The Circle Girls

Chapter Thirty Three

The Yinglong had graciously arranged the flight for them to the US, even going so far as to book a private cabin with attendants who didn't mind the addition of a vampire hostage. Naihe had considered appealing for the dragon to join them, but Sakura worried that too much of his holy responsibilities had been delayed already.

"He can use this time to catch up on work, without us to worry about." She'd confided as they'd boarded the plane.

Naihe had expressed some doubts. He had confidence in his ability as a fighter, but having a dragon on their side might tip the scales far in their favor. That he didn't have to fear competition with the Yinglong—a private conversation early into their acquaintance assured that the relationship between dragon and student would only remain platonic—only served to elevate this fact. In addition, Sakura was not fully trained. So far, her education had been limited to exercises to build up her stamina and great amounts of meditation. She was strong in her own right, but her expertise had always lay with her mind and capacity for kindness. It was the aggression anchor's job to act as her sword.

Naihe feared that this was the sort of occasion that would call for at least two swords. One of them, in particular, a dragon-shaped sword.

"We'll have Ya-chan." His beloved had declared with utmost confidence.

He wasn't so sure of that, either...

Sakura was her sister, and so it could be said that she knew Yasuko better than any other. But knowledge was not the same as understanding, and Sakura's propensity to forgive her sibling was directly related to her inability to fully comprehend why Yasuko acted as she did. So close to her sister, she often failed to see the forest for the trees. Not only that, but as stubborn as the elder Kushida might be, Yasuko could not have passed two centuries without changing in some ways. Exile, especially self-imposed, was an opportunity to reflect upon one's mistakes and grievances. When she'd left Japan, Yasuko had been forced to acknowledge that there was more of the former than she'd initially assumed, and based on the conversations they'd shared—one-sided they might be—he couldn't guarantee that she had entirely surrendered her misshapen affection, mislabeled as romantic love.

The Yasuko who loved Sakura was a mindless thing, more a liability than an asset. She should have never been turned into a vampire.

And who is to blame for that error? Ah, yes, myself. Sakura might have committed the act, but Naihe hadn't stopped her. However, he wasn't really one to judge. He'd made plenty of mistakes on his own, for the sake of love. Sleeping with Yasuko and letting her form a mate-bond had not been his proudest or wisest moment.

"Naihe?"

Startled from his reverie, he glanced sideways at Sakura. She had a hand outstretched, waiting for his, and he wound his fingers around hers, taking the brunt of her anxiety into himself. She'd never been in a plane before; they'd made the journey from Japan to Chine via ship.

"How long will it take?" She asked him, her pupils relaxing as she stole calm from him. Her shoulders loosened, tension departing, as she bounced the quiet back to him, initiating a feedback loop.

"The equivalent of a day." They had to skirt the upper hemisphere, close to the continents, to make the journey safely.

"Would be easier if I could fly." Sakura mused, sliding her seatbelt into place as an attendant instructed them on proper flight etiquette.

Naihe applied his own seatbelt, pointedly ignoring the scowling vampire on his other side. "With good time." She'd be lovely, in the clouds, scales gilded with sunlight. For all his worldly experience, he had never seen a dragon of her kind in flight, but he couldn't envision her as anything less than beautiful. Sakura would always be beautiful, in any shape and form. "This is faster and saves your stamina."

"It doesn't feel faster."

He swiped his thumb over her knuckles, exuding soothing and comfort.

"How are you talking?" Cut in Min-ho, who eyed them both with a mixture of thinly-veiled hostility and even more obvious envy. "Is it because of the Circle?"

Hesitation hummed through Sakura's skin and into his, and rather than let her explain, Naihe tapped his throat, calling attention to the scars there. Scarring along the neck wasn't uncommon for vampires; rivals often targeted the throat for access to the vulnerable spine. During Naihe's generation, before the inception of the Circle magic and the Formula, the vampires attacked each other almost constantly. And unlike the newest generation, who were only incited at the smell and taste of fellow flesh, they had actively hunted one another. Few vampires lived without the evidence of survival adorning their throats like macabre necklaces. Fewer were able to salvage the ability to speak through conventional means.

Centuries before Naihe had met the Kushida sisters, he had argued with a young female over the definition of their territories. Though she had ripped out his vocal chords and eaten them, he had won in the end.

"No." Sakura answered after a while, slowly. "Nothing like that." Her tone was benign, polite in fact, but tension shimmered through their hands. She didn't want to share anything of the Circle to the likes of Min-ho.

Naihe squeezed her fingers, smiling lightly. "Not a normal Circle, at least." There were some gifts afforded to his generation. 'Gifts' that he would have to pay the price for, it seemed.

Caravossa.

He closed his eyes, letting the disquiet flow through him unattended. Sakura would mistake it for hers and pay no mind.

He should have expected Caravossa to find him, eventually. Those who made a fools of the Grand Empress were fools themselves, for making bargains with the Empire of Teeth.

Daughters of Carnivores, indeed. They would eat and eat and eat, never growing full. They were like vampires, in that respect, always starving for another pound of flesh. Unlike vampires, however, they were remarkably adept at self-sufficiency and protecting their own. One of the reasons why Naihe's kind was attracted to their bargain...and a reason why the vampires should have known better than to take the bait.

Closing his eyes, he stroked Sakura's hand with his own. He would have liked more time with her. He would have liked to see her and Yasuko reconcile, too. It seemed that he could only have one, and not the other.

You and I could have been twins, Yasuko. Both of us, willing to destroy our own person, for the love of one woman.

Overcome with tenderness, he leaned to the side and brushed a kiss on her forehead. Laughed, when she chastised him for flirting so recklessly.

"You belong to my sister." Her heart said, through the Circle.

No, he thought, though he did not say. I am, and always have been, yours.

❁

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