Kitsune: A Little Mermaid Retelling

Chapter Fifteen

Rin paced the length of the courtyard. Her bare feet had acquired a thin sheen of dust. He won't come tonight. He'll stay away and I'll find a way to send him a message in the morning. Two guards stood at the door, one facing the hallway that led to the shrine, the other facing her. The one watching her regarded her with a blank expression as lifeless as a mask. She met his gaze and held it. He frowned but did not look away. She would not be the first to surrender. She refused to let them think her weak. For the space of a breath they were locked in time. Then he lowered his eyes.

"What have you done now?"

Damn him. Rin turned slowly. Shin leaned against the shrine. He smirked at her in his charming way. She wanted nothing more than to fall into his arms at that moment. But she wrapped her arms around her waist instead. You should not have come. The priestess cannot harm me in this form, but she can hurt you.

He glanced around the courtyard, his eyes skimming over the sutras and binding charms. He even touched one with the tip of a clawed finger. "Binding spells." He looked to Rin. "What is the meaning of this?"

She shrugged and went to sit down on the steps of one of the adjacent covered walkways. Every pathway had been boarded up. The warrior watched her from the corner of his eye, but if he saw Shin, he gave no indication. Most humans could not see her kind—Hikaru was one of the few exceptions.

"Rin, what happened?" Shin knelt down in front of her, taking her hands in his.

She yanked her hands away. Leave, Shin, and don't come back.

"Is this the young lord's doing? I should never have let you stay." Shin growled. His canines elongated as he clenched his fists.

Rin shook her head. He can't stay here. What if the binding charms trap him here? She yanked at Shin's elbow and led him to the door, where she pointed out. The warrior tensed as she approached. He reached for his sword but did not draw it. His fellow guard glanced over his shoulder at her. She ignored them. She was more worried about getting Shin out of there.

"Stay back. I won't tell you again," the guard that faced outward snarled.

Shin bared his teeth at the men, but they did not see. They looked through him and at Rin.

"You're crazy if you think I'm going to leave you here alone," Shin said.

She huffed and stomped back over to the shrine. She knelt in front of it. Sitting near it gave her a measure of serenity—something she needed desperately right about now.

"I'm not leaving, Rin." Shin sat down on the ground beside her, his back to the shrine.

You stubborn idiot.

"You're probably cursing me, calling me a stubborn fool," he said with his usual levity, but his expression was severe.

Idiot, but close enough. He had an uncanny ability to read her thoughts. She pointed at the sutras and scowled at him. You're not safe here.

His eyes flickered to the sutra. He snatched one that was posted above the shrine and ripped it to pieces. "These are just paper. Without spiritual energy they cannot harm us."

She bowed her head. The shredded fragments were scattered on the ground and one of them bumped against her toe, which peeked out from beneath the dusty hem of her outer robe. I should have known that. If I was myself, I would have sensed that there was no power here.

"I will not summon the Dragon, if you wish it, but even my patience has its limits. This has gotten out of hand."

She did not want to involve Shin and she definitely did not want the Dragon to come to her rescue. She had fancied herself in love with him at one point. The Dragon was handsome, daring and powerful. He ruled the entirety of the largest island in Akatsuki. Coming from a minor household, she never thought she would catch his eye. Her family were servants to the Dragon, at times messengers, at other times they tended to his guests, and as for Rin, she tended to his personal needs. When they became lovers, she thought she was in a happy dream. But it became quickly apparent all that she had idealized was nothing but girlish fantasy. The Dragon was powerful, but he was still just a man. She had enjoyed their time together, but when it came to an end, she did not grieve it.