20. Welcome to Kasumi Island
20
Welcome to Kasumi Island
O nce Eira’s feet had safely touched the ground, the pit in her stomach eased.
“I can’t believe you did that.” As soon as he started to shift, she began to lay into him. “Take me back home—”
“Ahem.” Ryu tried to interrupt her, but Eira continued on, still not noticing.
“Right now, Ryu!”
“Eira …” he grumbled out a whisper, but it was his synthetic smile he was putting on that made Eira finally take notice.
Oh no. Immediately, that pit in her stomach returned upon seeing the crowd of villagers that surrounded them. Her earlier need to touch the ground had kept her from noticing their audience in the first place. Of course, the villagers of the island could see Ryu in his dragon form unlike the rest of the world, so they had witnessed their arrival. It made it clear to Eira that she had a lot to learn.
“Just smile,” he whispered over to her again, taking her hand in his as they started walking. Giving her strength, he gave her hand a squeeze. “Welcome to Kasumi Island.”
Feeling self-conscious for a girl like Eira was a severe understatement for how she felt in this moment. Especially considering how beautiful the women not only were but in what they wore — beautiful, embroidered silks of all different lustrous colors. It wouldn’t have mattered if Eira knew she was coming and had picked her nicest outfit—nothing would have been nice enough to come here. It was no wonder Ryu had said she didn’t need to bring anything—not a single thing she had belonged here, not even her …
Holding on to his hand for strength, she prayed for this to be over quickly as they continued walking. And as they passed the people, her mouth began to drop when each one bowed. At first, she thought it was only to him, but then she got an eerie tingling feeling on the back of her neck that it was also for her. Hearing the whispers of “queen” whispered throughout the crowd solidified those feelings.
Afraid she was about to pass out from the attention, Eira dragged her feet slower, thinking she’d rather go back to flying the skies in the clutch of a dragon than this.
“Ryu …”
“You’re okay. I’m right here,” he quietly assured her that she could do this. “And I know you will not disappoint me.”
Strangely, at his words, the last thing she wanted to do was disappoint Ryu.
Since the incident, Eira had always felt like a disappointment not only in life but to everyone and everything, including her dead parents. In this moment, she might have been less than adequate on the outside, but she’d be damned if she was less than adequate for her fated mate on the inside, too. So, even though Eira didn’t quite know where the sudden spirit came from, she continued on, hoping to prove not only to him but to herself that she could do it.
Holding her head high to the best of her abilities, she thought she would be grateful to reach his home, but she suddenly came upon seeing what she could only describe as palace doors. Swallowing hard, she only hoped what awaited inside would be a lot easier to take.
I mean, this has to be the worst of it, right?
When they entered the safety of the palace, she was happy to find it desolate. She was about to tell him how hard what she had just done was for her, but her thoughts were taken away by the beauty of the architecture and the intricately ornate things around that were either the color of Ryu’s dragon or made of jade.
“Wow …” Eira breathed, her breath taken away.
“Do you like it?” he asked, staring at her like how she did the beauty of her surroundings.
Too wrapped up in looking at everything around her, she missed the pride on Ryu’s face for what she had just done.
“Do I like it?” she scoffed, wondering who possibly couldn’t. “It’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
“It took me a while to get used to it as well.”
Eira hadn’t even heard anyone entering; she turned to find an older man and a young woman standing directly behind her. If they had been a snake, they could have bitten her.
Both of them bowed their heads as Ryu introduced them.
“This is my sensei, Kage, and his daughter, Yuri,” he said before proudly waving his hand toward her. “And this is Eira … my fated mate.”
Blushing from the shock of him introducing her that way, Eira politely bowed back with a kind smile. “Hello.”
“We are honored to meet you and serve you in any way we can,” Kage announced before placing a firm hand on Ryu’s shoulder. “I’ve been training you since you were a little boy, and I couldn’t be happier for you. You have waited a long time for this, Ryu—we all have.”
Yuri smiled sweetly at Ryu. “We both couldn’t be happier.”
At her smile, Eira felt like a dull caterpillar next to an alluring butterfly. Yuri made the villagers outside look less than in comparison, and Eira had already thought herself inadequate enough next to them.
She hated comparing herself to other girls, but Eira found she couldn’t help it as she stood next to Yuri, who was flawless perfection. Lowering her sleeves out of habit to cover more of the scars on her hand, she let her veil of fiery locks do the same to her face. She only hoped Ryu wouldn’t take notice of her sudden lack of already barely-there confidence.
“Is Father here?” Ryu asked.
“In the other room, I believe.” Kage motioned with his head in the correct direction. “I hope to see you tomorrow, bright and early. You haven’t trained in a while, and I expect to get you back in shape.”
Ryu simply laughed and said from over his shoulder, “Yeah, you wish.”
“Nice to meet you both,” Eira quickly said before they disappeared.
Not finding his father where he had expected him, Ryu decided for them to stay put. “I’m sure he will be here any minute.”
Her nerves only somehow seemed to skyrocket knowing she was going to meet his father, but truly, the palace was such a work of art that it kept her distracted for another moment. Her eyes landed on a smoky black vase that had golden veins branching out like lightning that reminded her of the scars on her body.
Noticing her fondness for the piece, Ryu smiled, clearly remembering a fond memory. “My mother picked that vase.”
Her fingertips carefully ran along one of the golden veins. “Well, she has good taste.”
“That she did,” a strong voice echoed across the walls. “I see you have returned and, this time, with what you should have brought with you last time.”
“I have,” Ryu forced out with a squared jaw, bowing to his father with what seemed like difficulty. Then he introduced her, “This is Eira, my fated mate.”
She tried her best not to blush again, though she really didn’t think she’d ever get used to him introducing her that way. It made her heart sing that he would introduce her with such pride.
“Eira,” he continued the formalities, “this is my father, Tatsu.”
“Well, Eira …” his father drawled out, giving her a once-over, “nice to finally meet you.”
Eira bowed to him as low as she could, hoping to hide her nervous expression, but she was certain her voice gave her nerves away. “Lovely to meet you, too.”
He gave her hand in his a squeeze; it was as if Eira could understand so much in just a touch, and she was grateful.
“So …” Ryu seemed to take on nerves of his own. “Did it happen in time?”
Tatsu looked at the hands intertwined between them, noticing something that Eira would soon find out later. “Go look for yourself.”