“Can I learn to sword fight?” Anna asked.
“Sure!”
“No.”
“Why?” Yuuki asked.
He looked at Ajani. Last week, Yuuki would have thought the
African fae’s agreement was an attempt to access Anna’s human energy. Now, he
knew Ajani was enthralled by anything to do with sword play.
“I’m a sword blerd—OK, a blerd in general,” Ajani admitted to Yuuki while trying to convince him to watch another human movie.
Yuuki looked at Rina. Anna’s aunt still didn’t trust him. He
could feel it the moment she threw an energetic shield around her niece. It was
a powerful one, easily able to stop a lesser fae and slow down a powerful one,
if it meant her harm.
Ajani reached out to touch Anna on her nose. “Boop,” he said.
Anna giggled.
Yuuki ruffled the child’s hair. “Your wards are as strong as
ever Rina-san, but as you can see there is no intent to harm Anna. Anna-chan, I
still want to know why. The truth now. It’s only fair since I’m sworn to tell
you the truth. You promised to never ask me to do something I’m not comfortable
with, and I’m not comfortable without the truth.”
“The sword fight you had in Philly sounded cool,” Anna said.
“It was,” Ajani agreed.
“And learning magic with Titi Rina was cool,” Anna added. “I
guess, it’s just, you’re both cool.”
Something in the way she held her head sparked Yuuki’s memory. I want to be just like you, big brother, Giichi had said. The pain blindsided him for a moment. He looked at Rina’s anxious expression.
“Fine, on two conditions. Firstly, promise me you won’t go
out seeking fights. Second, your aunt must approve.”
“Please, Titi Rina. Pleeeease.”
“We can discuss things privately if you’d like,” Yuuki said
to Rina.
“I’d expect the same level of honesty you have with Anna. At
minimum.”
Clever, he thought. But not unexpected. A proper
witch had to be.
Yuuki bowed, his three fox tails swishing. “Of course.”
“I get to help too,” Ajani said.
“If we come to an agreement,” Yuuki and Rina said at the
same time.
Rina smiled.
I love it! A wonderful excerpt to share because it is open-ended, leading one to hope for more, yet reveals enough to be complete in itself.
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely from a future book, not the one I'm working on now. But it is interesting to take the jump to see where Yuuki was (the book I'm working on now) to who he will be (a future book).
DeleteLooking forward to the resulting swordplay!
ReplyDeleteWell there will definitely be a ton in the first book (the one I'm working on now)... and definitely more in the future too.
DeleteDon't go looking for fights. Good advice
ReplyDeleteBravo! A lovely excerpt
Happy Friday
Generally quite good advice, yes
DeleteI am reading a chapter of an anime tale. :)
ReplyDeleteenjoying it!
I am DELIGHTED by that comment. I'm hoping the novel I'm working on will capture some of that anime feel, but for an audience who grew up loving those stories (just the way I did).
DeleteA winning alliance!
ReplyDeleteOh it definitely will be
DeleteAlliances! But will it last?
ReplyDeleteWe shall see... it most certainly will be put to the test.
Deletevery engaging, I hope you'll continue on and post more.
ReplyDeleteI think I won't be able to resist putting out some bits that may or may not be part of the future novel every now and then. I'm constantly thinking in terms of Yuuki's arc, especially as I'm doing a deep dive into who he is in this first novel.
DeleteIt is always wonderful to see two powerful beings, with powerful personalities, find middle ground. Lessons in sword fighting and on witchcraft--Anna is a very lucky girl!
ReplyDeleteI mean who DOESN'T want to sword fight?
ReplyDelete