinching. "If she carries the weight of death, she loses the thing that steadies you. You'll have nothing left to come home to that doesn't smell like blood."
The dragon stirred in my chest.
Not in anger.
In recognition.
Against all logic, I picked up that damn glass of whiskey and took a small sip, needing it now more than ever. The liquid hit hard and slipped down my throat.
"She's still learning." Reo shrugged. "You don't hand someone fire while they're still learning how to stand near the heat."
Silence stretched between us.
I set the glass down, pushed off the desk, and walked to the window.
Outside, the morning sun cut sharp lines through the fog and ash that had come from the pyre. And somewhere along this island, the Lion was waiting.
I didn’t turn around as I spoke, "I hit you, because after my Tiger saw that pyre. . .she didn’t want me to touch her."
I had more to say to him, but that was all I could manage.
I heard Reo shift behind me. The soft creak of the chair as he finally lowered himself into it—an admission of pain he wouldn't have made if anyone else were watching. "I knew it had to be something like that."
I turned.
He sat with his elbows on his knees, glass loose in one hand. His posture was relaxed, but his eyes were steady.
No judgment.
No resentment.
Just the truth, laid flat between us.
I frowned. "The hit to your ribs. . .it won't happen again."
“It will if I test your Tiger again.”
“But you won’t be testing my Tiger anymore.”
Reo didn’t respond. Instead, he studied me for a long moment. Then, he lifted the glass and finished the whiskey.
Aww. So, you think you have more tests for my Tiger? But do you have enough ribs?
I smirked.
And how can you still be so smug, even through all that pain?
Reo rose from the chair and put the empty glass on my desk. "She's strong, Kenji."
“I know.”
"Stronger than you give her credit for. The fact that she's in the kitchen right now, preparing for a party, making sure morale stays high. . ." He shook his head slightly. "That's not a woman who's breaking. That's a woman who's choosing to rise. Perhaps, there is a solution there."
“What solution?”
“Give her power over our people’s morale. She’s already taken that job anyway.”
The words landed somewhere soft. Somewhere I didn't let many things touch. I looked away before he could see what they'd done to me.
“And you can figure out other ways, Kenji. Nyomi’s power is more in the realm of moral, emotional, and stabilizing but. . .not executive. Not in our world of blood and death.”
Reo's suggestion seemed logical. It was a part of the hierarchy my Tiger could naturally fit into, her strength as a woman being utilized to bring unity among the men and women who called me their Dragon.
Power, it seemed, had many faces, and some were not drenched in blood.
“Either way, Kenji. You must give her an answer today.”
I let out a long breath and left the window. “I’ll think of something to say to her later, but for now. . .let’s go. We have the fucking Lion to deal with. Where is he anyway?”
“Right next to the pyre.”
“What?”
"The Lion looked at the pyre and said, ‘A barbecue? Delicious. I want to get a closer look.’”
“Of course he would.”
Reo adjusted his jacket one final time, hiding the damage beneath layers of fabric and discipline. When he looked up again, his expression had shifted—back to the Roar, back to the strategist, back to the man who would walk into a room full of enemies at my side without hesitation.
I moved toward the door.
Reo fell into step beside me, and despite the bruises blooming beneath his shirt, his stride was steady. Measured. The kind of walk that told anyone watching he had nothing to prove and nothing to fear.
I opened the door.
The Fangs were waiting.
Kaoru and Yoichi straightened immediately, eyes snapping to my face, reading my expression.
Rin materialized from wherever he'd been standing—silent, white suit pristine against the dark wood of the corridor.
Satoshi was last, pushing off the wall with a controlled exhale. His gaze went over Reo once, before settling back on me.
You see, Satoshi? I didn’t hurt your friend.
We moved as a unit down the corridor without footsteps falling into rhythm against the polished floors. The mansion felt different now—quieter, heavier, as if the walls themselves understood what waited outside.