Zheng Zixin

“Taizi, you mustn’t!” Sun Fang shouted, struggling to hold me back.

I struggled against Sun Fang’s strangely constricting grasp, staring at Azusa with absolute fury. My dragon felt offended, having been toyed with like he was nothing more than an inexperienced wyrmling. My nails ached as the dragon took over my body. He was out for blood and he would stop at nothing until he got it. “You dare to trick a son of Wuzhen? You should be executed for your actions. Forging the Emperor’s seal… wait until my father hears of this!”

“Is that a threat, Zixin?” she asked, unamused. “You’ve seen what two members of my Inari Defensive Forces can do. Doesn’t that scare you?”

“You seem to forget who you’re talking to. I’m the Crown Prince of Wuzhen. Nothing fears me,” I retorted, shoving Sun Fang off me once I got my dragon under control.

“Not even demons of the netherworld?” The corner of her lips turned up in a devious grin. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking.

“Do you think of me as a weak wyrmling?”

“No, it makes you the perfect candidate.”

“I refuse to be part of Mutsushina’s evil schemes.” I waved my hand dismissively, deciding I’d heard enough. I got my answer and if I showed my father the proof of Azusa’s deception, he’d have troops on their lands within the hour. If it was something my father wanted, he would make it happen. Turning on my heels, I walked away and said, “Come along, Sun Fang.”

“What if I said we had your mate here?” Her words made me pause.

If told this any other time and I would have welcomed the idea of a mate. However, no good would come from having a mate. They wouldn’t be happy with me. I was a ruthless, bloodthirsty prince. Why would Meihui bestow the highest honor on someone with so much blood on their hands?

“I won’t fall for your tricks.”

“Then maybe you’ll listen to us,” an unfamiliar male voice chimed in. My eyes landed on two nine-tailed kitsune Jintui. They were notorious assassins, and former rulers of Mutsushina, after being removed from their positions of power by who they once considered their subjects. Was Azusa so desperate to get my attention she was willing to enlist the very people she fought to overthrow? Her method intrigued me, so I felt compelled to listen.

The individual on the left was a male zenko, Jin, who had white hair but light green eyes as deadly as a viper’s glare. He smoked from a simple gold pipe, appearing bored by our presence, but despite his aloof appearance, I knew he would be ready to strike should the situation called for it.

The rumors told of his illusory abilities, how he used the very smoke from his pipe to bend his opponents’ minds to his will. He could make anyone see anything or hear anything he wanted them to. However, it was in those moments that he would deliver the fatal blow to end the life of his opponent. Unlike his partner, he was dressed in a white kimono that was slipping off his shoulder. 

The female nogitsune beside him was none other than Tui. Her long black hair cascaded down her back in waves and her eyes held a mystery that I couldn’t deduce. The gears were turning in her mind, presumably from determining what games she wanted to subject us to. She was always the more playful of the duo, enjoying the mental torture she subjected her opponents to.

“Jin and Tui, I thought you were killed off in the coup. It seems Azusa has left both of you to rot out here, no?” I replied, seeing if they would take my bait.

“Yes, well, even the great Azusa has a kindness for people like us in her heart,” Tui said, anticipation dancing within her feline-like eyes. My dragon bristled at that, thinking that the fox spirit was eager for a lesson.

“Pity. My dragon is unfamiliar with such… civilities.”

“Is that a challenge, Zixin? It would be a shame if you were returned to your father, dismembered. I wonder what grilled dragon tastes like,” Tui retorted, a dim purple flame illuminating in her palm. 

“Calm yourself, Tui. Remember why you’re here,” Azusa said.

“You may be Empress of Mutsushina, Azusa, but you’ll never be my Empress,” Tui replied vehemently.

While Azusa and Tui bickered, Sun Fang whispered to me, “I think we should take our leave, Taizi. This isn’t our battle.”

“Are you suggesting we run away? We are dragons, Sun Fang! It isn’t in our nature to flee from challenges. You’re less of a dragon than I thought.”

“I am simply saying if you were to start a fight here, you could ruin Wuzhen’s relations with Mutsushina. Jintui may be outlaws, but they are still citizens of Mutsushina. We shouldn’t get involved in foreign affairs without the Emperor’s consent.”

“And I am supposed to care about this, why? You’re not part of the Imperial bloodline, you’ll never understand. When one of us is challenged, we must accept it, no matter the consequences. If you don’t like it, you can leave now. I’m not keeping you captive. You’re relieved of your duty.”

“Are you two done with your lover’s spat?” Tui snapped, throwing a ball of fire between me and Sun Fang.

“I was about to ask you the same,” I said. My dragon let out a snarl of contempt. The tingling sensation of its scales was lingering just below the surface of my skin. The shift came close.

“Tui,” Jin said as he blew smoke into the air.

“Dragons are so temperamental. It’s only a matter of time before you fall from the heavens. After all, you are marrying one of those flies, right?” Tui replied with a wolfish grin, hinting at my engagement to Lindie. She knew her actions irritated my dragon. It was all part of her plan. Being a nogitsune, she knew all the right buttons to push.

“Leave the moth out of this. She’s nothing more than a formality,” I answered through clenched teeth. “It would be in your best interests to explain what’s going on and now.”

“Take the Crown Prince and his ward to see him,” Azusa said.

“I’m not going anywhere with them–” I started, but was cut off as we were engulfed in a haze of magenta smoke. In the madness, I shifted into a dragon, flapping the smoke away. To my dragon’s chagrin, we were no longer standing along the shores of Porikoroa.

We stood at the entrance of a maze, where I saw ghostly apparitions of seven other individuals. Their scent reeked of chamomile and sunshine, leading me to believe they were angels. The light magic was practically oozing from them and their wings were as white as a snowy winter. However, there was something else in their aura that made me reconsider my original thoughts.

Wrapped around their wrists were thin, string-like gold wisps that were laid across the stone ground, leading into the labyrinth. My curiosity grew as I wondered what was sitting in the center. There was an unbearable itch beneath my dragon’s scales. He was anxious about something. We were in unfamiliar lands. That had to be the reason.

Judging by Jin, Tui, and Sun Fang’s behavior, they couldn’t see the angels.

“Where are we?” my voice rumbled out.

“Arida.” Tui responded. “No one ever visits this island. It’s filled with nothing but ruins and people they’ve disappeared.”

“What do you mean, disappeared? L-like executed?” Sun Fang stuttered out. All eyes darted towards the young dragon and he shrank back in fear.

“You had to take him too, Jin? This wasn’t part of the plan,” Tui snapped at her comrade.

“Lady Azusa asked us to take him, too. The plan was created based on the Crown Prince traveling to Mutsushina alone. Not with a chaperone. We have no choice but to adapt to what we’ve been given,” he said with another puff on his pipe.

“The original plan would have been more fun.” A fake pout grew on Tui’s face that was quickly replaced by a frown.

“What is this place? Why have you brought us here?” I asked, ignoring their comments about Sun Fang. “Speak now and you might not be burned to bits.” Fire pooled in the back of my throat but immediately receded. 

What are you doing? I asked my dragon in my mind. He was the only thing that held me back. He was scared of something. However, I wasn’t able to determine the source of the fear that shook his core.

We mustn’t. Our mate is near, he replied in a husky tone.

Our mate? Our mate couldn’t possibly be here. There are nothing but kitsune and angels here. Your intuition must be wrong.

You will smell his scent soon enough. You may not trust these kitsune, but we must listen to them. For the sake of our mate.

The angels’ stench was overpowering everything. It was tough to confirm whether my dragon was correct. He had no reason to lie.

Amusement danced along Tui’s lips, sending a shiver down my spine. “Follow me.”

There was a low howl ringing in the air as we passed through the labyrinth’s entrance. My dragon was on guard, prepared for any ambushes or sneak attacks. Vines of ivy hugged the corners of the walls, coiling around them tightly like a python.

“Why did you bring me here?” I asked once more, not appreciating their reluctance to share their schemes with me.

“How else were you supposed to enter the game?” Tui replied with a dismissive wave of her hand.

Her useless response annoyed me, so I tried an easier question, one I knew she could answer. “Who are these people following us? They smell like angels with a touch of death. Are they on the brink of turning? I have to say, kitsune don’t keep the right people for company. How do you know the game will end well if you’re cursed?”

“They won’t be cursing anyone.”

“And what makes you so sure?”

“Because they aren’t fallen angels or in transition. They’re the Seven Virtues. Or at least apparitions of the Virtues. They’re not really here. They’re trapped.”

I threw my head back and let out a hearty laugh. The fox demon was losing her mind. She honestly expected me, the Crown Prince of Wuzhen, to believe in such a myth? Like the Seven Vices, they were legends, tied to the creation story of the Dark Territories, Aeyaviel and Iniguthia. “Enough of your lies, fox. The Virtues and Vices were eradicated long ago with no hopes of reincarnation or soul switching. For all I know, these could be illusions generated by your enchanted leaves.”

“Stupid drag—”

“Tui,” Jin interjected. “If you want him to help us, then you’ll have to tell him the truth. No more games.”

“Where’s the fun in that?” she replied in a snippy tone.

“Who said I would help you? As far as I know, all you’ve done is tricked, provoked, and angered me. I could easily leave if I wanted to,” I butted into their conversation. “I owe nothing to the kitsune.”

“You bring up a valid point, Zixin. However, what we offer in return could help you with your pesky angel problem in the Mainlands.”

I had to admit their proposition sounded interesting. It would be foolish to ignore what they had to offer. Lindie was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. She was going to be difficult to get rid of, aside from Fùqīn’s insistence. Like a cockroach that wouldn’t die. Owing something to the foxes wasn’t favorable, but neither was the situation waiting for me back at home. “Choose your words wisely,” I said.

“Taizi, you do not seriously mean to bargain with these demons. If you help them, you will owe them something just as great. Wuzhen will owe them. We cannot put the country at risk!” Sun Fang tried to reason with me.

His incessant whining drove me crazy. I was starting to think it was a mistake bringing him along. He should have been left in the boat. “Silence, Sun Fang. Who is the Crown Prince? You or me?” He clammed up when I asked, retreating behind me in defeat.

“Before we became two beings, we were once one being. Why do you think that is?” Tui asked with a sinister smile on her face.