Sovereign of the Seven Armies

The First Meal

Chloe Lin bolted upright in the massive bed. Her lungs gasped for air as panic flooded her veins.

She scrambled backward until her spine hit the velvet headboard. Her hands frantically gripped the thick silk sheets.

This was not her cramped apartment. This was not the drafty hospital ward.

Massive floor to ceiling windows offered a sweeping view of the entire city skyline. Crystal chandeliers hung from the vaulted ceiling. 

Chloe swung her legs over the edge of the mattress. Her bare feet sank into a plush wool rug.

Her heart hammered violently against her ribs. The last thing she remembered was the bloody dining room floor. She remembered Commander Nash Jung weeping like a beaten dog.

Then the darkness had completely consumed her.

"My mother sold me," Chloe whispered to herself. The horrifying thought paralyzed her. "She finally sold me to Preston Wu."

She desperately looked around the massive suite for a weapon. She spotted a heavy brass lamp on the bedside table.

Chloe grabbed the heavy metal base. She raised it defensively just as the thick oak bedroom door clicked open.

"Put that down before you hurt yourself."

The deep calm voice anchored her instantly to the floor.

Ryker Zhao walked into the master suite. He was no longer wearing his faded military jacket. He wore a crisp white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his forearms.

He carried a heavy silver tray in his hands.

Chloe lowered the brass lamp slowly. Her hands were shaking too violently to hold it anyway.

"Ryker?" Chloe asked. Her voice cracked with dry disbelief. "Where are we?"

"We are at The Dragon's Roost," Ryker answered simply. "It is the highest penthouse in the city. You are perfectly safe here."

Ryker walked over to the edge of the bed and set the silver tray down on the nightstand.

A rich savory aroma filled the room immediately.

Ryker sat down on the edge of the mattress next to her. He picked up a delicate porcelain bowl from the tray.

"You need to eat," Ryker said quietly. "Your body is completely running on empty."

Chloe stared at the bowl. It was filled with a thick golden chicken broth. Small pieces of tender meat and rare medicinal roots floated in the rich soup.

She reached out to take the bowl from his hands. Her fingers trembled so violently she nearly spilled the hot liquid onto the silk sheets.

Ryker gently pulled the bowl back out of her reach.

"Let me do it," Ryker said.

He picked up the porcelain spoon. He scooped up a small amount of the golden broth and blew on it gently to cool it down.

He raised the spoon directly to her lips.

Chloe froze completely. 

For three entire years she had sat by his hospital bed. Now the roles were completely reversed. The broken soldier she had kept alive was now feeding her in the most expensive room in the entire city.

Chloe opened her mouth slowly. She swallowed the warm broth.

The rich flavor hit her starving senses instantly. 

It was the best thing she had ever tasted in her entire life.

A single tear escaped her eye. It rolled slowly down her pale cheek and dropped onto her lap.

Then another tear fell. And another.

Chloe squeezed her eyes shut. She tried desperately to hold it in but the massive emotional dam finally broke.

A loud ragged sob ripped its way out of her throat.

She slumped forward. She buried her face directly into Ryker's broad chest and began to weep uncontrollably.

Ryker immediately set the bowl down on the tray. He wrapped both of his strong arms securely around her trembling shoulders.

He pulled her tightly against his chest. He let her cry.

"I thought I was going crazy," Chloe sobbed into his shirt. Her tears rapidly soaked through the expensive white cotton. "I was so tired Ryker. I was just so unbelievably tired."

"I know," Ryker whispered. He gently stroked her hair. "I was there for every single second."

"I almost gave up today," Chloe confessed. Her voice shook with deep immense guilt. "When Preston brought the divorce papers I almost signed them. I thought letting them take me was the only way to pay for your medicine."

She gripped his shirt tightly with both hands. She was terrified he would disappear if she let go.

"I felt like a bastard, begging my own mother for scraps," Chloe wept loudly. "She laughed at me. She watched me starve just to break my spirit."

Ryker felt a cold murderous rage spike in his chest. The Lin family had tortured his wife for three years. They had stripped away her dignity piece by piece.

He would make sure Evelyn Lin paid for every single tear in blood.

"You are not a bastard," Ryker said firmly. He placed his large warm hand against her wet cheek. He gently forced her to look up into his eyes.

"You are the bravest person I have ever known," Ryker told her. His voice held absolute unbreakable conviction. "You kept me alive in the dark when everyone else threw me away."

Chloe sniffled softly. She looked up at the fierce burning intensity in his dark eyes.

"I swear an oath to you right now," Ryker said. "You will never know hunger again. You will never know fear again. Anyone who ever made you cry will spend the rest of their miserable lives begging for death."

Chloe let out a shaky breath. The crushing weight of her anxiety slowly began to lift. For the first time in three years she finally felt completely safe.

Ryker picked up the porcelain bowl again.

"Eat," Ryker commanded softly. "You need your strength. We have a lot of debts to collect in this city."

Chloe nodded slowly. She opened her mouth and let him feed her the rest of the warm nourishing soup.

With every single bite the color slowly returned to her pale cheeks. The trembling in her hands finally stopped.

Ryker set the empty bowl back onto the silver tray. He reached out and wiped a stray drop of broth from the corner of her mouth with his thumb.

Before Chloe could say thank you three sharp knocks echoed from the heavy bedroom door.

The door opened immediately.

A tall stunningly beautiful woman stepped into the master suite. She wore a sleek black tactical suit that hugged her athletic frame. A wicked curved combat knife was strapped securely to her thigh.

This was Vesper Nguyen. She was the most lethal assassin in the Vanguard and Ryker's personal lieutenant.

Chloe tensed up instantly at the sight of the dangerous woman.

Vesper completely ignored Chloe. She stopped at the foot of the bed and bowed her head deeply toward Ryker.

"Forgive the interruption Sovereign," Vesper said respectfully. Her voice was sharp and purely professional.

Ryker did not look away from Chloe.

"Report," Ryker commanded.

Vesper tapped the screen of a heavily encrypted military tablet in her hands.

"We just intercepted a massive financial transfer from the Lin family corporate accounts," Vesper stated. "Flint Lin has forcefully seized control of your wife's logistics company."

Chloe gasped loudly. Her eyes widened in pure shock.

"Uncle Flint?" Chloe asked in disbelief. "But that company is the very last thing Grandpa Lin left me."

"He locked the doors and terminated all your loyal employees ten minutes ago," Vesper continued coldly. "He is currently meeting with Sterling Ho to liquidate all your shipping assets for pennies on the dollar. They are erasing your entire legacy as we speak."

Chloe felt a fresh wave of panic hit her chest. That company was her entire life's work. It was the only memory of her grandfather she had left in this cruel world.

She looked at Ryker with wide desperate eyes.

Ryker slowly stood up from the edge of the bed. The gentle warmth in his eyes vanished entirely. It was replaced instantly by the cold merciless gaze of the Dragon Sovereign.

"Keep her safe here," Ryker ordered Vesper. He buttoned the cuffs of his white dress shirt.

"Ryker where are you going?" Chloe asked nervously.

Ryker turned his head and looked at the sprawling city skyline through the massive windows.

"I am going to get your company back," Ryker said coldly. "And I am going to break your uncle's legs."

“I'll go with you” Chloe said