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can reestablish it amongst three - myself, Kindan, and you."
"No."
"Why not?" Raiden frowned.
Taka rolled his eyes. "Because I want no part of such powers. Storms, Raiden, I can't even handle the magic I have now. I
don't want it; I never did. The only aspect of this entire thing," he tugged at his hair. "That I don't mind is my relation to Kyo.
The rest I would gladly leave. So if your plan is to recreate the Three Storms--" He took a deep breath. "Then you should
kill me, because Nankyo would make a much better dragon than I."
"Taka& " Raiden reached up to pull Taka's hand away from his hair, thumb brushing over the ring he still wore. "I thought it
would take me days simply to get you to speak to me."
"As did I," Taka said dryly. "I came in here with the intention of lobbing several heavy objects at your head - but you looked
so sad."
Lifting Taka's hand to his lips, Raiden kissed his knuckles softly. "Bad memories; you've banished them with the storm."
"Of what?" Taka asked softly.
"Kan wore this ring once," Raiden said. "Except it was set with a saphir. When I found his body, I noticed the ring was
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missing. I found it only five years ago, and had it reset with an esmeralda." He smiled faintly, looking at the ring and then at
Taka. "Perhaps I sensed I would shortly find you."
Taka shook his head slowly back and forth. "You make me dizzy."
"The feeling is entirely mutual," Raiden managed, before Taka reached up to kiss him.
Chapter Eighteen
Nankyo paused while he was still some distance from the lighthouse. Above him the sky had finally cleared. He'd waited
inside the better part of an hour, not wanting to interfere once he'd realized Takara was confronting Raiden.
Clearly the discussion was going well.
He continued to linger on the path, staring at the lighthouse and old home beside it, filled with trepidation he could not -
would not - explain to himself. His robes and hair caught in the tail end of the winds that had only minutes before been
wreaking havoc across the island, but soon enough the wind settled to a soft breeze.
Disgusted with himself for hesitating, Nankyo forced his feet to resume working. He made his way slowly to the lighthouse,
circling around it and following the footpath down to the beach below.
Kindan sat on the sand, far enough away from the water that the waves only just lapped at his feet, legs pulled loosely up,
arms looped around his knees. His tunic was tight against the muscles of his back, the wind snatching at his short hair.
Nankyo didn't make a sound as he walked across the sand, stopping a few paces behind and to the left of Kindan. He
wondered, sometimes, how anyone could have let the man Captain a ship. There were any number of men and women in
the palace who would have given away their fortunes to keep the handsome, striking captain near to hand. It almost
seemed a waste to allow him to spend the majority of his time at sea.
Almost. Because as handsome as Kindan had been in his office, so long ago, the man really came alive at sea. He was,
quite literally, made for it.
How much had it hurt, that first day on the ship, to learn that the aloof, rigid Captain was the end result of the boy he'd met
so many years ago? Even now, it made him sick to think about it, the bitter irony of his dreamed-about rescuer captaining
the ship that would take him to his death.
Somehow, despite all his careful plans, everything had come out anyway. It was a wonder Kindan didn't hate him.
Although, now he really might. If that were the case, Nankyo would just choose to stay dead. Because now that he wasn't
going to die, there was only one thing he really wanted. Nankyo clenched his hands into fists to still their trembling.
"So this entire journey was meant to end in your death?" Kindan asked evenly, breaking the silence that had stretched taut
between them.
"Yes."
"And when was someone going to inform me of this?"
Nankyo shook his head and stared down at the sand at his feet. "I don't know. I never planned to tell anyone."
"So you were just going to vanish into thin air and leave Taka to explain things?"
"Something like that," Nankyo said tightly.
Kin's voice was rough, shaky. "So all this time I've been carrying you to your death?" He laughed bitterly, head dropping into
the circle of his arms. "Why?"
"Because that's how the Seal works," Nankyo said. "Or, in my case, that is how destroying the Seal works."
"Why not simply let it fall apart?"
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Nankyo shook his head. "That would take centuries, and there is no telling what might result from such a thing& " His lips
quirked. "Though I think perhaps I have some idea."
Kindan's breath hissed out between his teeth. "Just wait until I get my hands on him& " He twisted his head to glare at
Nankyo, "I'm sorely tempted to drown all three of you. Why would no one tell me the truth?"
"I didn't want you to know. I didn't want anyone to know, beyond Takara, who had no choice."
"Why?" Kindan stood, brushing sand from his clothes. He did not make a move toward Nankyo, though it looked as though
he struggled to stay in place.
"Because--" Nankyo stopped and fell silent. "I did not want you to hate me."
"I never hated you!" Kindan said in a rage. "When will you believe me?" [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]