Danzig’s words threw gasoline on my simmering rage. I remained calm, reminding myself that this was important intel.
“No, I haven’t heard anything.” Danzig grunted. “It’s just like Holland. He probably thinks he’s too good to respond.”
Pot, meet kettle, I mused while continuing to listen.
“I know you don’t like it. You’ve made your position perfectly clear, as have I. Holland is too…” Danzig’s nose scrunched, and his mouth twisted into something that appeared distinctly uncomfortable. “Holland has a different sense of morality. No, I don’t understand it either. All I know is that he will never stand for our plans. He needs to be out of the way before we proceed.” There was another pause and Danzig’s skin deepenedto an angry scarlet. “No, I don’t…that’s not what I said.” Danzig’s voice raised to an alarming crescendo. “Leave it to me. There’s more than one way to destroy someone… I’ll handle it, just like I always do.” Danzig didn’t offer any form of goodbye. He simply ended the call, steepling his fingers and leaning his chin on them.
I didn’t like the smarmy smirk tilting his lips. No, I didn’t like that smirk at all.
I stayed for a few more moments, hoping Danzig might let slip a bit of his scheming. He didn’t. Danzig sat there, tapping a pen against the file on his desk. Deep burgundy magic swirled around his blackened fingers, but it seemed more an unconscious action than anything more sinister.
The seconds ticked by until Lottie’s voice came through a small box on Danzig’s desk. “Excuse me, sir, but are you ready for the next applicant?”
Danzig’s dark eyes grew focused on the papers in front of him as he gruffly responded, “Send her in.”
Given my deteriorating mood, I figured I might do something immensely foolish, like reveal myself if I stayed and listened to Danzig try and cajole the next desperate human female into agreeing to carry the ensuing warlock generation.
With that in mind, I thought of Niki’s home. Reemerging in Niki’s living room, the sound of crashing waves was muffled against the closed windows. I took an initial step towards Niki’s workroom but didn’t get far. Niki wasn’t inside. Standing, legs braced apart and body facing into the wind, stood my warlock.
Niki was a vision of strength and grace. Hands stuffed into his pant’s pockets, Niki’s dark hair danced with the raging wind. The sleeves of his white shirt were rolled up, exposing his powerful forearms and his black pants clung to his legs where the wind tugged against them. He was a rock—solid and moored to the ground below.
Comfort filled me, settling into the exposed nooks and crannies Tenzen’s betrayal had exposed. This is what I longed for. Having not grown up amongst other kitsune, I had no idea if this was what all my species desired. I was chaos and while I loved what my chaotic actions wrought; chaos needed an anchor.
I’d thought that anchor was Tenzen Huxley. I hadn’t exactly been wrong, but I’d sorely misjudged Tenzen’s intentions. Niki was different. Niki didn’t need or want anything from me. While that hurt on some levels, it was reassuring on others.
I could have stood there, staring at him until the sun set. But I was a kitsune and I could rarely remain still, even when faced with such a delicious sight.
Instead of dissipating again, I opened the door to the backyard and headed out. The salty breeze tugged at my clothes and flattened my furry tails. It wasn’t exactly difficult to walk against, but it did make one hesitate. It also felt exhilarating. The wind was a kindred spirit—always moving, always restless, always one step away from annihilation.
“You’ve returned,” Niki said, voice flat. I could sense his desire to keep those two words emotion free. With any other, Niki would have likely succeeded. Had I not been able to read the relief in the magic dancing around him, I would have believed his disinterest.
“Hmm, that I have.” I stared out toward the ocean. Its vastness never failed to amaze even me.
“And if I asked where you’ve been?” Niki barely turned his head my direction, a single eyebrow raised.
Moving closer, I wrapped Niki in my tails, allowing the tip of one to brush his cheek. “I suppose that depends onhowyou ask.” I added a little purr into my voice. Niki’s flushed cheeks were my reward.
“Foolish kitsune.” I allowed Niki to bat my tail away from his face.
“I’ve been called worse.” And wasn’t that the truth.
“I can get more creative if you’d like.”
Laughter bubbled from deep within my chest, filling the air before being carried away by the wind. Niki could always make me laugh. “I wouldn’t be opposed,” I answered with a grin.
That earned me a dramatic eyeroll. “Back to the point at hand, was there a reason you found it necessary to trash my living room and then take off without so much as a thank you for allowing you to spend the night and feeding the endless pit in your belly?”
I took immediate offense to his impression of his living room. “I didnottrash your living room.” Perking up, I gave Niki my most winning smile. “I made it better.” Before he could protest, I said, “It was far too neat. I don’t know how you can rest in an area that…sterile.” I gave a dramatic shudder, quivering my tails for extra effect. “It’s damn near criminal.”
Niki’s teeth ground together. “It is how I enjoy my space.My space. Not yours.”
“You say potato and I say potato.”
I found Niki’s answering glower more amusing than threatening. “You are insufferable.”
“Again, I’ve heard?—”
“Worse. Yes, I’ve little doubt that is true.”
