Many thanks to my sister and beta reader for her support in getting me to write again and her feedback and edits with this story. Enjoy!
Prologue
Thousands of years ago, the gods engaged in a terrible war to determine who would rule the expanse of land, sea, and sky. Pet dragons roared in fury as they fought alongside their masters, and the universe quaked with the powers let loose by the desperate warriors. Tears from the fallen, embittered deities floated to the bruised lands below and settled quietly in oceans, rivers, and streams. The tears became luscious dewdrops: cream, black, blue, orange, and pink toned pearls.
None were more perfect or more potent than Dios's Tears—six pearls infused with the young god's deep compassion and sorrow as he sacrificed himself to lock the destructive wild powers of the other gods. The pearls scattered across the earth, repelled from each other by the force Dios's pain. To unite them again would crack open the world and unleash the powers on the world once more.
Or so it was said.
The Dragon's Fire Pearl.
Dynasties built on the bloody backs of slaves, then soldiers, and pearl divers began hoarding the old stories, coveting the magic for themselves and their family names. Ohtori. Kiryuu. Kyouichi. Tenjou. Each boasted an ancestor from the time before time, when the gods dueled and the world cried in despair.
The Rosette Pearl.
Time passed, lives altered, loves severed.
Pearl of Dios.
Empires grew and families guarded their secrets and their pearls as jealously as lovers. Rumors grew about the appearance of one of the legendary Dios's Tears, only to have the "source" found dead the next morning.
The Midnight Star Pearl.
Eyes watched as power shifted, settled, and then shifted again. From Japan to Singapore to Australia to Panama to Cuba, the pearl families expanded their reach and their influence.
The Hope Pearl.
Murder, deceit, seduction, and subterfuge . . . the relationships between the sons and daughters of the feuding pearl families left no holds barred. Until The Ohtori unwittingly saved the lives of The Tenjou's son and his new bride.
The Bride Pearl.
Who knew after all this time whether the ancient rumors about the Ohtori family were true. They could not really possess four of Dios's Tears . . . could they? And where were the last 2 pearls?
Kiss of Dios Pearl.
Memory is evanescent, but pearls are forever. And some are worth killing for.