Page 121 of Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal
Hot tears splashed Akira’s cheek, and his heart trembled. “For me?”
“Yes, for you. Even though I would break laws, break faith, break trust. Even so, I would take it and have you plant it beside the threshold of our home.”
“I get it now.” Akira leaned up to kiss his best friend’s cheek. “That’s a nice idea. I like it better than what I thought you were suggesting.”
Suuzu hummed inquiringly.
“Well, with the story and all,” Akira said. “I was sorta worried that you were going to try to get me pregnant.”
With an exasperated groan, Suuzu gave in to a fresh wash of tears. But at least this time, he was laughing through them.
FORTY-SIX
Rooftops
Tenma had never been so scared in his life. Yes, his first day of school had shattered his courage, but this didn’t begin to compare. It was one thing to be surrounded by passive, peaceful Amaranthine. Quite another to know with dread certainty that one of them moved like a predator, and you were its prey.
Were they to be the next kidnap victims? Would Ms. Reeves give Class 3-C the bad news tomorrow? No, wait. Beginning tomorrow, they were off for a week to observe the anniversary of the Emergence. But when their classmates returned, Sentinel Skybellow would grimly rehearse his safety protocols, reminding students to take extra care when leaving campus.
Because Tenma had been foolish. He might even die. This thing driving toward them, it felt merciless and manic. A soul-tearing terror he could never hope to outrun on his own.
Gradually, Tenma became aware that Inti was saying things, patting his face, stroking his hair. He was less afraid of Inti than of the monster in the darkness. Of course, the crosser wasn’t exactly Amaranthine. Tenma could see the split in Inti, two natures twining, both wild in their other-ness. Which made him curious if he could actually see the souls of reavers in the same palette of colors that filled his mind when he focused on a person. Maybe he should try it on Isla … if he survived the night.
“Ten-ma, Ten-ma.”
The teasing sing-song pulled at his attention, but another wild leap left him dizzy. All he could do was lock his arms around his friend’s slim shoulders and gasp for every breath. “I’m so scared, Inti,” he confessed.
“Are you with me, Tenma? Can you hear my voice now?”
“I hear you.”
“Good, good, good.”
Inti changed directions so fast, Tenma groaned in protest.
“I know a place. I’m going to hide you there, then go for help. You’ll need to stay quiet while I lead the threat away.”
Tenma fumbled to straighten his glasses. “Inti, is that you?”
The crosser landed on the peak of a roof, slid down the opposite slope, and leapt over an alley. Coming to a halt, he met Tenma’s gaze. A playful little smile warmed his expression. “Inti is here. Inti has always been here.”
“I guess you have.”
Inti let him down, but Tenma’s legs quavered too much to hold him up. Even as he sagged to the ground, he caught Inti’s pant leg, afraid of being left behind.
A warm tail wrapped around Tenma’s chest, its tufted tip tickling his nose. “Can you trust me?” asked Inti.
“I do trust you.”
“This way.” Inti levered Tenma onto his feet and guided him to the other end of the roof.
He wasn’t sure exactly where they were in Keishi, but it was three stories above a busy street. Shops and restaurants were clogged with people already celebrating the international holiday.
Inti crouched before a dark metal box, some kind of ventilation unit, and pulled a louvered grate off the front. “In.”
Tenma crawled into the tight space, pulling his knees up to his chest to fit. His roommate bumped his forehead with a hasty kiss, then snapped the cover into place. Through the downward angle of the metal shutters, Tenma could only see dim slices of the gravel and tar roof, but Inti’s hand darted in and out of view, creating a pattern on the ground.
A sigil? Had Inti warded his hiding place? Or marked it somehow? Since when did their class clown know sigilcraft?
