Page 71 of Curses & Kitsune

I blink at him, honestly dazzled. “What?”

Barking a laugh, he gently shakes my shoulders. “You’re cured! My father told me that only a fated mate’s bonding bite could break the curse. It’s how he was able to escape Namikawa.”

Is that true? There is a part of me that feels lighter than I have in a while. “Are you sure?”

“He’s right, Jinta.” Tamano walks over, hand in hand with Konoe. “The curse lifted the moment he claimed you.”

I laugh, hardly able to believe it. “This is perfect! So, you’re free, too.”

“I am, at last. This is Konoe.”

He bows. “It’s a pleasure. Thank you for reuniting me with Tamano. We can finally be together again.”

Tamano frowns. “My love, I’m going to stay with them a little while longer.”

“You don’t have to!” I insist. She was just reunited with her lover. She shouldn’t have to leave him again.

“Of course I don’t have to.” She huffs. “As if you could make me do something I don’t wish to do. I want to stay until I am sure you are both safe. You two are awfully sweet together, and very entertaining to be around. As soon as the Takada-kai and the Blades are defeated, I will return, Konoe. I promise.”

He smiles, though it’s bittersweet. “Come back to me soon.” He pulls her close for a kiss.

Raiden wraps an arm around my shoulders. “Let’s get back to the portal. Last thing I want is to be stuck in here watching them make out for the rest of my eternal life.”

Laughing, I take his hand, and together, we walk back toward the light of the portal, toward our future together.

The sudden kick of my heart jerks me awake. I open my eyes to blue skies above me. My lungs burn with the need to breathe and expand rapidly as I suck in a greedy gulp of sweet air. Warmth spreads throughout my body as my blood starts pumping. I’m… I’m alive.

“Jinta? You okay?” Raiden asks, but I don’t answer right away, sitting up and taking in grateful breaths. As a spirit, I didn’t need to breathe, and I had no heartbeat. I was alive in a sense, but not. Closing my eyes, I savor the earth beneath my hands, sun-warmed soil and soft grass.

“I’m fine,” I assure Raiden. “Just… taking it all in.”

Raiden sits beside me and takes my hand, threading his fingers through mine. The bond between us sings with pulses of relief and joy and love. Are those his feelings or mine? Maybe both? Emotion chokes me, and I fall into his arms and hold him tight.

“I’m alive,” I whisper, needing to affirm this to myself. I’m really here. I’m with the man I love. We can still create a future together.

Gentle lips brush over my forehead. “Yeah, Sunshine. It worked. Not even death can keep you from me.”

My body shudders, and I feel like I’ll burst with the cascade of joyous emotion flowing through me. “You’ve set the bar so high, baby. I mean, you literally followed me into the afterlife to get me back. How am I ever going to top that?” A laugh escapes me as I sniffle, rubbing my cheek against his chest.

Raiden cups my chin and lifts my face. “Cook meals with me every day. Fall asleep next to me every night. Wake up with me every morning. That’ll be good enough.”

My face hurts from how hard I’m smiling. “Sounds like a proposal to me. Do werewolves get married?”

Raiden shrugs. “Not really. Mating bites are the equivalent of marriage to us. Marriage, it’s just paperwork and symbolism to us. But mating bites bind us together for life, body and soul. When you die, I will, too. We’ll be together for life.”

A delighted shiver runs through me. I can’t imagine anything better.

“That made you happy.”

I flush. “How can you tell?”

Raiden rubs his chest. “I bit you, bonded you to me. I can feel everything you feel.”

“Really? Everything?”

“Yeah. Your happiness. Sadness. Pleasure.” He nips my ear. “It’ll all be doubled for me. I’ll never have to ask what’s wrong. I’ll know and be able to look after you.”

I frown. “But I can’t feel that from you.”

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