Page 150 of Tsumiko and the Enslaved Fox
Argent’s brows rose. “Why are you engaging such feeble foes?”
She had no good answer for that. “What’s going to happen?”
“I cannot guess.”
Clearly, good answers weren’t easy to come by. Tsumiko tugged at his hand, a silent plea.
He stretched out atop the blankets, leaning close. “What are you afraid of?” he repeated.
Where to start? “What if they fail?”
“Then we will know that what has been done cannot be undone by human—or inhuman—means. And you shall have to apply to heaven for a miracle.” Argent’s light tone sobered somewhat. “If Twineshaft fails, little changes. I will remain yours.”
Tsumiko dared to ask, “What if they succeed?”
He searched her face closely. “Does the prospect frighten you?”
“A little?” she ventured, hardly sure herself.
“And why is that?”
This is where everything tangled. “What if the bond is affecting your ... yourattitudetoward me? What if you change? What if you go back to hating me?”
Argent acknowledged her fears without a trace of reproach. “That had occurred to me as well. But I would be greatly surprised if such a change were possible.”
She didn’t like to say it, but she couldn’t shy away from the facts that fed her fears. “You already underwent such a change, since you hated me at the beginning.”
“Did I? I suppose I may have given that impression.”
Understatement indeed. “You didn’t like me, Argent. At all.”
“I did not know you,” he corrected mildly. “But I did not hate you.”
“You lied?”
“So it would seem.” If anything, he looked amused.
Could she trust someone so fond of evasion, so capable of deception? Tsumiko wanted to. And so she needed to hear the whole truth. “What if they ask you to go with them?”
“That all depends,” he hedged. “They cannot have me if they cannot free me, and their capacity for miracles remains suspect.”
“But if youcouldgo, would you?” she pressed.
“Twineshaft’s offer is appealing. Given a choice, I would accept.”
He would go. Which brought her to another crux. “Even if I stayed here?”
“Have our prestigious guests and their splendid plans for me distracted you from the matters already settled between us?” Argent stroked her hair. “You are my choice. Our home is here. Where else would we stay?”
Tsumiko tried to remember why she’d been so worried. “What if my selfishness keeps Hisoka-sensei and the others from setting you free?”
He nuzzled her cheek. “You want me that badly? I am flattered.”
“I’mserious.”
“I am similarly intent. Come what may, you will not be rid of me.”
She relaxed enough to find him exasperating. “We set a condition,” she reminded. “I can only accept your proposal if you’re freed.”
