Chapter 14
Fourteen
Hikaru
Every atom in my body buzzed with heady satisfaction.
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d consumed a magical hit like that.
No, that wasn’t true. Two hundred and fifty-three years ago.
When I’d been younger, it hadn’t been unusual for Tenzen to feed me a little extra magic.
I’d always thought he sacrificed a bit of his own to help me grow and make me more powerful—more self-sufficient.
Now I wasn’t so certain. Knowing what I now knew, I couldn’t imagine Tenzen Huxley had ever been willing to part with one iota of personal power.
My stomach dipped and twisted, my earlier buzz quickly wearing off as guilt took its place.
That magic had fueled my tails, each one granting me greater power and autonomy.
I’d always been so proud of my tails. Who had paid the price?
Had Tenzen trapped another brownie, draining them of magic and feeding it to me? Perhaps it was another magical being.
The fact was, I’d never know. Tenzen was buried deep enough that no light would ever reach him.
Most likely he was already slumbering, hopefully never to awaken.
If I could weasel his exact location out of Aurelia, I could reach him.
I was one of the few beings that could. But the potential consequences could be too great.
What if I woke Tenzen and he managed to free himself?
It would be one thing if the information gained could inflict change.
It couldn’t. The past was the past and there was nothing I could do to go back and change it.
My tails cushioned my backside as I rode shotgun in Niki’s vehicle.
Even knowing they might have come from stolen magic, I couldn’t hate them.
I couldn’t even dislike them. My tails were a part of me.
They defined me and made me who I was. Removing one and handing that magic over to Tenzen had felt like giving a piece of my soul away.
That had been seventy-seven years ago and there had been not even a hint of regrowth—until today.
I could feel it—that little nub barely clawing its way to the sky.
It was little more than an infant. My other tails would protect it like the precious addition it was.
They were already clamoring to caress it.
My tails weren’t exactly sentient, but they often acted of their own accord, or perhaps, what I instinctively desired.
The tail laying across Niki’s lap was an excellent example.
I hadn’t consciously told it to do so. Regardless, it had sought Niki out and gone to him just as I desired to do.
Niki drove, his knuckles tight on the wheel.
Niki’s eyes hadn’t even strayed toward me when my tail made contact.
I wasn’t certain if that was because he didn’t mind or if he was too distracted to notice.
I wasn’t the type of kitsune to idly sit back and be ignored, but I thought Niki might deserve a pass today, especially after giving me such a sumptuous magical meal earlier.
My warlock might not be looking at me, but I couldn’t help staring at him.
Niki’s profile was just as handsome and perhaps more impressive than staring at him straight on.
Jaw tense and eyes focused, I could practically see the wheels of his intelligent mind working.
Despite pushing the surrounding magic into me earlier, Niki’s aura had already attracted more.
Colorful magic swam around him, subconsciously enticing him to make use of its power.
Truly, Niki had no idea how glorious he was.
“You’re staring at me,” Niki suddenly said, his eyes never once straying from the highway.
“I enjoy looking at beautiful things.”
Pink flushed Niki’s cheeks. “What an idiotic thing to say.”
“Not at all,” I countered. Tilting my head, I studied Niki’s profile and his ever-reddening cheeks.
“You’ve never struck me as averse to compliments.
Surely you know how handsome you are.” Considering Niki couldn’t see magic the way I could, I doubted he understood what a vision he was with magic dancing around him.
However, the warlock did have eyes and could see his reflection in the mirror.
Honestly, there was nothing to complain about.
“My looks are irrelevant.”
Now, that answer intrigued me. “No? How do you figure?” I was genuinely curious.
Every species held some form of vanity. Obviously, some were vainer than others, but even trolls and ogres held standards of beauty.
Perhaps they weren’t as conventional as others, but that didn’t mean they weren’t there.
“Looks are irrelevant.” Niki held up a hand, shifting his fingers while magic sparked and wove its way around them. “This is what is important—what counts.”
“Ah.” I nodded with understanding. “Power.”
Niki’s nod was oddly reluctant. “I’m not saying that I agree with its importance, only that I recognize it is important. Power is how I keep those I love safe. Without it…” Niki swallowed, his Adam’s apple bobbing. “I do not wish to contemplate the consequences of my deficiencies.”
I huffed a disbelieving laugh. “I hardly think you need to concern yourself regarding your deficiencies.” I offered a lascivious grin. “I’d much rather stroke other, more interesting, parts of you than your ego.”
“Menace,” Niki growled, so low I almost didn’t hear him.
“I love it when you call me that.”
Niki’s cheeks darkened to crimson. Oh, he knew all right. That’s why he said it in the first place. He might not consciously realize it, but that didn’t negate the fact he’d done it on purpose.
I chuckled but did Niki a favor and kept further thoughts and actions to myself. Silence resumed until my stomach growled, reminding both of us that I still needed fed. “Growing an eighth tail is hungry work,” I said while patting my stomach.
Niki’s head whipped my direction before quickly going back to the road. “I thought I saw an extra bit of fluff back there.”
Nodding vigorously, I tilted my head up and practically preened with delight. “You saw correctly. It’s young and will take time to grow, but having it back, even in its infantile state, is amazing.”
Hands shifting, Niki’s knuckles flexed and relaxed against the wheel.
“I noticed earlier that there was a…space where a tail seemed to be missing.” Niki quickly glanced my way.
I’m not exactly certain what my expression was, but it was enough to make him back down.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about it. It’s really none of my—”
“I was a trusting fool,” I answered. My chest ached as the words left my mouth. Embarrassment warred with my rage and betrayal. “I trusted the wrong individual.”
“Huxley,” Niki rightly answered.
I scoffed. “He told me he needed it—the magic it held. Tenzen told me… I suppose it doesn’t matter now what he told me. It was a lie. All of it was a lie.”
I nearly jerked when Niki’s fingers touched my furred tail, gently stroking its length while his other hand remained on the steering wheel. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Oddly, it was worth a lot. More than I would have thought. “It’s in the past.”
“The action is in the past, but its repercussions live on in the present. The past molds our current actions and our future decisions. Unless one utilizes a forgetting charm—something I would not recommend—then we are as bound to our past as we are our future. That is simply the way of things. Perhaps that is the one benefit to human frailty. They do not live as long as other species, limiting their regretful pasts.”
I squirmed while contemplating the truth of that statement. Still, I didn’t want to live in my past and I certainly didn’t want Tenzen’s actions to dictate my future. The best revenge was living as if Tenzen Huxley hadn’t fucked up my life.
Niki kept stroking my tail. Evidently jealous of the attention that singular tail was getting, two more joined in. Niki’s ruff chuckle let me know he found them more amusing than annoying.
“Am I to assume the magical boost I gave you was the fuel needed to start the regeneration process of your eighth tail?”
There was no reason to lie. “You assume correctly.”
“Hmm, and how long will it take this tail to grow into…adulthood? Is that the right terminology?”
“Close enough. Based on past experience, about a hundred years.” Although, if I could manage a few more magical meals like the one I’d just experienced, that number might be less.
Niki remained quiet for a few moments before he asked, “And a ninth tail?”
I sighed while leaning back into my seat.
“The Holy Grail of every kitsune.” Or, at least I thought it probably was.
I’d met so few of my own kind that I hardly knew what was normal and what wasn’t.
I had no idea how long it took most kitsune to gain all nine tails.
I imagined those whose goddess had kept them, who had nurtured them, grew faster but I honestly had no other situation to compare it to.
“And what will you be able to do once you gain your ninth tail?”
I blinked while contemplating the question. “You know, I’m not certain.” It was a curious mystery.
“Sub sandwiches okay or do you want something greasier?” Niki asked, already pulling off at an exit.
“Subs are fine, but I want a lot of food,” I warned.
“Of course you do.” Niki didn’t even sound put out as he pulled into the drive thru line. As we neared the grand menu, I leaned over Niki so I could see the offerings better. I was in such a good mood that I didn’t even tease Niki when I felt his heart rate accelerate
Niki told me I ordered an exorbitant amount of food, but I didn’t care. I’d eat it all and besides, he compared my appetite to his son’s. Knowing how much Niki adored Erasmus, I couldn’t imagine how being compared to the necromancer was a bad thing.