Emperor of Rage: Chapter 29

A low, tense hum reverberates through my bones as I hold Freya close, her body trembling in my arms in the shadow of a massive drainpipe by the side of the road.

The sun is just about down. Until then, I’m keeping her here.

Safe.

I feel her heartbeat, her chest rising and falling against mine. It’s too rapid. Her breath is shallow, her body still trembling from the crash, and no matter how tightly I hold her, it feels I’m seconds away from losing her.

“You found me,” she whispers, her voice weak and breathy, her eyes glazed over in exhaustion and pain. Her hands got the worst of it when she went over the guardrail. The backs of them are red and raised with angry burns, as are a few places on her legs and by her shoulder where the branches tore at her clothes before she could scramble under the tree and cover herself.

I grit my teeth, pulling her tighter. I can’t say anything—can’t form words that would even come close to expressing how I feel inside.

I could have lost her.

The thought sits like a leaden weight in my gut, a cold knife twisting deeper with every fragile beat of her heart.

I could have lost her.

The feeling is unfamiliar. I hate it. I’m not built for vulnerability, not supposed to care this much. Yet here I am, clutching her like a lifeline, terrified that if I let go, the world will swallow her whole.

“Mal,” she murmurs, her fingers weakly clutching at my shirt. Her lips twist into a wry smile. “It’s okay. I’m okay.”

But she’s not. I know she’s not. Seeing her like this—hurt, broken, because I wasn’t there to protect her—makes something primal simmer inside me.

Engines roar closer, and I snap my head up, my body tensing. Three SUVs screech to a halt, kicking up dust and gravel as they come to a stop just off the road. A dozen Mori-kai soldiers pour out as Takeshi helps Hana up from the side of the road.

I force myself to let go of Freya, but not before wrapping my jacket around her shoulders, even though the sun is well below the horizon now with twilight cloaking the world. She’s still pale, still trembling, but the fire in her eyes hasn’t dimmed.

“We need to get you to a hospital,” I say, more roughly than I would have liked.

Freya shakes her head, her expression hardening with determination. “I’m not going fucking anywhere.”

“Freya—”

“I’m only going to say this once,” she snaps. “They have my best fucking friend. I am not leaving until we get her back.”

I know I won’t win this fight. Not when Freya’s looking at me like that—like she’s ready to march into Hell itself to save Annika.

“Fine,” I grind out, my voice tight. “But you’re staying close.”

We roar down the road in the direction Kenzo’s already gone, following the faint skid marks left by the attackers’ van. The narrow asphalt winds and twists through the hills in the direction of Sakamoto Castle, a major tourist spot in the hills north of Kyoto.

It’s bizarre that that’s where Leka’s taken Annika, given how overrun it is with visitors and park officials.

I grip the wheel tightly, pushing the car faster, and glance briefly in the rearview mirror to catch a glimpse of Freya. She’s in the back seat, her face pale but set with fierce determination. Her eyes are locked on the road ahead, and her burned hands clench and unclench.

Takeshi’s brow is furrowed in confusion. “Why the hell would they go this way? Sakamoto Castle’s crawling with tourists and security.”

He’s right. It makes no sense. And then it hits me—there’s only one explanation.

“Fuck me,” I mutter, pissed that I didn’t think of it earlier. “They’re not heading to the castle,” I grunt. “They’re going to the old bunker.”

Freya frowns. “I’m sorry, the what?”

“There’s an old World War Two bunker entrance not far from here,” I explain, meeting her gaze in the rearview mirror. “It’s been sealed off for years, but people still sneak in. It’s not exactly secure.” I glance at Tak. “Hell, Kenzo and I broke into it a bunch of times ourselves when we first moved here.”

Freya swallows nervously. “Why is it sealed off?”

“Aside from the random cave-ins, eighty-year-old booby traps, deliberate dead ends, unexploded munitions and, oh, the toxic air that’ll kill you if you’re in there too long?” Tak grunts next to me. “No reason.”

I shoot him a dark look that the asshole misses as Freya pales in the back seat.

“That’s where Anni is?” she says, her voice full of dread.

“Let’s find out.”

Not far ahead, I take the turnoff from the main road onto the older, gravel one that winds up to the old Imperial-era bunker system from the Second World War.

We pull up to the bunker entrance, skidding to a stop at the edge of the dense forest that surrounds the weathered, crumbling concrete entrance.

I was right: the attackers’ van is parked just outside, and Kenzo’s Porsche is nearby. Both are empty.

I jump out of the car, my heart hammering in my chest. My eyes scan the entrance, a gaping black hole in the side of the mountain, half-collapsed and barely visible in the shadows.

Takeshi moves quickly, pulling a gun out of his jacket as he approaches the entrance. Freya jumps out of the car behind me. I turn to tell her to wait here, but I never even get the words out.

“Like fuck am I staying put.”

…Okay then.

I open the trunk of the SUV and pull another gun out from the hidden compartment under the spare. Tak and I nod at each other, guns ready as we move toward the dark, gaping entrance.

Before we can take another step, a deafening explosion rips through the air. The ground shakes beneath our feet as thick smoke and dust billow out of the entrance, debris hailing down around us like a storm of ash and rock.

I yank Freya back, my body covering hers as the blast sends shockwaves through the trees. My ears ring as I shield her from the blast.

As the dust finally begins to settle, I see that maybe fifteen feet into the entrance, there’s now a massive cave-in.

Freya is screaming Annika’s name as she scrambles to her feet, calling into the darkness.

There’s no answer. Just cold, suffocating silence.