Page 7 of Fumiko and the Finicky Nestmate
“Perhaps not. But my brother was furious. And certain promises were extracted.”
He couldn’t believe it. But he could. And it wasn’t like he minded. “Do I get a lullaby out of the deal?”
Juuyu glanced away, toward things Akira couldn’t see, and said, “Yes. I believe I could sing here.”
Then all at once, there was another woman in the room. Just … there. And talking fast.
“Sister! You’ll never guess! Please, come? There’s something new!”
Her sister? Akira supposed one of them could be adopted. There was certainly no family resemblance. This woman was taller than Fumiko and definitely not Japanese. Her skin was several shades darker. Her hair was a rippling cascade of brown waves, and she was crowned with the same purple flowers that Fumiko wore. But more of them. Lots more.
“Zuzu!” Melody exclaimed, all exasperation.
Fumiko softly added, “You know better.”
The new lady rolled her eyes. Which were a vivid shade of purple. “They’re our guests.”
Akira didn’t need to be told that Zuzu was Amaranthine, but he was still plenty confused.
“Peace.” Juuyu made a soothing gesture in Fumiko’s direction. “Your twin knew it was safe to manifest here.”
Not just sisters, but twins?
And with that, Akira caught on.
These two were tree-kin. Isla had been quizzing Suuzu about them the last time they were both home at the same time. But Akira had tuned out most of the conversation because—in typical Isla fashion—she’d insisted on conducting the entire discussion in French.
Right then, Zuzu glided over to Juuyu and just sort of inserted herself into his personal space, pulling him down into a kiss.
Akira gawked.
Juuyu didn’t bat an eye. Like kissing beautiful women was all in a day’s work.
Wait. Was he smiling?
Then Zuzu whirled and exclaimed, “Oh, but Sister! You really should come and see. There’s a dragon swimming in our bay!”
THREE
At the Amory
Nostalgia hit Juuyu with the force of a gale.
Six years had passed since his last visit home, and he’d only gone because custom demanded that he escort Suuzu and Akira.
Work was as constant as instinct, but Juuyu didn’t begrudge the urgency of the tasks their team took on. Still, his sort longed for familiar patterns. And this place stirred him up in unanticipated ways.
Brine upon the landward breeze.
Waves upon a nearby shore.
And Zuzu smelled like home.
She was a tree of the same variety as Letik, whose branches had provided shelter to generations of Farroost tributes. Letik was twin to Juuyu’s father, and Juuyu had raised Suuzu among his branches. The tree was their birthplace and their home. Indeed, Juuyu still carried Letik’s petals in a bottle as a remedy for homesickness.
Zuzu looked as if she belonged to the grove tended by the Farroost clan. Juuyu brushed a knuckle across bark brown skin, faintly traced with fine grain, as if Zuzu were carved from her own wood. Heart light, he greeted her in the old language.
Her pout was predictably sultry, trees being trees. “I’m American, too, you know.”
