Flame in the Mist (Flame in the Mist #1)(80)

He hoped Ranmaru had been able to take Ren with him. Hoped all his brothers in the Black Clan were spared the effects of that sudden explosion.

When ōkami had finished emptying his stomach, he wiped his mouth. Though he continued to tremble, he heaved his unconscious burden across his shoulders again.

This girl. This wretched, wretched girl.

This wicked liar.

Mariko. Her name was Mariko.

ōkami had watched the Dragon of Kai see her. Heard Hattori Kenshin call to her with a familiarity that could not be mistaken for anything else.

In truth ōkami was glad she’d passed out from the force of being hurled through the sky, carried by nothing but wind and smoke. Or perhaps it was a combination of several elements—the explosion this wretched girl had undoubtedly caused, along with being heaved beneath the clouds. Whatever the case, ōkami could not bear to speak to her. To watch more lies fall from her rosebud lips.

He had to figure out what to do first.

Hattori Kenshin knew who this girl was. There was only one way that could be possible. Ranmaru had told him that Hattori Kenshin had a twin sister.

Her name was Mariko.

Therefore this strange and imaginative girl—this girl who had captured ōkami’s attention with her radiant eyes, who had confused him beyond compare, who had fearlessly sparred with him using words as well as swords, who had befuddled his senses as no one ever had before—was the sister of the Dragon of Kai.

ōkami almost laughed at himself, even while he choked through the last of his pain. The last of the burden that came with his power. A burden he’d willingly chosen.

In all his life ōkami had never thought to find love. Because he’d never sought it. Love was a burden he did not want. When others had described it to be like an arrow or a bolt of lightning, he’d sneered inwardly. Both were things that could kill. Love to him was not a shot to the heart. It was not a sudden, unpredictable thing.

Love was a sunrise. A welter of crimson that rose much like a warning. Slowly and almost in secret.

A secret ōkami did not welcome.

The girl who’d stolen ōkami’s heart with her lies and her clever, clever mind.

Was the sister of the Dragon of Kai.

Hattori Mariko.

—

Mariko’s head was pounding.

Over and over, she heard her brother’s voice. Saw the look on his face.

Mariko?

When she opened her eyes, the first thing she did was cough. Her hand moved toward her lips as she cringed in pain. Her fingers were wrapped tightly in muslin bindings. The room around her was beautiful. Dark wood and silk-screened sliding doors. The scent infusing the air was familiar. Sweet plum and honeysuckle.

Mariko was in the teahouse in Hanami. Her bandaged hands rustled across the elegant covers as she tried to sit upright.

And found ōkami positioned nearby.

She smiled tentatively. He did not return the gesture.

“Did I pass out?” she asked him.

His features were not cool. Nor were they tinged in amusement. They were filled with . . . nothing. “No.”

“Why did I sleep for so long?”

“You were badly injured.”

“Well—”

“I drugged you.”

Her lips pursed. “Why would you—”

“I told you I owed you an injury. Now we’re even.”

She blinked sluggishly. “What?”

“I’m leaving you here with Yumi. Your hands need time to heal. Don’t try to return to the forest. If by some miracle no one saw you that night, it still won’t be possible to keep your secret from them for much longer.”

“But . . . I wish to go back,” she said. “I—I don’t want to leave.” As soon as she said the words, Mariko was startled to grasp their truth.

“I don’t care what you want.”

The coldness of his words cut through Mariko’s skin, down to the marrow of her bones.

“ōkami—”

“Ren might die of his wounds. And we lost two of our men in the fight.”

Mariko’s eyes widened.

His dark gaze remained heavy-lidded as ōkami stared at her unfeelingly. “You could have stopped this from happening.”

In all the times the Wolf had spoken to her—revealed small glimpses of his truth—she’d never once found him to be grim. And to find him speaking in such a manner about her? It only unnerved Mariko more. “I don’t understand what you mean. How could I have stopped this from happening?”

“Don’t lie to me anymore, Mariko.”

Nothing could drown out the roar in her ears. “What?” she stammered.

“I heard the Dragon of Kai call you by name. Hattori Kano had a daughter. We heard she was killed in Jukai forest. Don’t tell me you are not she. Don’t deny who you are when confronted with the truth. Names have untold power.”

“You heard?” Mariko stood, fury imbuing her with sudden strength. “You heard she was killed? Don’t you mean you were responsible for killing her?”

ōkami remained so still that Mariko almost reached out to see if time had frozen around her.

“Is that why you’re forcing me to stay here?” she continued, her voice beginning to tremble. She should have felt ashamed, but she did not. “Because if Ranmaru learns who I truly am, he will try to finish the job he failed to complete a month ago?”