CHAPTER 412: BUT YOU CAN’T FIX ME, I DON’T NEED IT

[TAMIKO]

"Say the word, my precious. Say the word and I will kill them all with just a whisper," Tamiko said smugly.

Kosta could already imagine the smirk on Tamiko’s face without even having to run and see it for himself. And that did something to him. Not the sweet kind of thing, but something that had Kosta fuming.

Tamiko felt the anger through their bond before he heard the rebuking voice.

Yet even then, he wasn’t shocked by it; he had expected this, of course.

Kosta was trying, but he didn’t have to fight alone.

That was why Tamiko had come along, so they could share the kills, so Kosta wouldn’t be overwhelmed. Especially now that they couldn’t exactly use their magic bombs on other warriors, seeing as their warriors were also on the battlefield.

The swords clashing against each other were all they could afford, and frankly, that was making it all so slow, and Tamiko wanted this to be over and done with so he could go back and get the proper dinner for him and his Erasthai.

Maybe he was too obsessed with Kosta.

But then what was his life without the Lycan Chief anyway?

"I am not weak. I don’t need to be saved all the time!" Kosta suddenly shouted his rage and despair, shocking Tamiko so much that the Lycan prince realized instantly it was not what he had been hoping for.

Sure, he hadn’t exactly been expecting a ’thank you,’ but for Kosta to think that this was just about defending him and not about the messed breakfast and dinner was a bit hurtful.

Tamiko stilled for a moment, turning to look at his Erasthai, who was fighting so damn well. He looked like he wanted to defend himself to say more about this, but then he looked at the crowd that was still coming at Kosta.

So Tamiko made the conscious decision not to focus on that. He couldn’t focus on the other way Kosta’s words had hurt his heart harshly. He wouldn’t let himself focus on that.

Today was about Kosta leaving the battlefield intact, and if Tamiko was to be the bad guy in all of that, he wasn’t opposed to it. Besides, they were bound forever. Tamiko would just have to find a better way of explaining his choices after this, right?

And so, the prince continued swinging his blade, like that statement hand tipped him through. It was at that moment that Kosta realized painfully that he wouldn’t be able to get through to Tamiko.

It was a realization that hurt to the core.

Kosta hated it because everyone else would soon be able to see what Tamiko was doing for Kosta. This wasn’t about his reputation among the other factions. Kosta never once cared for that.

This was about trust.

He wanted Tamiko to trust him enough to go to the battlefield and come home.

He wanted Tamiko to believe that he could make his choices without needing support.

He wanted Tamiko to trust him completely, which was clearly not the case.

But even that did seem to hit Tamiko as much. The prince had made his choice, and he wasn’t about to go back on it. Not now and not ever. Which was why this was way too suffocating for Kosta.

"The wording doesn’t matter, Kosta. I won’t let them get to you. I won’t lose you to them, not today, not ever, and if that means I get to get my hands dirty by tearing through every last one of them, then so be it.

"I am not losing you again, sweetheart. You’re mine. Mine to love. Mine to hold. Mine to protect, and if need be, mine to die for, but until then, anyone who thinks of hurting you will have to die.

"It is just so simple. Better get used to it," Tamiko said breathlessly and confidently, the fierce determination to protect Kosta evident in his tone. He was not compromising Kosta’s safety, not even for Kosta.

The fact that the warriors thought that they could use Kosta to get to Tamiko was something Tamiko was not about to forgive, and if that meant they had to fight through this, too, then he would do that.

He would die before someone left so much as a scratch on his precious Kosta.

He was not going to let anything happen to Kosta, and he was making it clear. Maybe it was a problem for Kosta, but what Tamiko cared about at the moment was that his Erasthai was safe.

He didn’t want to think of the complexities of the moment.

None of that would mean shit if he lost Kosta, and if that meant he would have to deal with sulking and angry Kosta for the rest of the year, that was a price Tamiko was more than willing to pay.

Anything that did involve losing Kosta.

That was it for him.

Always.

And he had no regrets about it.

"I didn’t ask you to fight for me! I didn’t ask you to defend me! This is not a fight for me. This is for our people. For the citizens of Kawai!" Kosta insisted.

Tamiko stared at him like this was the most hilarious thing he had ever heard from Kosta. Surely his Erasthai didn’t think that he would leave just because Kosta didn’t want to be saved again, right?

Ten years apart, and their first battle wasn’t a fight against the enemy but themselves.

Oh, Tamiko was already imagining how this shit would go for them. Maybe some angry sex if he got lucky, right? But then that was also a lot for Tamiko. He was trying his very best not to think about what had happened last evening.

That shit still haunted him and magnified his need to keep Kosta safe.

Sanji had left a portal for the enemies to get into Kawai. There was no knowing what else Sanji had left there. The man had been around Kosta for more than a year, and that was something Tamiko couldn’t just stop thinking of.

He couldn’t help but worry about what things Sanji had done that could endanger his Kosta. It was just not fair, sure, but he was about to risk it all on maybe. He was going to keep his Erasthai safe until everything related to Sanji was dealt with.

Of course, Tamiko knew there had to be other traitors here in Kawai, but he was choosing not to think of that at the moment.

Because if he focused on that, then he would flatten Kawai, and the only people who could be left were his family. Which wasn’t something he wanted to put the entire Kawai through, not after they lost everything nearly forty years ago.

That was not how he had wanted to be.

But then, for Kosta, Tamiko was not going to compromise, no matter what the chief said or how he said it.

"You can’t seriously be thinking that will stop me from defending you, right? You didn’t have to ask me to fight for you, Kosta. I chose to do this, and nothing you say can change my mind.

"You do realize they came here because they thought that we had gotten soft? That they are targeting you? And that they won’t stop unless they hurt you?" Tamiko laughed humorlessly.