The First Kaiaru (23 page)

T
uresobei stared at the Earth Priestess, dumbfounded. Then his heart started pounding as if he were in a fight for his life. He opened his mouth, but nothing came out. What was he going to do? He couldn’t get married. This was ridiculous. He’d just have to back out.

Then Kurine turned her warm smile on him. Her cheeks were damp from crying, and she was so happy that her eyes practically glowed. It was clear to even an idiot like him how much she loved him. If he refused to marry her now….

This isn't about me. It's about making Kurine happy. And it’s especially about making her parents happy. They are never going to see her again, and that’s my fault.

“I—” he gulped “—I do.”

But he would not love or marry Kurine only. That he could not promise. Kurine understood his heart on that matter. At least, he was pretty sure she did. She
had
basically said so.

The rest of the ceremony went by in a blur of vows and declarations. Those two simple words—I do—reverberated in his head. He feared those two words would have more influence over him than whatever the secret destiny was that Lu Bei had come back for.

Earth Priestess Faika smiled. “You must now kiss one another.”

Because he was so nervous and jittery, it was a short, terrible kiss. But Kurine didn't seem to mind.

“And now the mark to seal this union,” Faika said.

“Mark?” Turesobei asked. “What mark?”

Tsuroko lifted his sleeve, showing a blue heron design that had been branded onto his skin and stained into his fur. Kurine's mom lifted her sleeve, showing a matching design. Turesobei had never noticed these brands before, probably because he'd spent most of his time with unmarried goronku and because even the goronku, despite their thick fur, wore sleeves all the time.

“To waver in pain,” Oroki said, “is to waver in love.”

An inked brand? And pain? Why had no one warned him about this?! Kurine should have said something. But then she probably had assumed this was how people got married in his culture, too. She had never met anyone who was married outside of her own people.

“This then,” Oroki continued, “is the final seal and proof of your enduring promise to one another, this community, and the gods.”

Shaman Eira stepped forward, bearing a bowl filled with green ink. She took from the bowl a strip of cloth and wrapped it around Kurine's right forearm, just above the wrist. Then she did the same to Turesobei. The pungent ink made his nose run and his eyes water.

Turesobei gave Kurine a puzzled look. She leaned in and whispered, “I hope you like the design.”

“How bad is this going to hurt?” he whispered back.

“You don’t do this among your people?”

“No!” he almost said too loudly.

“Oh, Sobei, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even think to ask you.”

A man with a fire pot and an iron rod stepped forward. From the fire pot, he drew the red-hot, flattened end of the rod.

“Now grasp each other's arms and prepare to press your wrists and forearms together,” Shaman Eira said. “Be careful and certain. You
don’t
want to ruin the placement.”

Turesobei cringed. This was going to hurt—a lot. The man placed the rod between their arms. Kurine and Turesobei carefully positioned their wrists near the hot iron. He didn’t want a brand or a tattoo! And symbols mattered. A bad symbol could potentially interfere with his spells. But, he was certain he could magic the design away if necessary. And if he couldn’t, surely the Blood King could.

Kurine smiled then nodded. Simultaneously, they grasped each other’s arms near the elbow and pinned their forearms and wrists together against the flat edge of the iron.

Turesobei took a deep breath, then exhaled as pain shot through his arm. He could feel his skin melting. He smelled his flesh and Kurine’s fur burning. Her eyes filled with tears, but otherwise she showed no signs of pain. He tried to do the same. In the end, he blocked out the pain by mentally rehearsing the next spell of teleportation he was going to need.

Kurine drew her arm away, and so did he. The man with the hot iron departed. Quickly, Shaman Eira dipped another cloth in the green ink and wrapped it around Kurine’s forearm, covering the branded skin. She did the same for Turesobei, then said loudly, “The seal has been made.”

“May your love never fail,” Sun Priestess Oroki declared.

“Before the gods and in accordance with the laws of the goronku,” Earth Priestess Faika shouted, “we now proclaim you wife and husband!”

Kurine moved in to kiss him.

“Oh, wait,” he said as an idea came to him.

He drew a spell strip from his pouch. He dropped the strip at their feet and spoke the command for an altered casting of the
spell of the flame spout
. Multicolored flames erupted beneath and around him and Kurine. The flames were harmless, though they did tickle.

Even while bathed in orange, green, red, blue, and yellow flames, with a crowd cheering and a smile plastered on his face, reality dawned on him with a terrible ferocity. He was actually married!

In less than a day, his relationships had gone from complicated but stable to a huge mess fraught with peril. And he wasn't the only one who'd get hurt if it all fell apart.

T
uresobei was glad that he’d cast the magical flames to give the wedding ceremony a bit of extra flair, because they also hid his anxious frown. He'd never seen Kurine so happy before, and he didn't want his worries about the future to ruin this moment for her. Once they escaped the Blood King and returned safely home, he would be the best possible husband to Kurine…with or without Iniru.

The frightened gasps and nervous murmurs of the crowd, who had never seen such magic before, were replaced by cheers.

As the magical flames died out, Turesobei drew Kurine in and kissed her again. Then he followed her to the center of the room, up the steps, and out into the cold.

“What now?” Turesobei asked.

“We’re given a minute to put our arms into the snow to soothe the pain and gather our composure. Then we greet all our guests as they come up the steps. After that, we walk back in, and everything will be set up for the feast.”

After they plunged their arms into the snow, Turesobei asked, “Do you think it would ruin the marks if I were to cast a healing spell on our arms?”

“I have no idea, but it’s
supposed
to be hurting.”

“So no healing spell?”

“Maybe later. But for now, I want to do everything right.”

“So there’s a design? And it’s permanent?”

Kurine nodded. “I’m sorry that I assumed your people did the same thing. I should’ve known better.”

“It’s okay. It’s hard to think of things like that.”

“And I know I didn’t consult you on the design, but I wasn’t supposed to. It’s the girl’s choice. You will like it, though. It’s something you can always live with. I promise.” She clasped her hands together and sighed pleasantly. “The wedding was beautiful, wasn’t it? I can’t believe my family put it all together in less than a day. Normally, it would take weeks to pull off something like that. And the flames you summoned were a brilliant touch. It was like everyone could see the fires of our passion.”

“Um…yeah…that’s what I was trying to get across,” he said. “I was worried you would flinch, but you hardly blinked.”

The door opened, and her parents bustled out.

Tsuroko pulled him into a hug. “Son.”

“Er…Dad.”

After her parents came Lu Bei. The fetch wiped tears from his cheeks.

“Such a beautiful wedding. Definitely in the top ten out of all the hundreds I’ve seen. A nice touch with the flames, master. I think some of my dramatic flair is finally rubbing off on you.”

Turesobei accepted congratulations from dozens of people he would never see again. Soon, it all meshed into a blur. Then finally, thankfully, they got to leave the cold and return to the common room.

“My wedding will be remembered for generations,” Kurine said proudly as they headed inside. “Those flames sealed the deal on that.”

“So what happens after the feast?”

“You need me to spell
that
out for you?” she asked dubiously.

“Oh. Yeah. I meant…er…after…
that
.” He had been so nervous, scared, and overwhelmed that any thoughts of their wedding night hadn’t even occurred to him.

She started giggling. “Your face is redder than my dad’s nose after ten bowls of ikase.” She patted him on the cheek. “Even your cluelessness is adorable.”

“And that’s good?”

“Of course, it is,” she replied. “And I’m just teasing you. Obviously, we can’t stay here tonight. We need to get back to the others as soon as possible.”

“Right. Obviously.”

“The other stuff will have to wait till we’re back in the Nexus.”

“Oh.” He blushed again. “What I…what I had actually been asking…”

“Yes?” she asked with a wry grin.

“Before we leave here…shouldn’t we pack up your things to take back with us?”

She snorted. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what you meant.”

“It was! I swear.”

Kurine laughed. “I don’t really have anything worth taking back with me.”

“What about your rock collection?”

“My what?”

“Your rock collection.”

She flinched. “Oh yeah….” Clearly, she hadn’t expected him to ask about that. “I…I don’t think I’m going to bring it with me.”

“Why not?”

“Well, it’s really not a good collection. I never went far from home, you know, or anywhere special.” She kissed him on the cheek. “Until I met you, of course.” She grabbed his hand and tugged. “Come on, let’s eat.”

They filled their bowls with limp purple-leaf vegetables and smoked meats and fish. Turesobei selected the ones that weren’t as spicy. He took one look at the ikase on the table, then chose a bowl of plain water.

“The food’s not anything to brag about,” Kurine said. “I can’t believe I used to think this was special.”

“This is good food,” he lied. “Really, it’s not fair to compare anything to the food we get in the Nexus.”

“Well, at least it’s still cozy and familiar.”

After an hour of eating and talking to dozens of people, it was time for them to do a sacred dance, thanking the gods for blessing them with love and happiness. Turesobei followed Kurine’s lead and seemed to do okay. Then they did more traditional dancing and mingled with the guests.

Near sunset, the drumming picked up to a loud, insistent beat.

“It’s time!” War Chief Sudorga shouted. “It’s time to send the happy couple off to bed!”

“To Kurine and Turesobei, long may they live!” the crowd shouted repeatedly.

“To the hopey—hoppy—
happy
couple!” Lu Bei stammered drunkenly. “Long may you…er…reign!”

“Ahem,” Kurine said, clearing her throat.

Lu Bei peered at her. “Yes, luscious maiden—madam, I mean—”

“Mistress?” Kurine said with a raised eyebrow.

Lu Bei’s eyes turned to saucers, and his jaw dropped. His wings even sagged a bit. “Ink of my father and paper of my mother! I hadn’t considered the imp…impra…implications of this merger between you and master.”

Kurine smiled. “Indeed.”

“What…what can I do for you…mistress?”

“Tone it down,” she said. “And maybe lay off the ikase.”

The fetch bowed. “Oh, yes—” he hiccuped “—of course.”

Ukiri gave Turesobei a kiss on the cheek. “My son, we fixed up the room you usually stay in, for you two to share as a couple.”

Tsuroko patted Turesobei on the shoulder and nodded meaningfully. Turesobei tried not to think of the stories Tsuroko and his friends had told him last night.

“I’m afraid we can’t stay here tonight,” Turesobei said.

“Surely you are not leaving
now
, right after the festivities?” Ukiri asked.

“There is a marriage to consummate,” Tsuroko declared.

Blushing, Kurine took her father’s hand. “I’m sorry, Daddy. But we must go. Our friends are waiting for us out in the cold, and the yomon could return.”

Tsuroko heaved a tremendous sigh. “I understand.”

Ukiri wiped away a tear. “Come, dear, I will help you pack up your things. Then we will see you off.”

Turesobei and Lu Bei waited at the top of the stairs leading outside, while Kurine said her goodbyes to some old friends. The fetch had sobered quickly.

“Master, not to spoil the mood, but during the beginning of the feast, I took the liberty of searching Kurine’s home. At the risk of turning into a book, no less. I could barely handle the range.”

“You spied on…my wife?”

Saying that sounded utterly ludicrous. He couldn’t have a wife.

“Yes, master. And I’m sorry, but I felt I had to. She seemed quite dodgy about her rock collection. She’s so determined to get a stone—and just the right one—at every realm we go to. If rocks matter that much to her, then surely she would want to show her collection off to you?”

“You heard her. She’s embarrassed because her stones represent nearby locations and common events. Like, maybe she has a boring gray rock from where she…I don’t know…first rode a sonoke or something.”

“Except I couldn’t find any stones in her room or anywhere else in her home.”

“Maybe she keeps them in her mother’s workshop. Maybe she hid them somewhere. Maybe her mother threw them out after she left.”

“Maybe,” Lu Bei said dubiously. “But the stones in the realms are so important to her. It just doesn’t make sense to me.”

“Look, it’s a weird habit, but I’ve seen the stones she picks up with my kenja-sight. They are harmless, ordinary stones, if prettier than most. Maybe she made up the collection back home bit because everyone thought she was being weird. We’re not going to worry about it anymore, okay?”

“As you wish, master.”

With the sky turning a dark purple as the crimson sun set, Kurine, Turesobei, and Lu Bei waited together on the ice outside Aikora. Turesobei said goodbye to everyone and promised Tsuroko no less than seven times that he would always keep Kurine safe, no matter the effort required. Kurine clung to her parents, crying more than the first time she had left—because this time she was certain it was final.

“I love you,” she said to them. “And someday, somewhere, we shall see each other again.”

Turesobei evoked the Storm Dragon, and everyone save Shaman Eira, who clapped with joy, took a step back. They all stared with wonder as Turesobei and Kurine climbed onto its back, rose up into the sky, and soared away into the night.

Sitting behind Turesobei, Kurine wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and leaned her head against his shoulder. She was still crying, her tears freezing almost instantly.

“I love you so much,” she said.

They landed at the heart stone location, and Turesobei withdrew the Storm Dragon.

“My arm is still hurting bad,” he said. “How about yours?”

Kurine nodded vigorously. “Are you going to cast a healing spell?”

“If that’s okay.”

“The wraps are supposed to stay on for six weeks while the skin heals and the dye sets in, but I guess since the spell just accelerates the natural healing process, it should be okay, as long as the dye has set.”

“We’re going to have to risk it,” he said. “It’s going to be hard enough to hide the marks. Everyone would definitely see the wraps.”

“Good point.”

“So, this is somehow both a brand and a tattoo?”

“Yep. The ink comes mostly from the stomach secretions and brain matter of a rare beast. It reacts with the heat and colors the brand.”

Turesobei cast the
spell of winter healing,
and then they removed the cloth wraps to uncover matching, jade-green goshawks. They were perfect replicas of the Chonda Goshawk symbol. His looked great, but hers, cutting through her snowy fur, was even more striking.

“Wow, this is amazing! Your uncle made this brand in just a few hours?”

“He’s very good at what he does,” she said. “I sketched the symbol out for him.”

“Well, it’s brilliant. You did a great job.”

“You were worried, weren’t you?”

“About a permanent brand? Well, yeah. But you know, I didn’t pick out this mark either.” He pointed at the
Mark of the Storm Dragon
.

She angled her tattoo in the light. “This way, I get to be a Chonda, too. And, if anything ever happens to me, you will have a brand you can live with. Everyone would simply think it’s a symbol representing your clan.”

“Nothing will happen to you. I won’t allow it.”

“Silly, who do you know who hasn’t died in the last couple of months? Other than you, only Awasa and Enashoma haven’t gotten killed.”

“Well, okay, good point. But you know, I will always do everything in my power to protect you, right?”

She kissed him. “Of course, I do.”

As soon as they teleported back to the already open gate, Iniru yelled, “About time!”

A thunderous crunching echoed across the icy fields. Turesobei turned to see the yomon charging madly toward them. The demons were just tiny spots visible against the setting sun, but they would close in fast.

Iniru was clutching the silver rod of the Keepers. Turesobei had left it with her, just in case. He stared at her in bewilderment. She was the girl he had dreamt of marrying. She was the one he had thought he’d end up with for the rest of his life. And, well, he still could. But he had married Kurine first, without making sure it was okay with Iniru, and now everything was terribly complicated again. And that was the last thing he wanted.

“Problem?” Iniru asked.

“Wha–what?” he returned stupidly.

“Are you okay?”

He nodded. “Yes, yes. I’m fine.

“Can we go now?”

“Of course. Let’s get out of here.”

Lady Hannya had already opened the gate.

Once they were safely on the other side, Awasa collapsed with relief. “Facing those monsters again, even at such a distance…that wasn’t easy.”

Hannya stared at Turesobei and Kurine with piercing eyes. “I hope your…vacation…was worth it.”

“There was an…unexpected delay,” Turesobei said lamely, giving Enashoma the required
welcome back to the Nexus
hug. “But yes, I think it was worth it.”

“It’s my fault we were later than promised,” Kurine said. “It’s hard to say goodbye, knowing you will never see your family again.”

“It’s good you said a proper goodbye,” Motekeru said as he clanked away.

As everyone else dispersed, Kurine took Iniru’s hands. “Would it be okay if I spent tonight with Turesobei. Instead of you?”

“You want an extra night with him?” Iniru asked with an edge of irritation in her voice.

“Please. It would mean so much to me.”

Iniru narrowed her eyes and puckered her lips. Turesobei knew that look well. She wasn’t happy. “Why?”

Kurine shrugged. “It’s just…after seeing my family and all…I need….” She stammered, unable to find the right words.

Iniru let out a deep breath. “You need comfort, and a night with me isn’t enough.”

“No! It’s just….”

Iniru squeezed her hands. “I get it. Take the extra night.”

Kurine kissed her on the cheek. “Thank you so much, Niru!”

Most of Iniru’s irritation vanished. “But just this once.”

“Of course,” Kurine said. She sounded so earnest, almost like she was making another vow, but also oddly sad. "I promise I'll make it up to you."

Iniru didn't seem to notice. She headed down into the courtyard. “I need a hot bath.”