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"And I will be answering every single question."

"So when did you come?"

His smirk returned. "Several times today."

I slapped his arm under the water. "You know what I mean, Yoichi."

"At the two-hundred-year mark. The second tail popped out, and I woke up in this form."

"Who named you?"

"She did. After the first man she ever took to bed."

"I like her."

“We’ll see if that continues.”

“Hmmm.” I traced another black hand.

“Still, she barely gave me control. Neither this form nor my kitsune could surface. And then around our 250th year. . .she decided that if fate refused to give us love, she would take everything else.”

The black hands shifted beneath my palm. Then one of them curled its fingers around his ribs and squeezed.

Yoichi’s jaw tightened.

Lord. The curse is listening.

Yoichi continued, “She came back to Japan and entered a shogun’s court as a courtesan. And keep in mind, she was the most beautiful woman in the country.”

“You say humbly.” I smirked.

“And she was the most learned.”

I shook my head.

“It’s true. She could answer any question. Recite any poem. And in the dark, her body glowed, which human men liked a lot.”

“They never questioned that?”

“Once she glowed, she had their minds in her control.”

I widened my eyes. “Hold up. So. . .if she glows in front of me, will she have my mind?”

“No. Inari took those powers from her.”

I calmed. “Okay.”

This ghost of a smile touched his voice before disappearing. “Barely a day into the shogun’s court. . .she caught his attention. A week later, she was his favorite. Two weeks later, the rest of his concubines mysteriously died.”

“Wow.” Sarcasm coated my words. “I wonder who killed them.”

“It is forever an unsolved mystery.”

I chuckled. “So. . .she is now the shogun’s favorite.”

“Yes. And she whispers in his ear a lot. Night after night. And he listens.”

“What does she say?”