Chapter 55: Chapter Fifty-Five

We stay in the library until sunset until my head pounds and my frustration overflows. I snap my book shut and shove it aside with the mounds of other useless tomes, none of which hold the answers to the questions that have been eating away at my brain. It must have been Ascian’s power that protected me from Toshiro earlier on. He admitted to me himself that the jewelry would protect me from bodily harm, but if that were true, then why was Toshiro able to land that blow to my shoulder?

Perhaps Ascian meant that the gold would shield me from harm dealt from the Faries and not outside sources, or maybe Toshiro is exempt from the protection spell because he is a god. Either way, I don’t think that the troubled look on Fox’s face would have been caused by something so trivial. Surely a being who has lived for a thousand years would not be so easily troubled. Yet, he hasn’t spoken a word to me since we’ve arrived at the library, simpling disappearing somewhere into the depths to be alone with his thoughts.

At my heavy sigh, Mirin looks up from his papers with a disquieted look. I’ve been heaving all evening, but he quickly realized that I was simply in a foul mood and not particularly mad by anything that he’s done, which seemed to alleviate his concern for a while. Now that I’ve pushed my books away, though, he sets down his pen to join me in quitting for the day. “Are we calling today's lesson to a close?” He asks, his eyes lighting to betray his hopefulness.

I expect that after such a vigorous lesson in swordsmanship, researching and reading would bore him to tears in comparison. Young boys will always choose action over stillness, so I’m not surprised. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll ask Toshiro to tire him out for longer so that he’ll be able to sit still during his vocabulary lessons. I stretch my arms above my head and yawn, still marveling at the lack of soreness in my body. Whatever Toshiro did to alleviate my pain, it worked far better than any painkiller I’ve taken before. “Yes, I can’t stand one more second of reading,” I say, pushing myself to my feet.

Mirin follows me, though his grimace betrays the pain in his muscles. While he remains unsuspecting, I lunge forward and grab ahold of his shirt, pulling it up over his head to reveal the flesh of his stomach. As suspected, he’s riddled with welts and bruised from being struck so many times with the wooden sword, and I’m sure the marks are all over his body just the same. Mirin shouts in embarrassment and yanks his shirt from my grasp, pulling it back over his lean stomach. His face is blushing like a tomato as he pins the garment to his torso with folded arms, preventing me from trying such a thing again.

I don’t smile as I step away, showing him my raised hands in surrender. “I’m sorry, I just needed to see how badly injured you are. I know it hurts more than you let on,” I say, giving him a pointed look. “I’m not a pervert, I promise you. Not for young boys, at least.”

Mirin’s furious blushing continues as he clears his throat, stepping away from the table. “I- I know that,” He stammers, nearly stepping on Arcane’s tail where she curled herself behind his chair for a nice, long nap during our studies. “I would never suggest such a thing.”

I sigh and push the curls from my face, turning to stare at the end of the table where I have been sitting for the past few hours. I raise my eyebrow and jab a finger in Mirin’s direction. “You are going to fix him,” I demand to the air, earning me a concerned look from my pupil.

The air shimmers and Toshiro appear beside my chair, offering me an unamused expression. He has one arm resting habitually on the hilt of his katana as he looks past me at Mirin, raking his eyes slowly over the boy’s body as if he can assess the damage without seeing beneath his garments. “Why should I?” He says, at last, turning to challenge my gaze.

Astonished, my mouth gapes open at his response. “Look, you have your whole life to be an asshole. Why not take today off? You banged him up pretty well and I think he will be a better student for you if he wakes up feeling refreshed, don’t you?”

Toshiro seems equally as aghast at my comment, and though he tries to hide it as well as he can, I catch the ghost of a smile that flickers across his mouth, apparently intrigued by my foul mouth. He tosses his hands in the air and gestures to Mirin. “I cannot heal him if he is unwilling. You heard him earlier; if he is a masochist and wishes to rely on his pain for strength, then I cannot help him.”

I turn to give Mirin a frown, realizing that his apologetic look serves as agreement with Toshiro’s words. Feeling my frustration rise at the one-sided argument, I flex my fingers at my sides and round the table, clipping Toshiro’s shoulder as I stride for the doors. “Why must all males be so unreasonable?” I fume beneath my breath, heading for the dining hall whether they decide to join me or not. Arcane leaps to my side within a moment, happy to trail me wherever I go. At least she cannot argue with me.

Thanks to my studies, I have no problem shoving the heavy doors open now, finding it an easy trick to master. It only requires the smallest amount of magic to persuade, and after the display of power that shot through my body in the training hall, it’s an easy feat. My irritation had been rising steadily since then, having received no answers for the source of the sudden magic. As Toshiro said, humans cannot perform their own spells, so I am at a loss as to what that burst of light was earlier. Whatever it was, it held enough power to knock Toshiro, the Fox god, off of his feet and stun him for a few moments. Turning over no leads to explain that puts a bitter taste in my mouth, and I’m ready to argue to with anyone for any reason right now.

Before I make it more than a few paces out of the library, Toshiro is beside me, grabbing my upper arm to stop my storming away. “What?” I demand, whirling to face him. I try to jerk my arm out of his grasp, but his grip is like iron against my skin, holding fast.

Toshiro’s expression is dark, his eyes glittering in the deep golden light that pours through the windows. His ivory skin takes on the gilded tones, making him appear to glow like fresh snow on a sunny day. A muscle in his jaw jumps as he pulls me closer so he can whisper in my ear, making me suddenly aware of how loud my solitary voice sounds in the corridor. “That is enough of that. We will take a walk in the garden after supper to cool you off. There is a guest waiting for us in the dining hall, so you would do well to control yourself.”

I pull back enough to glare up at him, finding my anger hard to maintain with the scent of jasmine flooding my senses. It seems more fragrant and pleasant than usual, which I assume is intentional. Either way, the flames in my belly flicker, growing smaller by the second. I close my eyes and take a deep breath, willing myself to calm down. If it weren’t for his super scent or hearing or whatever it is that let him discover someone else in the dining hall from here, I may have allowed one of these High Fae to witness my tantrum. “Fine. I expect you to use the opportunity to explain yourself. Otherwise, you may soon find just how unpleasant I can be.”

Toshiro matches my dark look, unfazed by the threat. “You are hardly the first temperamental human I’ve met. Do not think that you can intimidate me so easily,” He says, releasing my arm. Though he doesn’t project the intimidating aura that he had before, I can tell that he is no less irate than he was earlier. He’s simply good at masking his emotions, which I need to take note of.

I school my expression into something similar to his, forcing myself to unclench my fists and relax my shoulders. I take another breath to steady my emotions, flattening them into cool indifference for the time being. I will get my answers from him later, even if that means prying them from those tight lips of his one by one. “Who is our guest?”

Toshiro seems relieved at my sudden change in demeanor, taking a step back a respectful distance and resuming his composure. “Your Chaplain. Perhaps he wishes to invite you to his service.”