I noticed a little gold twinkle over by where Mizuko stood. I grinned, quickly moving to where his left front paw was. I used my hand to brush the lump of the weird textured ground which felt like sand and felt the smooth surface of what I assumed was the crystal. Yes!
I retrieved the gold crystal quickly, deciding it would be better for all of us to appreciate its beauty once we were back on solid ground. I swiftly patted Mizuko on the head, wanting to give him a bit of praise as encouragement before we both made our way back up to the surface.
I gasped for air, taking in a deep breath. Then I swam to the edge of the pool, got out, and walked back to the bench that held my clothes. Peering over my shoulder, my eyes landed on Mizuko who fluffed up his fur as he began to shake the water off. I looked down at the weird gel covering my skin and watched it slowly dissipate, leaving me dry.
"Totally cool," I whispered before returning my attention to the gold crystal in my hand. I didn't put my clothes on yet. Instead, I sat back down and took a moment to look at the jewel. I lifted my hand above it, closing my eyes.
"Be pure," I whispered, imagining a tiny ball of water surrounding the yellow crystal and cleaning off the dirt residue.
I felt the flow of power at my fingertips and opened my eyes to see the jewel floating in a little ball of water in my hand. Once the jewel was clean, I reached out my hand and the bubble burst, the water falling to the ground.
Mizuko walked over to me and sat at my feet while I took a closer look at the now vibrant jewel. Lifting the pocket watch with my free hand, I inhaled deeply, needing a moment to calm my racing heart. I was nervous, scared, and really happy to have found the third crystal.
I placed it in its designated socket and watched in awe as it began to glow. Then a bright yellow flame burst out from it and hovered over me. It spread its wings but said nothing as it stared directly into my wide eyes.
"Welcome home," I whispered.
It nodded its head and just like that, returned into the watch. I sighed in relief, looking at the watch that now had three crystals, each of them glowing slightly as if welcoming the third crystal home.
"Woofa." Mizuko rubbed my leg, and I noticed his body begin to glow.
"Are you returning back?" I asked.
"Woofa!" he replied. I nodded, giving him a quick rub and a scratch behind his ears before I leaned down to touch his nose with mine.
"Arigato, Mizuko. It's thanks to your help I found the third crystal. Rest well," I whispered.
"Woofa!" He licked my face a few times before his body was immersed in blue light, returning to the pocket watch that still rested in my left hand.
I let go of it and observed the pocket watch turn invisible once more. I stood up, looking around the peaceful clearing with a frown.
"Malachi’s still not here. Maybe I should look for him. I should have brought my phone," I mumbled, picking up my shirt and slipping it on. I reached for my pants but froze; my eyes lifted up to see a pair of white ones staring at me from a distance.
I held my breath, immediately remembering the protective spell Quil had shown me during training to summon a shield in case of a direct attack. My stomach dropped when the white-eyed thing took a step into the light, a goldish paw now visible. He took another step, and that's when fear sank into the pit of my stomach, and my body trembled.
The lion before me was huge, its head reaching my chest. I knew right away this wasn't a normal creature, but a familiar based on its eyes alone. The white orbs reminded me of White Eyes. Shit, shit, shit!
One move would mean the death of me, but if I stayed where I was, it wouldn't be long before it attacked me anyway.
Malachi...I need you. Where are you? Help!
I knew it was essentially pointless, but it was all I could think about, and I repeated the words over and over in my head. The lion must have lost its patience, growling loudly as it prepared to move. I ran instead of standing there like a fool.
It roared, and I looked back over my shoulder to see the oversized being in midair. It appeared as if he’d land right on me, and his perfectly white sharp teeth would be able to rip my body to shreds with no difficulty.
I turned around in a swift movement, lifting my hands up. PROTECTION!
A pink shield formed in my hands just in time. The lion made a direct hit, which sent me flying over the pond and straight into the trees. I groaned, attempting to recover from the attack, but saw the lion was already approaching, making me afraid I wouldn't be able to make it out of there.
My thoughts were about to become a reality when the lion darted forward, ready to sink its sharp teeth into my flesh and rip me to pieces. I closed my eyes, bracing myself when a loud roar rang out through the trees.
My eyes snapped open and looked above me. I saw a large dark purple lion soar through the air, its loud roar echoing through the once serene clearing. It crashed into the familiar, and they began to roll around in a furious scuffle of teeth and claws.
I wanted to help, to do something, but both my Kitsune and I were stunned. The dark purple lion found an opening and bit the white-eyed lion hard in the neck. It struggled in the purple lion's hold, blood spurting as it tried to escape, but the purple lion stood its ground and wouldn’t let up.
It wasn't long before the wounded lion stilled, its white eyes landing on me with a look of rage before they dulled, and the creature went limp. The purple lion shook his head a few times, making sure the lion in his jaws was dead before he tossed it to the side and growled.
It then turned to look at me, sky blue eyes meeting mine. The purple lion slowly approached me, and I remained as still as my trembling body could manage.
When he got two feet from me, he sat down, eyeing me carefully. I continued to stare at him, and with trembling lips, I whispered one word.
"Malachi..."
The purple lion lowered its head in agreement, and I exhaled, allowing my body to quake from the anxiety and sheer fear of being ripped to shreds by the white-eyed lion. Malachi whimpered quietly, moving slowly to close the distance between us as I continued to tremble.
He nudged his head against my knee before he sat down, looking at me with sad eyes. I gave him a little smile, reaching out with my shaking hand to pet him slowly. Once I was comfortable, I opened my arms up in the hopes Malachi would let me hug him.
Malachi got back up and moved forward till his head was in my arms. I held him tightly, not caring about the blood that stained his mane.
"You're a lion? That's why you were complaining about my father potentially cutting your mane." I remembered our conversation during my surprise birthday. Quil had said he didn't have a beard, which was accurate, but it all made sense now that I knew he was a lion shifter.
"Grrr,” he replied, beginning to purr loudly as he continued to rub his head against the side of mine.
"Arigato. I...I didn't expect that and froze up. Sorry that you had to come and rescue me." I should have been able to protect myself or at least tried to, but instead, I stood there like a deer in headlights, which was making me feel dreadful.
Malachi moved out of my embrace to shake his head. Then he backed away and shook out his dark purple hair to remove the blood that hadn't soaked into his coat. His body was engulfed in a plum purple colored light, and then he knelt there, in all his naked glory.
He rose up and quickly checked his body for any wounds before he sighed. "You shouldn't need to apologize, Crim. Lion shifters are rare in this country, especially at that size," Malachi explained. He walked towards me, and I slowly stared him down, which was actually helping to calm me.
Malachi grinned and came over to where I sat. "You like what you see, Crim?"
I took a good minute to reply, and I tugged my eyes away from his impressive length reluctantly to focus on answering his question. "Yes...though I think, in this situation, it's a little inappropriate?"
"Not really,” he countered, brushing my cheek with his hand before leaning down to kiss me firmly on the lips. Malachi..
.
I responded almost immediately, lifting my hand to brush against his face, before moving up to feel the smooth texture of his hair, which was still in its ponytail.
"Are you okay?" Malachi asked when he broke the kiss, keeping his face only inches from mine.
"I’m a little shaken up. My Kitsune isn't happy either," I acknowledged, avoiding Malachi's eyes as I felt my Kitsune curl up like she wanted to hide. I could feel her disappointment and anger at not being able to protect us.
"None of that, Crimson. You have to stop being so harsh on yourself," Malachi insisted. He raised back up to his full height and closed his eyes, whispering something under his breath before a light gold glow covered his lower half. When it dimmed, he wore black sweatpants but remained bare-chested.
Once ensuring he was clothed from the waist down, he scooped me into his arms with ease before sitting down on the bench, lowering me to sit on his lap.
"But...Malachi. I'm supposed to be strong, right? Reports say I should be an SSS, the best Kitsune shifter ever, yet the moment a predator came into sight, I froze. I didn't know what to do other than to run and if...if you hadn’t arrived...what would I have done? I was scared. Frightened because I didn't want to die. I had just recovered the third crystal. I just got to meet Mizu...I...I didn't..." I trailed off as tears rolled down my cheeks. I tried to wipe them away, getting angry at myself that I dared to cry like a child.
I should have been able to protect myself. How can I be valued so highly by these men when I couldn't even protect myself when I needed to the most? It made me feel that all the training I’d done was worthless, which was why I was so frustrated. I wanted to see progress! I needed to feel stronger and be able to demonstrate what I'd learned so the guys would train me to be strong like them.
"Crimson, don’t cry. I know you’re frustrated and afraid," Malachi whispered. I continued to sob, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his shoulder to weep.
"I'm scared shitless, Malachi. The lion...was like White Eyes. He watched James kill Storm without blinking an eye. I bet he sent his familiar or something to finish me off because he thought I wasn't worth the trouble to come personally. I feel so pathetic. I want to be strong. I’ve trained with you guys, yet I couldn't do anything when the lion came after me. What if James finds out that I survived? He'll come back to finish the job. I vowed I'd destroy him. I told myself that I'd make sure he paid for everything he did, both to me and to you guys. Yet, I couldn't even fight a lion!" I snapped, feeling so utterly mad at myself.
"Crimson, enough," Malachi said with a hard voice that made me pause. I pulled back and saw he wore a hurt expression.
"Why?! Why aren't you disappointed in me? The woman you love can't even protect herself on her own. I don't want to be known as a helpless newbie Kitsune shifter who needs her men to protect her every fucking minute. I want to be independent, Malachi! I want to be able to fight WITH you! Not watch on in fear that you'll get hurt!" I screamed, my body beginning to tremble as I sobbed harder.
"Dammit, Crimson, please. Stop,” he whispered.
I shook my head in disagreement and unhooked my arms to hit his chest weakly. "No! Just tell me?! Why are you all so fucking nice? How can you always praise me and be fine with risking your life for me? People I knew for years wouldn't dare look at me. No one cared about my pain because I was a measly human. Why are you guys okay with ignoring how weak I am...why...why?!" I continued to lightly hammer at his chest with my clenched fists, crying my eyes out as I did. My Kitsune felt just as hurt by the situation, whimpering in my mind, which only made me cry more.
I couldn't afford to lose to James again. There was no way I could allow him to get the other crystals. There were poor familiars suffering alone in who knows where, waiting for their master to find them, yet understanding that it would never happen because she was dead and they would be forgotten.
Malachi held my wrists, stopping me from hitting his chest. "Crimson Jiyuna, stop!" he snapped, and I whimpered at his harsh tone. He groaned, pressing his forehead against mine.
"Hottie, please...I understand. I get it....more than anyone. You think I don't understand how you feel? I do with such intensity that I just can't let you keep talking poorly about yourself,” he whispered, his voice trembling with agony.
"But...but..." I stumbled, trying to continue, to explain how pathetic I felt. It was as if I'd gone backward, feeling confident in my abilities as a human, but fragile as a shifter who should be able to accomplish a lot more.
"Crimson, look at me," Malachi quietly insisted.
I swallowed and took a few calming breaths before pulling back to look into his glossy sky-blue eyes.
"You're being too harsh on yourself, Crimson. It doesn't take a single day to become strong, especially as a shifter. Fuck...I've been a guard for years...and I still wasn't able to fulfill my duty properly for Storm when I needed to the most,” he confessed, allowing his tears to fall. He let go of my wrist to wipe away the tears that rolled down my flushed cheeks.
"I let her down by not listening to my instincts...so this time when I couldn’t find you, I knew something was off. I knew you were in danger. I couldn't lose you too...I wouldn't be able to live if I lost my Queen,” he admitted solemnly.
"Maybe you believe you're weak, but I don't see weakness in the woman before me. You knew nothing about us but didn't fear the idea of taking us in. You didn't give in to James' constant ridicule and hate for us staying with you. I watched you jump off a building to avoid being caught by people who wanted Storm's watch and saw you fight the chilling cold after Aki revived you. Crimson, power is not the only strength someone can demonstrate. Being strong is admitting that you're not perfect. Being powerful is knowing you have weaknesses and are willing to learn and grow in order to turn them into strengths. You, my Queen, are the strongest individual I've seen since Storm and I can't allow you to keep thinking otherwise."
"Malachi,” I whimpered.
He wrapped his arms around me. "Trust me, Crimson. You will achieve everything you want, whether it's to become stronger magically or physically. You and your Kitsune will one day look back at this and understand that this was a stepping stone to help you realize your current strengths, as well as what you want to be able to accomplish. We're all learning. We're all growing. All you need to focus on is walking forward towards what you want to achieve. I can assure you that myself and the others will be right behind you, so if you fall back, we'll always be there to catch you. I'll always remind you how worthy you are, and together we'll become even stronger,” he vowed.
I nodded into his shoulder and just let go, allowing myself to cry in his strong embrace. My Kitsune shared my sadness, but I could feel a hint of confidence in her after Malachi's speech.
My sobs eventually turned to quiet whimpers and sniffs as I began to calm. Malachi didn't say anything else, merely lifted me in his arms and let me rest my head against his chest.
We began walking, but I didn't bother paying attention, instead I repeated his words over and over again in my head. I started to feel a little more confident as his words sunk into my mind, which was beginning to get clearer. Now I understood that what he was saying was right.
"Malachi? Fuck, Crim?! Is she okay?" Quil's anxious voice caught my attention.
"WOOF!" Urufu barked, sounding super close. I didn't open my eyes, unsure if I could face Quil right now, or anyone else for that matter. I just wanted to have a quiet moment to think.
"She's okay. She got attacked by a lion shifter. It had white eyes and was almost the same size as me," Malachi explained.
"Fuck, that’s huge! Whose familiar is that?" Quil wondered with anger in his voice. I heard Urufu growl in agreement.
"From the white eyes, I would think it's the person Crim said was associated with Storm's murder. It's just a hunch, but based on his size, I can't think of anyone else. You know how rare lion shifters are, especially in Japan. Even if it's a familiar, I would
have known about them if it belonged to an average shifter civilian," Malachi explained.
"Agreed. Let's take her home. Aki and the others are still searching for the crystal," Quil announced.
"Tell them to come home. Crimson found it. That's why she was attacked," Malachi revealed. Quil growled but didn't say anything else.
"Woof?" Urufu added.
"She'll be fine, Uru. Just let her have a moment, okay?" Malachi reassured Urufu, who whimpered in response.
"You okay?" Quil asked in a low voice. Maybe they assumed I was asleep and didn't want to disturb me.
"Ya. Still a bit shaken up by it...but I listened to my instincts this time," Malachi whispered, his voice giving away how vulnerable he felt.
"Malachi...you know it wasn't your fault," Quil insisted quietly.
"Feels like my fault,” he countered.
"You can't keep holding that against you."
"I can't make the same mistake twice, Quillian," Malachi argued. "You know my instincts have never led me astray and the one time I ignored them, Storm paid the price. I won't lose Crimson to the same ignorance."
They were both silent for what seemed like a long time, the sound of their steps and Urufu’s quiet panting the only things that could be heard. I began to drift off, but then I heard Quil's voice.
"She thinks she's weak? Her affinity is one of the strongest I've felt...well since Storm," he admitted quietly.
"We need to go back to training her. She needs that reassurance, Quil. Everyone knows Crimson's strength BUT her. She feels pathetic for not being able to defend herself against that huge shit of a lion. I don't want her feeling that way again. She needs to experience just how strong she is and see it with her own eyes. We may try our best to guard and protect her, but she's right about one thing. We won't always be there, and she needs to have enough confidence to fight on her own if the situation arises, at least long enough for us to arrive and fight alongside her," Malachi concluded.
"I agree. When we get back, I'll take care of Crim. Can you talk with the others? It's probably easier to let you explain what happened than me," Quil suggested.
Calming the Storm (Crimson Storm Chronicles Book 2) Page 10