“Why are you doing this?” Akane asked her.
Tomoe shrugged. “This is my home. Even if the kami isn’t real. If you’ll excuse me, I have more to clear away.”
Akane shook her head with a smile, before joining the priestesses in their clean up. It wasn’t long before, Shin arrived and without a word, he joined in by carrying a massive beam. He slung it over his shoulder, dragging it away. Then Hikaru showed up, picking up the other end. The two men stopped to look at one another before sharing a nod and continuing on with their work.
Rin brought water around for the working girls, and the flame priestess started a pyre to burn anything that couldn’t be salvaged, while the dragon helped the other men carry heavy items away. Before long, the foundation of the old building remained, and night was falling once again.
The priestesses were coated in dust and grime, but they were smiling all the same as they headed off to their dormitories. Akane had worried they’d lose direction without the head priestess but it seemed she had doubted them. Just as she had doubted Tomoe.
Tomoe was the last to leave the site. Akane caught up with her, grabbing her gently by the arm.
“Can we talk?” she asked.
Tomoe’s eyes were half-lidded. “I’m too tired for a lecture.”
Akane shook her head. “It’s not that. I’m proud of you. I think you’ll be a good head priestess.”
Her eyes flew open. “You mean that? There’s a lot who are much older and more qualified...”
Akane rested her hand on Tomoe’s shoulder. “I know you’ll do great things. You’ll make this temple greater than it was before.”
Her smile broadened. “And what about you? Are you going to settle down with Shin?”
Akane flushed. Across the courtyard, Shin was waiting. She’d been putting off this conversation much too long.
“I suppose we’ll see.”
She said her goodbyes to Tomoe before jogging over to Shin across the courtyard.
“Take a walk with me?” he asked.
Akane nodded, her heart was in her throat. Even after she had pushed him away, he’d almost sacrificed himself for her.
Gravel crunched under their feet as they walked. Silvery moonlight peaked out from behind the white clouds. The sky overhead was an inky black. Shin’s hand ghosted past hers. She ached for him to take her into his arms. But she didn’t have the right to ask that of him.
“How are you feeling?” she asked. There had hardly been time to heal his wounds after his fight.
“I’m back to normal now. What about you?”
“Fine.”
There was a faint smirk on his lips. “It’s alright to not be.”
Unexpected emotion tightened her throat. How did he know her so well? All day she’d kept her hands busy to avoid thinking about the head priestess. But now in the quiet moments of the evening, it all came crashing down on her again. Tears choked her words and she nodded. Shin pulled her close, enveloping her in his embrace. She rested her chin on his collar bone, inhaling the musky wolf scent of him. The smell untied the knots inside her as his gentle hand on the top of her head calmed her. She’d never been more grateful for him than in that moment.
“I worshiped her because she made me who I was. But she used me to kill Mei. She was wicked, but—” She sucked in a breath. “I loved her.”
“It’s not your fault,” he soothed, his voice a hushed whisper.
“Where do I go from here? Who am I now?”
“That’s the easy part, you can be whoever you want to be.”
Was it? Perhaps for someone like Tomoe who knew she wanted to learn to fight. She would turn this shrine into a place for warrior priestesses to train. And she would grow into her power, guided by her fellow priestesses. Or someone like Shin, who had a place among his own kind. The dragon had already welcomed him back into the fold. For Akane, she had never been part of this world in the temple, but she didn’t know how to be a yokai either.
She pulled away from Shin. She couldn’t lean on him anymore, not if he had his own life to live. “I assume you’ll be returning to the dragon’s palace soon?”
“The dragon is impatient to return. There’s something he needs my help with.”
“That’s great,” she lied. Of course he wasn’t going to ask her to stay with him. She’d already scorned him once.
“There’s just one problem,” Shin said.
“What’s that?”
He grabbed her by the chin and tilted her head up to face him. “I don’t know what your plans are.” She inhaled sharply. A warm glow began spreading out from her gut.
She stared up into his golden eyes, his musky wolf scent surrounded her, and she ached to pull him closer. But she still held back. She was broken, and still feared yokai. But she wanted to learn more about who she was, what her dreams and hopes were outside of protecting others. She wanted to be a true wolf.
“And what if I say I’m not sure?” she whispered.
There was a familiar smirk on his lips. His breath fanned against her cheek.
“Then would you let me join you as you figure that out?”
She couldn’t hold back anymore and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. The soft yielding flesh opened up to her, letting her explore his hot mouth with her tongue while his hands bunched into the fabric on her back, bringing her close. Desperately, achingly, she needed him. To feel for once as if she was herself, as if she could regain a part of her that had been lost for so long. Once again, she was whole. She was an okami.
Epilogue
It had been hours since Shin had seen his mate. The dragon had kept him locked up in strategy meetings all morning. It had been hard enough tearing himself away from her that morning. Some days he woke up in her arms and couldn’t believe how incredibly lucky he was to have her.
He was itching for another roll in the futon with her, but when he went to their chamber, it was empty. Not that he could expect her to lie around all day and wait for him. She’d found a role in the dragon’s palace easy enough, helping with the training of soldiers and working as a liaison between the human and yokai gathering here.
He headed for the training grounds first and found Suzume and Hikaru training.
“Have you seen Akane?” he asked her.
The flame priestess shot a fiery ball at Hikaru who blocked it with a wall of earth that burst from the ground.
“I think she went out into the forest,” Hikaru said.
Panic rippled through him. Though he was confident Akane could take care of herself, he couldn’t help but worry. Danger seemed to be around every corner lately, and his position as the dragon’s general put her at risk as well. He hurried out of the palace and into the forest beyond. He found her scent easily enough and followed it along the shore before it diverged into a wooded area just a few yards away.
He found her kneeling before a burial mound, hands pressed together in prayer. The grave was empty, but shortly after moving into the palace they’d erected it in Mei’s memory. Partly to help Akane put to rest the ghosts of her past, but also to give her a place where she could talk to her when she needed to.
“I’ve found someone,” Akane said to the mound, the words rang surprisingly raw. She hadn’t sensed him standing there. It felt wrong to eavesdrop and yet he couldn’t move away.
She inhaled and exhaled. “No matter how long I live, I won’t forget you but I’m learning to forgive myself for what I did. I think you would want that, wouldn’t you?”
He knew how she felt. They stayed up many nights, legs intertwined and talking about their pasts. Mei was carved into her heart in a way that Shin could never heal. And he didn’t want to. Just as he didn’t want her to make him forget about Rin or what he did for her.
The wind blew through the trees toward Akane. She’d likely catch his scent.
“Spying?” she asked without turning around, her voice teasing.
In his true form he approached her, golden eyes s
tudying her. Akane smiled before transforming into a wolf as well and joining him. When she got close he bolted from her, leading her on a chase through the forest, across farmland, fields, and through tangled trees. At times she caught up, or even overtook him, then he’d take the lead once again.
They nipped playfully at one another and made quick turns, trying to throw the other one off track. They ran until they were both breathless. They fell back onto the soft grass panting and staring up at the blue sky. Fat white clouds drifted lazily across it.
Shin resumed his humanoid form as did Akane, and she laid down on his arm and curled in close to him.
“Will this kind of happiness last?” she asked as she nuzzled into his neck.
“Trying to get rid of me already?” he asked, teasing.
Akane covered her face with her arm, she pretended to block out the sun, but he knew it was to hide the tears that were threatening to fall.
“I can’t help but worry about all the things that could go wrong. Tomoe and her temple, the dragon’s war. What if you get hurt? What if I lose you? Or both of you? I couldn’t stand it if I lost you both. Everything is so uncertain.”
Shin leaned up on one arm, and caged her with his other arm, leaning over her. Her hair was undone and fanned out around her on the grass, she tried to avoid his gaze.
“I swear to you. I will never leave you.”
He leaned down, pressing his lips to hers. Tears were rolling down her cheeks, but they were bittersweet.
“We’ve been through worse. Together we can do anything,” she replied. And they both knew it was true.
Want more Japanese inspired fantasy? Be sure to check out the Dragon Saga. Which follows the Dragon and the priestess, Suzume. Keep reading for an excerpt from The Priestess and the Dragon. Or get your copy here.
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Excerpt The Priestess and the Dragon
The shrine maidens made short work of packing supplies for Suzume and the Dragon's journey. They seemed eager to be rid of her, or perhaps it was the Dragon they were happy to see the backside of. She waited for him at the gates, a pack on her back that felt heavy enough to drag her down to the ground. Why can we not fly, or at least ride in a palanquin? Even when my father dumped me at this forsaken place he had the decency to send me in a proper conveyance.
The Dragon came storming through the courtyard. Fallen leaves kicked up in his wake and swirled around his head. From the crackle of energy she felt tingling up and down her arms, she suspected the Dragon was still in a foul mood. Oh good, this shall be a delightful trip, off to kill my entire family. She crossed her arms over her chest as he approached.
"Where are we going?" she asked him.
He looked her up and down. "To my palace in the south."
South towards the White Palace, where her father and siblings resided. She had never been close with any of them, but to think the Dragon would slaughter them all filled her with fear. She had never felt so helpless in her life.
"You did not mean what you said before about killing my family, right?"
He did not respond and instead stomped over to the torii arch that separated the shrine grounds from the road leading up to the mountain. He stopped beneath the arch. A string of ofuda on the archway twisted in the wind. He stared at them for a moment. Suzume crept up behind him, crossed the threshold onto the road, and with a hand on her hip, she faced the Dragon.
"You've been here for centuries, are you afraid to leave?"
He narrowed his eyes at her. She did not know what she expected to get out of taunting him, but it made her feel better at least.
He took a step, his mouth pressed closed. She may have imagined it, but it almost looked like he was expecting something to happen. When nothing did, he took off at a fast pace down the road. Suzume stared after him. I do not understand him at all. He was moving so fast he was nearly around the bend. She watched him go for a moment, wondering what would happen if she refused to follow him. Then he stopped, turned around and beckoned to her.
"Come, Priestess, I haven't got all day."
She balled her hands into fists. "I am not your pet to command."
"But you are mine."
She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. She'd be damned if she would come chasing after him like a dog. She did not know he was beside her until he was lifting her up into the air and threw her over his shoulder. "If you will not come, I will bring you," he said.
"Put me down!" she shouted, beating on his back with her fists.
He laughed but ignored her threats. Her skin prickled and heated where his hands wrapped around her calves, but no matter how she tried, she could not summon the same power to defend herself. It would be helpful right about now.
The journey down the mountainside was tedious and not worth mentioning, in Suzume's opinion. When she gave up fighting him, he let her down to walk on her own two feet. She insisted on numerous breaks, which he argued against, but she won in the end. It was nearly sunset by the time they reached the foot of the mountain.
By then her limbs ached in a way they had never done before. She dawdled behind the Dragon as they meandered over the hilly countryside. Trees blocked the dying sun and a breeze rippled through their branches, the wind cool as the sun descended below the horizon. The glare reflected off the water of a nearby river and blinded Suzume. She shielded her eyes with her forearm and scowled at green shoots of river grasses growing along the water's edge, struggling to break through the murky water and reaching towards the sky.
"By the way, what's your name?" the Dragon said from atop a small rise.
She stopped and squinted at him. That's it, she thought, I cannot walk another step! The coarse fabric itched and sweat plastered it to her skin. Her feet hurt from these inferior bamboo sandals the high priestess had given her and the straw hat and veil she wore kept slipping forward. Her arms were tired from adjusting it and carrying this infernal pack. A fly had also gotten under her veil and buzzed near her face.
They had been on the road for hours now and it just occurred to him to ask her name? She forced down a string of curses that were on the tip of her tongue. Not only were they not appropriate for a lady of her stature, but she didn't need another reason to incite the mercurial Dragon's wrath.
"Suzume," she ground out and took the opportunity to try to adjust the sandal on her foot. She missed her platforms and her palanquin. Small blisters had formed beneath her dusty socks.
"Soo-zoo-me." He rolled her name around on his tongue and she regretted telling him immediately. He repeated her name several more times—only to further infuriate her, she suspected.
She knew she should stay on his good side. He had threatened to kill her and her entire family, after all. I would fry him now and walk the rest of the way if it meant I could return home, she thought. If I knew how, she amended.
The Dragon laughed suddenly. He startled her and she threw her arms out, throwing her shoe. She almost fell over and saved herself by rocking forward on the balls of her feet.
"What is so funny?" she asked with hands crossed over her chest once she had regained her balance.
He was bent over taking large belly laughs and did not respond right away. When he did, it was halting. "Your… name… means… sparrow!" As he said this, he laughed harder and clutched at his side.
Suzume frowned and considered throwing her other straw sandal at him, the head priestess' warnings be damned.
"Why would a sparrow be so funny?" she asked again. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her own temper in check.
"It's not the sparrow that's funny. It's you! A loudmouthed arrogant woman! You're nothing like a sparrow." He pointed at her as he said this and Suzume colored and turned away to hide her embarrassment.
She sat down on a nearby fallen tree, removed her other sandal and pelted it at the Dragon. He dodged it and continued to laugh uproariously. I don't care what he thinks. He'
s just a lying fool.
"Then what is your name, oh Great God of the Mountain?" she said.
He stopped laughing and stared straight at her, and storm clouds seemed to gather behind his eyes. Suzume shrank back. What's gotten into him? The slightest thing upsets him.
"A Yokai's true name is a secret no mortal shall know, but I was once called Kaito." His voice echoed through the valley, rippling along the river. She stared him in the eyes and refused to be cowed. He measured her, staring her up and down before turning to walk away without another word. Probably something to do with that woman again, she thought and fought the urge to roll her eyes.
She was perplexed by his reaction, but pleased; her short temper and violence towards the false god had not summoned his wrath, not yet at least. Nothing worse than a man scorned! Suzume thought. They probably had a spat and she rightfully locked him up. She sighed. And now I am cleaning up the mess.
She scanned the area for her sandals and found them floating along the river's edge, tangled in the reeds along the shore. She cursed aloud this time and went to find something with which to fish them out.
Down the road Kaito called out, "You shouldn't wear socks with those, you'll get blisters!"
"Thanks a lot," she muttered as she hoisted a sopping-wet straw sandal out of the water with a twig.
As she pulled the other sandal out, something else came out of the water with it. A green webbed hand held onto the sandal as well.
Suzume screamed and dropped the stick and fumbled backwards, falling onto her rear. The sandal landed in the water with a splash. The hand grasping the sandal was followed by an indented head, almost as if the creature had a dish in its skull. It emerged from the water's surface and blinked large black eyes at her. Suzume screamed again and the creature opened its beak and squawked at her.
Suzume, over her initial fear, grabbed the stick and struck the thing with it.
"Get out of here! You strange creature!" She shooed it.
Okami: A Little Red Riding Hood Retelling Page 20
