“Where are you two going?” I asked my sires, Jin and Tui, as they tiptoed towards the exit of my prison. “The point of an exile is to remain separated from the other Clans. Azusa will not be as forgiving as last time if you plan to tread on her territory.” Even though I couldn’t see them, I could hear the soft pitter-patter of the pads of their feet. They had shifted into their fox forms, thinking it would give them another layer of secrecy.

“With all due respect, Master, you might be indifferent about staying in such a dark and dreary place, but we prefer a life of luxury,” Tui’s feminine voice echoed in the enclosure.

A barrier encircled the area, allowing only certain people to enter the cave. Jin and Tui were free to come and go as they pleased because they were made from a part of my essence, but they were also not traditional kitsune who could be bound by a simple boundary incantation. The purpose of the barrier was to keep me locked away, preventing me from ever leaving. It was a lonely way to live, especially considering I was over three hundred centuries old.

As time passed, I ran out of things to do - as my blindness hindered what few things I could do. Eventually, there were no more thoughts to fill my mind. Time essentially became frozen, which is every immortal’s greatest fearful realization.

“When will you learn to tell the truth, Tui? Your demonic nature is showing,” I responded. Deception was a nogitsune’s favorite tool and anyone else’s forbidden fruit, it always seduced its way into Tui’s heart and I was the one to answer for it every time.

“She never learns. You know how it is, Master. I’ll be sure to give her a long lecture about why lying is horrible,” Jin chimed in, as he always did.

“I know your sister is a lost cause, but I expected better from you. Tell me, where are you really going? I hope you don’t plan on seeing that fortune teller again.”

The fortune teller was a seer who lived in the mountains, close to where we were. Like us, she was an exiled kitsune. However, she was rejected from kitsune society because of the accusations against her. Many labeled her a charlatan, most questioned the validity of her prophetic visions.

Jin and Tui recently took interest in the fox spirit, citing her visions as the solution to our problems. But nothing could rescue me from my current situation, not unless Meihui herself would grant me clemency.

“We gave up on her ages ago. Besides, Azusa said she’s found your mate,” Tui said.

‘My mate? I couldn’t possibly have a mate. Why would Meihui allow me to experience the joys of having a mate if I was meant to be imprisoned in the labyrinth for the rest of my life? Or was this another part of my punishment for all the souls I’ve destroyed?’ I thought. “And you believe her?”

“We would be fools not to, Master. Everyone knows the value of Lady Azusa’s visions,” Jin replied. 

“Maybe we can get our money back from the fortune teller,” Tui said. Now was hardly the time to think of money.

“And you plan to bring my mate here?” I asked.

“He’s already here,” Tui commented. “I have to admit, it doesn’t take much to provoke the Crown Prince of Wuzhen. He’s quite impulsive. And here I thought Azusa didn’t have a deceitful bone in her body. She would do well if she changed tribes and became a fox demon.”

“Damn it!” the curse escaped from my mouth. “There is nothing for him here. Send him back before the Imperial Guard swarm Mutsushina! Do you mean to cause another war for us?”

“No, but he’s the person who could break the curse.” 

Although her words sounded promising and thrilling, I resigned myself to perpetual defeat a century ago. No one would ever come to save me, let alone be with me. I was trapped in a ghastly fox form, with my sight stripped from me. Who could ever love a beast like me?

Jin and Tui left shortly after, not that I could do anything to stop them. I didn’t want to think there was truth to the fortuneteller’s prediction.

The Crown Prince of Wuzhen? It was the first I heard of him. If he were anything like his predecessors, he surely wouldn’t accept a fox spirit as his mate. It was part of the law of the realm that individuals could only be mated to others of the same species. Defying such a law was uncharacteristic for dragons.

There’s nothing wrong with holding out hope, Hirayama Sosuke, a voice pulled me out of my thoughts. White feathers flitted around in my mind and before long, an ethereal angel filled my thoughts.

It was Michael, the archangel of charity. A bright halo hovered above his blonde head, signifying his status as an immortal. His blue eyes peered into my soul, sorrow swirling around within their depths. How I hated seeing those eyes.

I did not call you, Tenshi, I said insipidly.

You must move forward with an open mind, Sosuke. Wallowing in self-pity is not becoming of a future leader.

A future leader? Are you not pleased I am away from civilization, unable to commit any further wrongdoings?

Your intentions were not evil. I sense nothing malicious in your essence. Killing is the worst crime you could ever commit. There is always another way.

And what is that way?

Allow them to be judged by the highest authority.

The Dark Court won’t wait until Divine Meihui shows up to render her verdict, Tenshi. The realm won’t survive.

Yes, but just because you hold more power than most does not give you the right to judge someone for their actions. Their time will come.

“So, he was a threat?” an unfamiliar voice asked from a few feet away. It belonged to a man and held more confidence than I could ever imagine. His velvety tone sent shivers through my body, and my heart swelled with desire. It had to be the Wuzhean Crown Prince.

“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.”

“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 me once they reached the room I was in, which was at the center of the maze. 

All of my musings about my solitary confinement and the concern over the Dark Court’s growing power left my mind. Gone were the laws of the realm, for love had taken its place. I stood in front of the Crown Prince not as an enemy or another creature, but as a man desperately needing the affection of the other half of his soul.

I wanted to take him into my arms and ask him to run away from everything: our duty to our people and our fates. He wasn’t just the Crown Prince of Wuzhen; he was my heart and soul.

I could feel his powerful gaze on me, causing feelings of inadequacy inside me to fester like a titillating disease. Never did I ever want something, or someone, so badly, until now. Did his eyes light up when he saw me? Was he proud to have me as his mate? Or was he disgusted? A lowly, exiled kitsune was unbefitting of a glorious dragon.

Mate, his dragon confidently declared in his mind.

When the telepathic connection forged between us, I felt as though my breath was taken from me. I could hear and feel his astonishment and awe through our mental bond. However, beneath these sentiments were wariness and reluctance. He was scared. Scared of the unspoken implications and consequences of our relationship.

That was enough of a reminder to return to the present. I could feel his presence in my mind. He was probing for more information about me. His heartbeat mirrored my own, as if I could feel his furiously beating in my chest. My resolve crumbled, and I finally understood: there was no future for us, no matter what we saw in each other’s thoughts.

His warm aura and cinnamon scent called to me, pleading with me not to abandon the idea of being together. But he had already decided. The red string of fate that bound us would be cut before it got the chance to be completely woven.