The Priestess and the Dragon (Dragon Saga Book 1, Wattpad Version)

Chapter Twenty

Suzume was surrounded by a blinding white light. She threw her arms up to shield her eyes. I didn’t know this had to be so dramatic. The light faded as abruptly as it had appeared. She lowered her arm and glanced about. The garden had disappeared. She blinked, letting her eyes readjust, and her gaze fell on a simple wooden structure. Is this the shrine? She stepped inside. The idol was sitting back on his pedestal, face serene and hands folded in his lap. How did I get back here?

“Don’t take all day,” Kaito called from outside the shrine. Suzume peeked outside the shrine door. Kaito was leaning against a nearby tree waiting for her. He glanced at her as she looked outside. “You’ve been taking forever; I never figured you for a pious woman.” He grinned and her stomach constricted. Does he know, does he suspect the truth about me or did the god’s wish come true? “Why are you staring at me like that?” He walked over to her and she took a step back. Her powers did not flare up to protect her so she could only assume she was safe. She didn’t take her eyes off Kaito, however and he snapped his fingers in her face. “Don’t tell me you’ve fallen for me. Oh, little priestess, I’m sorry if I’ve led you to believe—“

“Shut up,” she snapped and pushed past him. He’s back to normal, I think. At least he’s not caressing my face any more.

 “A bit testy today, aren’t we?” She could just imagine the expression he wore while he spoke. There was probably an ironic twist to his mouth and he probably had an eyebrow cocked. His dark eyes were probably dancing with laughter.   

I almost miss the gentle way he looked at me. Suzume blushed before shaking her head and smacking her face. Get it together. Everything is back to normal, just like you wanted. Now I just need to learn how to control my powers and seal him away once more then all my problems will be done for. She inhaled and closed her eyes to gather her thoughts.  While she was trying to regain her composure, Kaito sneaked up behind her. He touched her on the shoulder. She stiffened and twirled around to face him. He loomed over her and she had to tilt her head up to meet his dark gaze.

“You’re acting strange, are you feeling alright?” he searched her face and the softening of his features reminded her of the Kaito under the spell. He really love Kazue. That’s why he was acting that way. She shook her head again. No. Now is not the time to go soft. If he knew he would kill me for sure. It’s me or him and I am not going down.  She shoved him away and with it her own guilt over wiping his memories.

“I’m fine. What’s wrong with you? You’re acting awfully sentimental. Are you falling for me maybe? Because I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Dragon, because I have no interest. ” She gave him a cocky grin.

He smiled back at her and she bit her lip to distract from the butterflies in her stomach.

“Do you two need a moment alone? I think I’m going to puke,” Rin drawled.

Suzume sighed in irritation. Great, maybe I should have modified my wish to get rid of Rin too. Suzume rolled her eyes towards the sound of Rin’s voice.  The fox-woman sat on the roof of the shrine. Her robe was hitched up to her hip once again displaying her pale thigh.

“Rin, what are you doing here?” Kaito called out.

Rin stood up on the roof with hands on hips and regarded them. “I came looking for you, master. I heard that you had been released from the seal and I came to avow myself to your service, once more.”

I feel like we’ve had this conversation before. Suzume frowned.

“You were always faithful, Rin,” Kaito chuckled. He threw his arms open to receive Rin in an embrace. She jumped down and landed neatly on her feet. She picked up the trailing end of her robe and ran over to Kaito, flinging herself into his arms. The speed at which they collided was a blur to Suzume’s human eyes but the two immortals only laughed as Kaito spun Rin around, Rin’s tail flung about in the wind. After an overlong embrace, in Suzume’s opinion, Kaito set Rin on her feet.