Read Online Twiceborn Endgame (The Proving Book 3) by Marina Finlayson - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Marina Finlayson
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him up.”
“Not even to save her loyal kitsune?” Ben didn’t look convinced.
That made Kasumi laugh, though it wasn’t a happy sound. “Daiyu knows I’d be first in line to kill her if I could. There’s no such thing as a loyal kitsune any more.”
I frowned. The bitterness in her tone had the ring of truth about it. I fought down my rage and tried to think logically. If she’d managed to kill me … what would have happened to her?
That was an easy one. Garth, or Luce, or Ben—just about anybody in this garden—would have killed her on the spot. She hadn’t come here expecting to walk away. So why commit to a suicide mission if not for loyalty to her queen?
“What hold does Daiyu have over you?” Was I being a fool again? But I’d been so sure Kasumi had wanted me to succeed, had even liked me personally. Maybe she’d only turned on me because she had to.
She hesitated, then seemed to come to a decision. “The same hold she has over every kitsune. Not that there are many of us left any more. She’s seen to that. She holds all our hoshi no tama as surety for our obedience. If one of us disobeys her, all will die.”
“That’s crap,” said Garth. “We’ve seen your stupid star ball. You had it with you when you were pretending to be on our side.”
The hoshi no tama was the heart of the kitsune’s magic. Without that glowing golden ball she wouldn’t have been able to take Ken Thomas’s form.
She didn’t look at Garth. “She sent me here to destabilise your proving, and remove all the claimants if I could. She knew I needed my hoshi no tama for that.”
“Then why didn’t you just run away once you got it?”
Now she looked at him, a look of withering scorn. “Does your pack mean so little to you that you’d abandon them to certain death so that you could be free? I have children. A husband. A father. She holds their lives in her hands. One wrong move from me and my son and daughter would have their throats slit in their sleep.”
I looked down. I couldn’t bear that look of desperation in her eyes. More than anything, that convinced me she was telling the truth. I knew what that felt like. Nothing was more important than your children’s safety. It must be tearing her apart to know they were in constant danger.
“What will happen now that you’ve failed to kill me?”
“I suppose it depends what you do to me. If I die she won’t take action against my family.”
“And if you live?”
“You’d better kill me. If you don’t I’ll keep trying to kill you until I succeed.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care either way, but I wasn’t fooled.
“Why don’t you join us? Help us defeat her, and your family will be free.”
“I can’t.” Her dark eyes held a weary sorrow. “She keeps the hoshi no tama of every kitsune in a special case. It is always locked, always guarded. The minute I move against her, she will destroy them. A kitsune cannot live without her hoshi no tama. It would be the end of our whole race. If I raise my hand against her, they will all die. Even if someone else kills Daiyu, they have standing orders in Japan that in the event of her death, all the kitsune are to be slaughtered. Not only can I not move against her, but I must actively work to keep my bitterest enemy alive lest all my family die like dogs. It is a most effective trap she has me in.”
“We could steal the case.” God knows how, but we’d pulled off some pretty wild schemes together before. It would be worth it to have Kasumi at my side again. The advantage it would give me against my new sisters would be phenomenal.
Kasumi shook her head. “I don’t even know where the case is. Somewhere on her main estate, most likely. But even if we could steal it, we’d have to steal all the kitsune out from under her nose at the same time, or she’d just have them killed. They’re defenceless without their hoshi no tama. There is too much that could go wrong. I cannot risk it.
“Not even to save her loyal kitsune?” Ben didn’t look convinced.
That made Kasumi laugh, though it wasn’t a happy sound. “Daiyu knows I’d be first in line to kill her if I could. There’s no such thing as a loyal kitsune any more.”
I frowned. The bitterness in her tone had the ring of truth about it. I fought down my rage and tried to think logically. If she’d managed to kill me … what would have happened to her?
That was an easy one. Garth, or Luce, or Ben—just about anybody in this garden—would have killed her on the spot. She hadn’t come here expecting to walk away. So why commit to a suicide mission if not for loyalty to her queen?
“What hold does Daiyu have over you?” Was I being a fool again? But I’d been so sure Kasumi had wanted me to succeed, had even liked me personally. Maybe she’d only turned on me because she had to.
She hesitated, then seemed to come to a decision. “The same hold she has over every kitsune. Not that there are many of us left any more. She’s seen to that. She holds all our hoshi no tama as surety for our obedience. If one of us disobeys her, all will die.”
“That’s crap,” said Garth. “We’ve seen your stupid star ball. You had it with you when you were pretending to be on our side.”
The hoshi no tama was the heart of the kitsune’s magic. Without that glowing golden ball she wouldn’t have been able to take Ken Thomas’s form.
She didn’t look at Garth. “She sent me here to destabilise your proving, and remove all the claimants if I could. She knew I needed my hoshi no tama for that.”
“Then why didn’t you just run away once you got it?”
Now she looked at him, a look of withering scorn. “Does your pack mean so little to you that you’d abandon them to certain death so that you could be free? I have children. A husband. A father. She holds their lives in her hands. One wrong move from me and my son and daughter would have their throats slit in their sleep.”
I looked down. I couldn’t bear that look of desperation in her eyes. More than anything, that convinced me she was telling the truth. I knew what that felt like. Nothing was more important than your children’s safety. It must be tearing her apart to know they were in constant danger.
“What will happen now that you’ve failed to kill me?”
“I suppose it depends what you do to me. If I die she won’t take action against my family.”
“And if you live?”
“You’d better kill me. If you don’t I’ll keep trying to kill you until I succeed.” She shrugged as if she didn’t care either way, but I wasn’t fooled.
“Why don’t you join us? Help us defeat her, and your family will be free.”
“I can’t.” Her dark eyes held a weary sorrow. “She keeps the hoshi no tama of every kitsune in a special case. It is always locked, always guarded. The minute I move against her, she will destroy them. A kitsune cannot live without her hoshi no tama. It would be the end of our whole race. If I raise my hand against her, they will all die. Even if someone else kills Daiyu, they have standing orders in Japan that in the event of her death, all the kitsune are to be slaughtered. Not only can I not move against her, but I must actively work to keep my bitterest enemy alive lest all my family die like dogs. It is a most effective trap she has me in.”
“We could steal the case.” God knows how, but we’d pulled off some pretty wild schemes together before. It would be worth it to have Kasumi at my side again. The advantage it would give me against my new sisters would be phenomenal.
Kasumi shook her head. “I don’t even know where the case is. Somewhere on her main estate, most likely. But even if we could steal it, we’d have to steal all the kitsune out from under her nose at the same time, or she’d just have them killed. They’re defenceless without their hoshi no tama. There is too much that could go wrong. I cannot risk it.
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