Page 218 of Celestial Combat

Zane stopped and turned toward me. His gaze was soft, serious. “A Torii marks the boundary between the mundane and the divine,” he said. The late sun slanted across his face, illuminating the line of his jaw. “It’s a reminder to leave one world behind and step into another.”

I looked up at the gate. The brilliant red felt like a promise. “Almost like us,” I whispered. “Leaving behind what we’ve known... And going somewhere different.”

He nodded, sliding his hand over mine. “Exactly.” His thumb brushed my skin with the gentlest confidence. “A choice. To step forward.Together.”

“Me and you against the world.” I smiled, squeezing his hand.

My heart fluttered, uneasy and determined all at once. I recalled fleeting shadows – of secrets, futures tangled in their own web. He sensed it, too.

He squeezed my hand tighter. “I’m going to marry you one day, Kali?Amada?Su. Mark my words.”

I inhaled sharply, words caught in my throat. Beneath the weight of the silk sky, the air taste of autumn – crisp, full of possibilities.

We paused beneath the gate’s curve, shafts of light stretching between us, washing us in warmth. Everything else fell away – the crowd, the distant hum of the city, the questions swirling in my mind.

All that remained was us. The promise of stepping into that sacred space together.

He leaned his forehead to mine. We lingered there, breath mingling, stubborn hope sparking between us like embers ready to blaze.

Then, with no hesitation left, we stepped forward – passing through the Torii together.

We emerged on the other side together.

Thecottage was tucked behind a veil of pine and silence, nestled so deeply into the back edge of the samurai district that it felt like a secret left behind by time. The roof curved with age, tiles moss-soft, and the wood creaked beneath our steps like it remembered centuries of footsteps. It smelled like cedar and ash – clean, earthy, and grounding.

Inside, it was all shadows and golden light. Tatami mats lined the floor, woven tightly and warm under bare feet. Sliding doors revealed little glimpses of garden – stones raked into careful spirals, a single plum tree, pale blossoms just starting to fall.

We were quiet. There wasn’t much left to say. The weight of the week had settled into our bodies, and now it asked to be released.

Tomorrow night, we would finally sit down withAkihiko. And the weight of that realization was begging to hit.

Zane found the key to that.

The bath was built into the back of the house, a traditional wooden sauna tub that had been turned into a private steam haven. The air was thick with warmth, dense with eucalyptus and cedar oils that made every breath feel like it was cleansing something deeper than lungs.

We undressed slowly. No urgency. Only intention. The kind of silence that didn’t feel empty, but sacred. His hand slid down the line of my back as I stepped into the steam, the heat blooming across my skin, wrapping me like a second body. I sank into it, muscles unwinding with every breath.

Zane joined me, water lapping gently as he settled beside me. His arms wrapped around my waist beneath the water, and we sat there, leaning into each other, letting the heat unravel everything.

I tilted my head back, eyes closed, letting the haze and silence and nearness steal me away. The outside world didn’t exist here – not the streets, not the past, not the future.

Only the quiet pulse of water and skin.

I turned my face just slightly, enough to find his lips. The kiss came slowly, melting into the moment like steam rising off the water. He kissed me like the world wasn’t rushing anywhere, like we had all the time in it.

And for now, we did.

The warm stone beneath me, the soft amber light from the lanterns on the wall, the low trickle of water nearby – it all made the moment feel suspended, like we were inside a dream we didn’t want to wake from. I slid a leg over his lap, straddling him without breaking the kiss, feeling the heat of him beneath the surface of the water.

Zane’s hands smoothed over my thighs, then up to my waist, like he needed to feel every inch of me with his palms before he could breathe right. I cupped his face with both hands and pressed my forehead to his in the soft flicker of the room.

“Everything okay?” he whispered, brushing his thumb over the curve of my hip.

I nodded. “I want you.”

His hands tightened slightly on my waist as I rose just enough to line us up. When I sank down onto him, we both exhaled at once – like we hadn’t been breathing properly until now.

The stretch was slow and full, my body molding around him as I took him in completely. His head tipped back againstthe stone edge behind him, mouth parting as his hands moved to my back, holding me close.

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