Page 134 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
“Fun is one of the perks of traveling with the well-heeled, somewhat dubious second son of Smythe Manor. My tastes are expensive, my pockets are deep, and our time is short. Let’s frivol away the next five days in extravagant ways … because this, too, is part of Argent’s plan.”
Akira frowned, “Doesn’t he want us to stay hidden?”
“Non, mes amours. He wants us to lure out a gentleman thief.”
FORTY-SIX
So Much to Gain
Fumiko was almost certain that kissing had something to do with claims. But maybe that had been a wolf custom? Or was it dogs? Kimiko Miyabe had certainly gone to a lot of trouble to kiss Eloquence Starmark enough times to keep him.
Up on tiptoe, Fumiko placed kisses everywhere she’d once painted flower petals. Juuyu bent enough that she could reach, but then, with a low warble, he sank to a seat on the edge of her bed.
“Wait a moment, Fumiko.”
She did. He seemed flustered, but not necessarily in a bad way. Fumiko hadn’t forgotten this part of pairing off. Weak-kneed was good. Breathless was good.
“Zuzu is distracted,” he said. “And you are so much.”
Fumiko’s happiness faltered. “Too much?”
“I am not yet a match for your vastness, but I will gain.” Juuyu asked, “May I place a sigil on you?”
That sounded like a claim, too. And since she’d been thinking about it, she asked, “May I paint something on you?”
“An exchange?” He angled his head to one side. “I am willing.”
So she cast about for her paint set. It was here. Somewhere.
Juuyu gestured to the things atop her bedside table. “Is that what you are looking for?”
She murmured her thanks, mind already racing through possible designs. The set rested on the puzzle box, which momentarily distracted her. Something like this would probably be no problem for a detective like Juuyu. Maybe she should invite him to try?
But when she turned to Juuyu, he stood tall, already coaxing threads of power from thin air. They shone as he spun them into a sigil no bigger than the palm of his hand. It shimmered between them, and he nudged it into alignment before lightly touching Fumiko’s breastbone. The design vanished through her top. A quick peek showed that Juuyu’s mark had molded to her skin.
Juuyu’s gaze was carefully averted. “A simple ward to dampen your presence.”
She touched the spot. “Is that all it takes? You hid me?”
“Hardly.” With a low trill that made it seem like he was laughing at himself, Juuyu said, “I am the one who is hiding. Defensive sigilcraft is a specialty of mine.”
Fumiko didn’t really understand the difference, but maybe that didn’t matter. “Sometimes Zuzu wants to give a mark.”
Juuyu’s posture slowly shifted, becoming taut, attentive. “Oh?”
“Sometimes,” she repeated. Although it wasn’t very often.
“Under what circumstances?”
“When someone decided to stay with me. When all of us were happy together—Zuzu, too.” Twice for a husband. Once for a friend. Once for a child who came back for keeps. Fumiko touched her forehead and explained, “If Zuzu trusts someone all the way, she wants to put a kind of mark here.”
“I am familiar with the custom.”
“You are?”
“They were commonplace in the grove where I grew up.” Juuyu rolled his wrist. “In the oldest tales, an Impression would show favor by placing such a mark. However, it would not always take; it would not always linger.”
Fumiko whispered, “Why not?”
