With a snort, she added the four knives to her collection. The vampire had made a mistake not searching her for more weapons, although the thought of his hands roaming up her legs made her pause. Such strong hands. She only had to close her eyes to remember his rock-hard chest against her back, the scrape of his whiskers along her cheek, and the bold way he had stared into her eyes. What an intense, exciting . . .
“Bastard.” It didn’t matter how strong or handsome he was. He’d betrayed her. And then he’d turned away from her like he didn’t care. The cold, heartless worm. He was definitely not one of the good Vamps.
She hurried over to the delicate folding screen that partitioned off the section of the room she used for her bedroom. A gift from her grandfather, the screen was comprised of squares that each showed a different landscape painting. She folded it to the side to make the back wall visible. A length of white silk was rolled up like a shade near the ceiling. She untied the cord, and with a whoosh, the silk unfurled down the wall. The outline of a man had been painted in black on the white silk. She planted a few books along the hem to keep the silk banner stretched taut against the wooden wall.
After a quick run back to her stash of knives, she grabbed one and twisted toward the silk banner, letting the knife fly. Thunk. A direct hit to the man’s heart.
“Try to stop me again, vampire, and this one will be for you.” She hurled another knife, and it lodged in the man’s head.
She winced. Not his handsome face. With a groan, she turned away from the silk banner. His name was Russell. The best tracker in the world. Don’t think about him. But what if he was searching for Han right now? What if he found Han and killed him, stealing the vengeance she’d promised her family? How could she live with herself if she failed the mission she’d spent thirteen years preparing for?
Dammit, he needed to let her work with him. It didn’t matter if he was a cold, heartless worm of a vampire, not when he represented her best chance at actually completing her mission. And surviving it.
She shuddered as the memory of tonight’s fiasco flooded her mind. Not only had she failed to kill Han but she’d also panicked when the soldiers had come after her. Never had she experienced so many men intent on killing her. And how could she blame them? She’d killed two of them.
Her knees buckled, and she collapsed on the floor next to the trunk. For more than half of her life she’d dreamed of avenging her family. In her mind she’d always envisioned it as a lofty, noble quest and imagined herself a noble warrior.
But because of her, two men had died. They had families.
Tears stung her eyes. I had family, too! She reached into the trunk for the red silk bag that held her most prized possession. Carefully she removed the two ornate, cufflike bracelets made of hammered gold and decorated with inlaid jade. Her father had given them to her mother as a wedding present. They were all she had left of her parents.
Taking a deep breath, she clasped the bracelets onto her wrists. “I will avenge you, I promise.” She would kill Han. Even if he had a hundred soldiers guarding him, she would plow right through them. Nothing would stop her.
Not even Russell.
A knock sounded at her door, and she leaped to her feet.
“Jia!” Rajiv called out. “Can we talk a moment?”
“Just a second!” She grabbed the knives and jammed them into the chest, hurriedly throwing a half-finished embroidery project on top, then closing the lid. She ran to the screen and stretched it out across the room to cover up the silk banner she’d used for target practice.
She unbolted the door and cracked it. “Yes?”
Rajiv pushed the door open and entered. “We didn’t get a chance to talk earlier. And I thought you might be hungry.”
She was starving. For the last few days her rations had been a pouch of dried beef, nuts, and berries. Her mouth watered as she watched a maidservant enter, carrying a tray of rice, soup, and fresh steamed buns. Another servant brought a tray containing a teapot and two small porcelain cups.
The servants set the trays on a low table, then bowed.
“Thank you,” Rajiv told the women. “Could you light the candles, please? And bring the gifts that came today.”
“Yes, Your Eminence,” the women murmured and left.
“Gifts?” Jia asked.
“I’ll explain later.” Rajiv looked her over. “Are you all right? Did any harm come to you?”
“I’m fine.”
He frowned at her. “Do I have to tell you how much you frightened us? And how angry I am that you disobeyed—” He halted when one of the servants returned with a lantern and long narrow stick.
Jia was grateful her cousin wasn’t going to reprimand her in front of a servant, but even so, it irked her that she should be in trouble at all. If a male were-tiger had taken off like she had to accomplish a dangerous mission, he would have been commended for his bravery.
“Let’s have some tea.” She sat cross-legged on one side of the low table and poured tea into the two small cups. She held one out to her cousin. “Please enjoy.”
Rajiv sat and took a sip, remaining silent as the servant went about the room, using the long stick to light all four candles. “Thank you.” He nodded at the servant as she bowed and left.
The guards outside closed the door.
“How long will I have guards?” Jia asked.
“That’s up to you.” Rajiv gave her an annoyed look. “How long will you persist in this foolish notion that you can single-handedly avenge your family?”
Jia dug her spoon into the bowl of rice. “My parents and brother deserve to be avenged.”
“I’m not arguing that.” Rajiv refilled his cup with tea. “They’re my family, too. And I understand how you feel. Lord Qing killed my parents—”
“And you got your vengeance. I helped you, remember?” Jia stuffed some rice into her mouth. “If you don’t want me doing this on my own, then help me!”
Rajiv sighed. “I promised Grandfather I would keep you safe.”
“I have nine lives. I’m prepared to lose a few to see justice done.”
“Are you?” Rajiv gave her a wry look. “Just because we can come back from eight deaths, it doesn’t make each of those deaths less painful. I know this from experience.”
Jia winced. No doubt Rajiv was telling the truth. He was on his second life after dying from a fatal cobra bite as a teenager. She recalled the panic she’d felt earlier when the soldiers had chased after her. The possibility of multiple stab and gunshot wounds had terrified her.
She pulled a steamed bun apart and handed half of it to her cousin. “I’m sorry I made you worry.”
Rajiv nodded and took a bite out of the bun. “You’re wearing your mother’s bracelets. I always liked those.”
“They help to keep me motivated.”
He groaned. “How can I convince you to give this up? I promised you I would avenge your family. Tenzen and Rinzen have also promised. Your father was their brother.”
“Then what are we waiting for?” She stuffed her half of the bun into her mouth. “Let’s go!”
“When we go, you will not be with us. I will not risk your life.”
She swallowed hard. “That should be my choice. I’m fully prepared for this, Rajiv. I have trained for years. Lend me a few soldiers so I can get on with it.”
He sighed. “I’ve explained this before. Han has thirty camps, and he teleports from one to another. He can change location in a second. Meanwhile, it would take you a week to move to the next one, with no guarantee that he would be there—”
“I found him tonight.”
“A lucky break. He just happened to be at the camp you found.” Rajiv gave her a curious look. “How did you find his camp?”
“Before we left for your brother’s village in Thailand, you showed me the way on the giant map in your office. And you have all of Han’s campsites marked. When I saw how close I would be to his camp in Myanmar, I knew I had to try it. Once I was close, I caught his vampire scent, and it led me straight to his camp.”
Rajiv shook his head. “I hate to think what could have happened to you if Russell hadn’t been there.”
Jia made a sour face. “I don’t need his help.”