Page 116 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
Brynn said, “Good advice.”
“Take it.” Argent leveled his gaze on Tsumiko. “And you, take what is yours.”
Tsumiko crossed to the wolf.
“Your new mother may be small, but she rivals the moon. Bask in her light and grow strong.” Naroo-soh settled the infant back in Tsumiko’s arms, then addressed Argent. “We will meet again.”
“That will not be necessary.”
“But it is inevitable.” With a cocky smile, he said, “Farook-kel is my younger brother.”
Argent blinked. “Is that supposed to mean something to me?”
“Not everyone who runs with our pack is a wolf.” Naroo-soh touched the baby’s forehead as if delivering a benediction. “This one would have been welcomed. Our first dragon, but not our first crosser.”
“We are leaving,” snapped Argent.
Naroo-soh lightly tapped his own shoulder, then placed a hand over his heart. “For the sake of all we have in common, I will cover your tracks.”
FIFTY FIVE
By Definition
Argent kept a hand on Tsumiko’s elbow, guiding her into the icy darkness of the snowy balcony. Once the door clicked shut behind them, he bent to murmur in her ear. “You still have not given me any orders, my lady. What is your wish?”
“I want to bring him home,” she replied. “Can we go home?”
“Certainly.” Gathering her into his arms, he shot up, straight as an arrow into thin air.
Clouds quickly swallowed them. But would their cover be enough to hide them from trained reavers? She raised her voice to be heard over the rush of wind. “Do you think we were seen?”
He smirked confidently.
Tsumiko shivered at the winter night’s bite and curled protectively around the baby. Without time to retrieve her coat, they were making do with a red velvet coverlet borrowed from Kyoko’s bed and a cashmere throw that had been artistically strewn over the sofa. “Will the cold hurt him?” she asked.
“You are more fragile than he.” Silver fur stole around her feet and shoulders as Argent unleashed his tails. And he began to descend.
“Where are we?”
“No place of consequence.” He set down in an empty field, partially sheltered from the wind by the roll of surrounding hills. Letting her down, he straightened the drape of her blanket. “I need clarification, mistress. You have given me too much leeway.”
His tone was lightly mocking. She might have worried that he was annoyed by her sudden acquisition of a newborn except … he seemed to be treating this like a game. Was he actually enjoying the sudden turn of affairs?
Argent’s brows arched. “You have asked me to take you home.”
“Yes.”
“There are many ways I could interpret home—the country for which you carry a passport, the estate you so recently inherited, the school where you grew up.”
In other words, if she’d been any of his past mistresses, he would have seized an opportunity to misconstrue her meaning. Of course she’d been thinking of Stately House, but Argent’s inflection made her curious. “How would you define home?”
“A fox’s home is with those he considers denmates. So by my definition, your home is with Akira, the brother you hold dear.”
She swallowed hard, recognizing the implicit offer. The thought hadn’t even occurred to her, but she missed Akira. And now that she was thinking clearly, she remembered that Michael and Sansa had guests. They couldn’t return to Stately House until the coast was clear.
“Argent, does that mean home for you is Gingko?”
“That would be a logical assumption.”
