[Akira's POV]
The Imperial Palace smelled exactly the way I remembered it. Like old blood covered up by expensive perfume.
I walked down the sprawling, gold-leafed corridors of the central keep. Two dozen elite Imperial Guards marched in a tight formation around me. They held their spears perfectly straight, their faces locked in expressions of strict military discipline.
But I could hear their hearts.
They were beating like frantic, trapped rabbits. Every single man in this detail was terrified of me. They thought I was going to snap, turn into a giant monster, and eat them right here in the hallway.
Idiots, I thought, keeping my face perfectly blank. If I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't need to transform.
The heavy, gilded doors of the Grand Throne Room loomed ahead. The guards stopped, parting down the middle to let me pass.
I stepped inside, and the doors slammed shut behind me with a heavy, final thud.
