Free Ai of the Mountain (A Fairy Retelling #2) by Dorian Tsukioka Page B

see there. Why? I don’t understand any of this. “You must save yourself.”
    Save myself? From what? Here in his arms is the safest place I could possibly be.
    “Take this,” he says, pulling his sword free from the sheath resting against his back. He places the sword in my hand and wraps his own hands protectively around mine. “Save yourself.”
    My vision clears and he is gone. I am alone in the river. Save yourself. His words echo in my ears. The sword is still in my hands. I grasp it with both hands and lash out against the riverweed entwined around my ankle. The sword slides through it and breaks me free in an instant. I struggle not to drop it as I pump my legs, pushing my body to the surface.
    Great gulps of air rush in as water expels from my lungs. I hug the bank of the river. The current has pulled me downstream and I see the daimyo in the distance, pulling Grandfather Koi onto the bank of the river.
    I throw the sword onto the grass and pull myself out. My lungs burn. My body aches. My heart aches. Kaito’s face flashes before me. He was in so much pain. I do not know how to save him. But, I can still try to save Grandfather Koi. Save yourself , Kaito said. I will. But, I will save Grandfather Koi as well. If I can.
    I lift the sword from the ground, and run as fast as my body will allow me, back to the maple tree. Lord Nakaguchi has pulled the giant koi completely out of the river and onto the ground. He kneels next to Grandfather Koi, and wrenches the sword out of his tail. I am close enough to see Grandfather Koi’s flanks lift and fall in rhythm with his quick breaths. I do not know how long he can survive out of the water. I do know he will not survive at all if Lord Nakaguchi has his way.
    I rush from behind the tree and come at the daimyo with my sword raised, and a bellowing cry that sounds my hurt and anger. He sees me a second before my sword crashes down on him, and the metallic ring of his sword hitting mine rings throughout the mountainside.
    “Stupid girl! You think you can stop me?” He pushes up and against the sword in my hands, and I fall back, but the force of his momentum is too great. As he takes a step back, his foot slips on the wet grass of the bank. He wobbles on the edge for a moment and then falls into the river once again, dropping his sword on the ground just before the black water swallows him whole.
    I reach for his sword and put my hand around it just as Lord Nakaguchi’s arm breaks the surface of the river. He clutches the bank and he begins to pull himself out. I drag the wicked-looking sword out of his reach for now, but I know that will not save me for long. There is nothing but rage and hatred in his eyes. The moment he is free from the river, he will kill me. I am certain of it.
    Something catches my eye from across the river. I look and see a red fox sitting underneath a tree on the opposite bank, its head cocked to one side, watching us. I think it is smiling at me.
    Lord Nakaguchi has pulled most of his torso out of the river. He reaches for me, and his fingers brush against my foot for a brief moment. The daimyo almost has me. He knows this, too. I see it in his eyes. He pulls the rest of his body out of the river, and stands. Riverweed is wrapped all around his legs. He takes a step forward, but the riverweed pulls tight against him. He lunges for his sword, and I push it back farther behind me. The daimyo sprawls out on the bank of the river spewing curses at me, and pulling against the entangling river weed. Every time he pulls against it, it only knots around him more strongly. Each time he struggles, the weeds actually pull him further off the bank and towards the river. If he does not stop struggling, the weeds will pull him into the water again.
    I don’t want to help Lord Nakaguchi, but I also don’t want to watch him drown. The experience of it is still burning in my chest. “Stop!” I say. “You’re going to drown yourself.”
    The daimyo pays no