“No riddles, Tui,” Jin cut in. “Tell him or I will.”

“You always take the fun out of everything, brother,” she muttered, but I could hear it clearly because of my dragon’s enhanced sense of hearing. Returning her attention to me, she continued, “There was a powerful Celestial kitsune that wielded otherworldly powers. In a realm where dreams and nightmares coexist, this might be difficult for you to believe. You don’t seem to be much of a believer.

“Nevertheless, he existed. When we first met him, Jin and I struggled with our differences. As one being, I’m sure you can imagine how difficult it was to agree on a matter. Hirayama Sosuke was the first person to recognize our potential for something greater.”

“And so he split you into two beings?”

“Yes, he is our creator.”

“What does he have to do with me being here? If you have such a powerful being in your ranks, why turn to a foreigner?”

“When it was discovered that Hirayama Sosuke split us into two, the Dark Court and the Mutsushina Clans thought he needed to be brought down from his pedestal. To put it bluntly, a coup occurred. They didn’t want him to continue splitting people because where there is light, there is darkness. When you split one thing, it amplifies the effects of both halves.”

“So, he was a threat?”

“Very much so. They needed him far away, where he couldn’t intervene in their plans. You know the Light and Dark Courts have been at war since the beginning of time. If Hirayama Sosuke could strengthen both light and darkness, it could give the Light Court enough power to eliminate darkness for good.

“And so, the Vices cast a curse on him. They trapped him in his fox form, so a majority of his powers were also confined and sealed away. Once they accomplished this feat, the Vices took their positions among the Dark Court’s council and were reincarnated into other Dark Court entities, or so we thought.”

“Oh? And what makes you think otherwise?”

“As you know, Azusa can see the future. The Dark Court created dolls to act as reincarnations of the Vices. The presence of Ba’al Berith and Olivier is proof that the Vices never died. They’re the subordinates of Sathanas. Their target today was you. We don’t know why, but Azusa believes you’re the only thing standing in the Dark Court’s way of getting what they want. What that is, we don’t know exactly. We’re hoping you can help us find out.”

An enemy so great sounded like the perfect foe. Someone that would force me to push myself past my limits and get stronger. I was even more intrigued by the beast that lurked within these enchanted walls. “Is he forbidden from leaving here?”

“In a way. However, that doesn’t mean we didn’t think of everything.”

“Of course not.”

“What do you think, Master?” Tui asked when we reached the center of the maze. 

It was darkly lit, so my dragon frantically searched for any signs of betrayal. The walls were lit with mysterious blue flames, revealing a disheveled fox. Several patches of its black fur were mangy and caked in dirt. For a powerful kitsune, he lacked the necessary tools to care for himself. He looked defeated, nothing like I’d expected from the great Hirayama Sosuke.

It was when he looked up at me with those large white eyes that I realized he was blind. A smoky, yet sweet, aroma of vanilla and ylang-ylang filled my senses. My dragon was practically salivating at the odor. It was then that I finally understood that this man was my mate.

He seemed to have had the same reaction as his body twitched. His eyes stared into my own and it felt like he could really see me.

Mate, my dragon claimed.

Without warning, I was thrown into Hirayama Sosuke’s chaotic mind. Images of individuals and places I’d never seen before passed by, but several pairs of violet eyes lingered in the background. Before I could get a closer look, I was shoved out of his mind, seeing nothing but a stone wall in its place.

I held my breath and turned my head away, trying to ignore the connection between us. I couldn’t show that I cared for the man. He was a kitsune, and I was a dragon. I was the revered Prince of the dragons and he was a former ruler in exile. Most importantly, he was my weakness.