A Dance of Mist and Fury by R. A. Morley

Author:R. A. Morley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fantasy, romance, asian inspired, beauty and the beast, fairy tale retelling
Publisher: R. A. Morley
Published: 2024-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

Dismissed, I set to find Syaoran. I didn’t know who else to turn to, and who would keep it secret. I only knew I needed to find some way to think less about my feelings.

I’d found him taking the shade by the restored well. Though, it seemed too public a place.

“I need your help with something.” I grabbed his hand, making to drag him behind me.

He remained unmoved. And I stumbled back a step.

“Help with what?”

I shook my head. “Not here.” Already, I was getting frustrated with myself, and wanted to back out.

He studied me, his fox ears turning slightly at some other sound. “You need to tell me something, or I’ll stay right here.”

My mind reeled, looking for any way to describe my plight without being so obvious. “When I first came here, only you knew I was a girl. And you sent help to me. You were the only one compassionate to me in those first few days. And between all the teasing and advances made and...” I could feel my frustration pushing me to tears, and swallowed hard to prevent them from falling. “You’re the only one I can confide in for this.”

He blinked, letting quiet hang as he weighed what I’d said. Then he stood. “The door then.”

We walked, hand in hand. While his skin was still hot, I didn’t find myself as fascinated by it. I prayed for courage, for this to work. In remembering, I closed my eyes to keep Urekkato from watching and finding the hidden door.

On the other side of the wall, I stopped, breathing in deep and struggling to gather words.

“What is it?”

“I,” already, I felt as though I’d messed up. “I want you to kiss me.”

His warm expression turned blank. “Hisa. There’s something you should know. About my essence as a fox spirit—”

“I just—!” I locked my jaw, upset at how quickly I would lose what I wanted to say. “When Juro made me kiss him. It’s not always like that, right?”

“You want to compare me to Juro? That hardly seems fair. I—”

I grabbed him, fearing he’d talk me out of it. My problem wasn’t that I didn’t like kissing Juro, though it was a problem. My problem was how stupidly in love I was with Lord Kwan, and how desperately I wanted to be rid of those feelings. So, I pulled on his shirt, standing as high as I could on my toes.

Syaoran caught me, though pushed away. “Hisa!” his scolding came as a whisper.

“Help me,” I plead. “I don’t know what else to do with my feelings. I thought... if I kissed someone else, maybe...”

He relaxed himself, granting a sorrowful look. “I know how important a kiss is to you. It’s part of why I suppress my essence more when you’re near.”

I dismissed what he’d said. After all, he didn’t have the full context, and I couldn’t bring myself to explain it. “Help me,” I begged.

Staring down at me, eyes locked, he sighed. For several seconds, I thought he wouldn’t do it.

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