Book Two: Chapter 145

“Yeah, I can imagine.” He gave her hand a squeeze, then retracted his hand. “Continue.”

“I don’t know why or how, but I came to, and she was holding that emerald. I didn’t know it until now, but the emerald was a part of my soul, and she had just built some kind of magical artifact. When you used the gem to make me whole again, it destroyed itself to give back what had been taken from me. You can’t just make a new soul, no matter how hard you wish it, but you can give back what was stolen.” Yuki took a deep breath, then wiped a tear off her cheek. “And then she left. A few years later, I turned three hundred. For a kitsune, it’s when we grow our next tail and choose the magic we wish to master. I was so hurt and angry that I deepened my knowledge of the frost that had grown in my heart, which resulted in this.” She touched the white fur of her ears. “Kitsune can change their shapes, but we can’t just whimsically change our nature. I’ve been missing a piece of myself for so lon