Page 124 of Kimiko and the Accidental Proposal
Taking a slow, deep breath, she gazed up into the tangle of branches overhead. In this place, over the course of twelve kisses, her life would be changed. By chance and by choice. And by the one she needed to chase.
“Ready?” she whispered.
“As my lady pleases,” he murmured, assuming a receptive pose.
She’d been fine throughout the evening, sticking to Suuzu’s careful schedule. It was easy to be poised with him and Hisoka in charge of extraneous details. Their calm was catching. But she hadn’t really thought about the fact that she’d need to look Eloquence in the eye while she said her piece.
He actually seemed flustered.
“Kith commentary?” she murmured.
Eloquence gave a tiny nod.
“Tell me later?”
“Ask me eleven pledges from tonight.”
She reached for his hands and supported them. “Is that a promise?”
He was focused on her now, tuning out the other voices in favor of her flirting. And a smile teased at the corner of his mouth. He hummed an affirmative.
Aware that their onlookers were waiting, Kimiko adjusted her stance and changed the set of her hands over his. Without really meaning to, she reached for the connection they’d shared yesterday. Just a touch, but he reached back, a fleeting nudge that assured her that on some level, this was a private moment. Theirs alone.
Firelight glinted in his eyes, and Kimiko allowed a small, smug part of herself to admire his beauty.
Eloquence’s eyes widened somewhat, then quickly lowered.
Kimiko began to speak. “In the Amaranthine folk tale known as ‘The Wolf and the Moon Maiden,’ a single encounter reshapes the hero’s future. He never planned to meet the beauty who steals his heart. And he’s equally awed that she would welcome his suit.”
With a glance, she addressed herself to Harmonious and Anna. “Naturally, the moon is protective of her daughter and will not immediately entrust her to the wolf. She sets a series of tasks, requiring pledges and patience from the suitor. Beneath the branches of the tree where they met, he completes his courtship through a series of kisses, for in wolf tradition, a kiss cannot lie.”
Murmurs of interest and approval made it feel as if she were in a dialogue with their guests.
Kimiko returned her attention to her intended. “Eloquence is no more a maiden than I am a hero, but I chose this story for the elements that hold true. Our encounter was unexpected, yet I’ve been warmly welcomed. I am pleased by his kindness and calmed by his strength. Eloquence has my trust. Here, I will prove my devotion, beneath the branches of the tree that … watched over … my childhood.”
She trailed off, for the crowd was stirring, distracted.
Eloquence’s head turned. Kimiko shaped her fingers into a plea for information, which he answered with a similar hand signal—hold.
“Someone is at the gate,” he said. “And they are very loud.”
“I don’t hear anything.”
Eloquence answered distractedly. “The barrier has noise dampening properties. I had not realized … the city is full of noise. Elderbough’s trackers are on a scent.”
Kimiko watched his gaze turn fully inward, and she assumed he was listening to the distant voices of Kith. Off to one side, Rise had begun to growl. Eloquence’s face suddenly shifted into alarm, just as a lone figure dashed into the courtyard.
Even at speed, she recognized him. “Inti?”
The crosser hurled himself at Hisoka, who caught him without a fuss and strolled over to Harmonious. Eloquence’s brothers joined them, and soon, Inti was standing on Hisoka’s shoulders, gesturing broadly while he talked.
“What’s happened?” asked Kimiko.
Eloquence said, “I’m not sure, but Tenma needs me.”
Two trackers—Elderboughs by their coloring—hurried over to Adoona-soh, whose face betrayed nothing of her thoughts.
Kimiko whispered, “Do you need to go?”
