Free Crouching Tiger, Forbidden Vampire (Love at Stake) by Kerrelyn Sparks Page B

might know where the tigers live.
    Find them, I urge the owl. Find Norjee. He can talk to you. I am being held in an underground camp. I know not where it is. I will call the birds that live close by so they can tell you where I am located.
    The owl rustles its wings. It has been boring since everyone left. I am proud to be of service again.
    Thank you, I tell the bird as it flies away.
    “Let’s go home.” Han grabs my arm. “I hope you learned your lesson, that you can trust me.”
    I nod my head, my shoulders slumped as if I have surrendered. But inside I am filled with hope. I will escape. I am dragon.
    And I am not alone.

 
    Chapter Six
    T he following day, Jia initiated Plan D. Since she was finding it too difficult to escape the guards, she would convince her cousin to call them off. She spent the day in the palace, playing the role of the delighted bride-to-be. For hours, she worked in the kitchen, helping the cooks, pestering them with questions, and practicing elaborate dishes to impress the prince. Then she brought the red and gold silk, neatly folded, to the court seamstresses and asked for their assistance in making the most beautiful wedding gown ever.
    The women twittered with excitement as they discussed different patterns and headpieces. Jia pretended to be enthralled by it all, and soon, the whole of Tiger Town was gossiping about her betrothed’s upcoming visit. When the next gift arrived by courier, everyone gathered around to see what the prince had sent her. A lovely pearl necklace. Jia ended up having to put it on for everyone to see. All the villagers agreed that the prince would fall madly in love with their princess the second he saw her.
    Jia endured all the talk with a plastered smile on her face. She could barely eat a bite all day, but the court ladies interpreted that as wedding jitters. In truth, the prospect of marriage to a total stranger was making her stomach churn. And the repercussions if she turned him down were making her head ache.
    Back in her room, she took the necklace off. Her mission remained unchanged. Escape, find, and destroy Han. Finding and killing Han would be a challenge, but the escape part would be easy if Rajiv called off the guards.
    Unfortunately by that evening, the guards were still there. After dinner, Tenzen and Rinzen taught a martial arts class in the courtyard, so Jia decided to join them. The class was mixed gender now, but when Jia had begun the class at the age of eight, she’d been the only female. Her grandfather had allowed it, thinking the physical activity and focus would help her recover from her grief. He hadn’t realized she’d started formulating her plan for revenge.
    Her uncles considered her more of an assistant now than a student, so she helped them. Anything to convince Rajiv that she was so content with her life right now that she no longer planned to escape.
    There was one new student whom she enjoyed teaching, a seven-year-old mortal named Norjee. She could relate to the boy, since, like her, he’d witnessed death and destruction at a young age. He’d been adopted by his aunt Neona, one of the warrior women of Beyul-La, and her new husband, Zoltan. The family was living here in Tiger Town, since Beyul-La had been destroyed.
    According to Neona, Norjee felt responsible for the kidnapping of his dragon friend, Xiao Fang. Since Norjee had inherited the gift of communicating with winged creatures, he and Xiao Fang had become close, calling each other brother. Norjee’s guilt rested heavily on his young shoulders, making him fiercely determined to master martial arts so he could help rescue his friend. Jia assured him that Xiao Fang had looked healthy when she’d seen him two nights ago. Even though she gave Norjee an encouraging smile, inside she also nursed some guilt. Because of her failure to kill Han, the dragon boy was still captive.
    Even more reason she had to succeed. She glanced over her shoulder to see if the guards were