I felt his heated gaze searing into the side of my face, urging me to look at him once more. He was my enemy; he was Wuzhen’s enemy. I couldn’t love a beast like him. I shouldn’t.

“Why have you brought him here?” Hirayama Sosuke questioned. His voice sounded airy and dry, like he hadn’t had a drop of water in days. For the creator of Jintui, he was not well kept. That fact alone angered my dragon.

His sires are negligent, my dragon grumbled in my mind.

“Forgive me, Master. But would you rather stay here and rot until you join Meihui in the Heavenly Realm?” Tui asked. There was still a slight snap to her tone. Her impatience was oozing from her words.

“Azusa wouldn’t let me die. Being alive is a mercy only she can grant and she’ll continue to exploit it to cement her support in the Clans. I don’t wish to be involved in the Emperor’s business by cavorting with his son,” he replied, pointing his snout at me. Any other day, my dragon would have been insulted by being referred to in such a manner, but in my mind, he was jumping for joy at our mate’s recognition.

“He can see them, Sosuke,” Jin commented. “He’s the one we’ve been waiting for. Azusa was right. Even you can’t deny it.”

“What are you talking about? I’m the one for what?” I asked, my gaze flickering rapidly between the three kitsune before me.

“All the more reason for him not to be here,” the blind fox muttered under his breath. “If he truly can see the Virtues, he should leave while he can,” he added, his sightless eyes raked over mine. I couldn’t help but wonder what I looked like in his mind’s eye. Was he proud to have someone like me as his mate? Or perhaps he was ashamed, like me?

“Only individuals with a connection to your bloodline can see them, Sosuke. We were created by you, and in doing so, we were added to your bloodline. This dragon is different. If he can see them, that means he’s your mate,” Jin explained. His words made my dragon bristle defensively, knowing the secret I wanted to contain had no future of remaining hidden.

“M-mate? He can’t be Taizi Zixin’s mate. He’s a fox!” Sun Fang exclaimed.

“Having a mate changes nothing,” Jin replied somberly, ignoring Sun Fang. “He’s the one.”

Tui marched up to my mate and shoved him roughly. “Stop moping around, Master. This man is your mate, whether or not you like it. He is the key to restoring us to the throne.”

“I don’t want the throne.”

“What do you plan to do for the next century? Sit here and count each hair on your body? That isn’t good enough for us.”

“Wait one moment. You brought me here because you plan to use me in this grand scheme to remove Azusa from the throne? That’s not what it sounded like from her. Besides, why would I risk putting my country at war for someone I barely know?” I asked. My dragon snapped at me, not appreciating how I spoke of our mate. What he wanted and what I wanted were two completely different things.

“A technicality. I thought dragons liked war. Consider it a way to eliminate your enemies in Iniguthia,” Tui said. “I heard you recently fought with the pixies. Wouldn’t you like to put the fallen angels in their place as well? After all, it could nullify your wedding plans.”

“Wedding plans?” Sosuke inquired. Was that a hint of betrayal I detected in his voice?

“She’s no one, just an insufferable angel,” the words poured out of my mouth. Why did I feel the need to reassure him? ‘Damn, this confounded bond.’ It was making me act sickeningly sympathetic. Did my words even hold any weight?

“You’ve only just found each other. You have plenty of time to discuss where your heart lies. Now is the time to decide whether you wish to help your beloved mate.”

“What my sister means is there’s something far more important than your bond right now. The Vices went against their word. They attacked you today to prevent you from meeting our Master,” Jin interjected.

“I wouldn’t expect anything else. I did just wipe out an entire pixie village. It would be strange if they didn’t want my head for killing their young,” I replied with a scoff.

“You killed children?” Sosuke asked. “What horrible sin did they commit for you to end their lives?”

“They were born,” I answered coldly, not caring how evil he viewed me. A part of me wanted him to hate me. He couldn’t be disappointed if I never provided unrealistic expectations.

“They weren’t here because of that, Zixin, though I hardly doubt your actions won’t throw fuel on the fire,” Jin said. “Our Master is a threat to the Dark Court. When our Master created us, everyone discovered his true potential and feared what it meant for the future. They bound his soul using the seven virtues because it was the only thing strong enough to keep the curse active. If he were to find his mate, and that mate was to accept him, the curse would be weakened.”

“How could I possibly break a powerful curse involving the Virtues?”

“You’re the key to finding the seven holy trumpets. Each trumpet, once blown, will release each angel from the curse, freeing our Master.”

“And if I say no?”

“They’ll keep coming for you. As long as you’re alive, they won’t stop until you’re dead. The longer we postpone, the worse the situation becomes. While the Virtues are subdued, they’ll use this time to help the Devil gain power. Every country will be in danger, not just Mutsushina, but Wuzhen too.”

Anyone who sought Wuzhen as an enemy had to be dealt with. It was easy to say I’d walk away, but my dragon would never accept it, especially now that we’d found Sosuke. My hands clenched into fists at my sides as I contemplated my options. Every end resulted in helping the kitsune for the sake of Wuzhen.

You can’t just ignore our mate, Zixin. You know what he means to us. He can’t live like this forever. Do you really want him to die here alone? My dragon asked.

I know, I replied. I hated it when the stupid dragon was right. Where was the bloodthirsty dragon when I needed him?

If you know, then you know we have to help him. Regardless of how you think, he is a part of us. If he dies, we will die with him to join him in the afterlife. Do you really want your life to end before it begins?

Shut up!

“Lord Zixin, if we could have a moment to discuss...” Sun Fang started.

“There’s nothing to discuss. I will help you foxes, but one condition: I get to personally see to the destruction of the Dark Court.” Shoving Sun Fang to the side, I made sure to look at Sosuke in the eyes even though he couldn’t see me. “And once we’ve destroyed the Vices, we can go our separate ways.”

“Aren’t you concerned about what the Emperor will think?” Sosuke asked in a rather calm tone. His question made the hairs on the back of my neck rise. It felt as though he was trying to challenge my dragon. Although I viewed it as an insult for questioning my judgment, my dragon viewed it as some sort of sick foreplay. Horny bastard.

“Why would I care what that old man thinks? He’s lived beyond his years. I don’t need justification from him to do as I please.”

“No, of course not.” His sarcastic remark piqued my interest.

“What are we waiting for? It’s about time the moths got squashed.”

“We can’t just waltz into Iniguthia without a plan. We have to figure out how to find the Vices all while minimizing the number of battles,” Jin explained.

“If what you told me is accurate, we don’t need to look for them. They’ll come to us. We’ll tear apart their kingdom, brick by brick, starting with the mastermind of today’s attack.”

“Old magic runs through their veins, Zixin. When you kill one, the rest grows stronger. The Dark Court knows this. Why do you think she doesn’t place protective enchantments on her lands or her issues? She’s practically asking you to attack head on!” Tui said.

“And there aren’t only fallen angels you have to worry about, there are also pixies and demons. Fire-breathing won’t exactly help us get what we need.”

“You forget, a Celestial dragon’s breath has purifying properties. It’s more powerful than any iron we could acquire to singe the flies’ wings.”

“You aren’t a full-blooded Celestial, Zixin. How do you propose to rectify the problem?”

“Through battle, of course. Let’s rejoin Azusa. Perhaps she can give us another vision.”

“That’s not how that works.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Are you coming, Master?” she asked Sosuke.

He sighed and said, “I guess so.”

A magical tether linked him to Tui, like a leash, so she could guide him through the labyrinth with ease. He followed her like a broken dog, with his head hanging low, his eyes staring blankly ahead, resigned to his fate. I hated seeing him give into his fate. Where was his fighting spirit? Was one defeat going to be enough to dismantle the great Hirayama Sosuke?

As if he felt my gaze on him, he turned his head towards me and I looked away immediately. ‘What am I looking away for? It’s not like he can see me,’ I thought, chastising myself.

Once we made it out of the labyrinth, an unexpected guest waited for us. It was a woman dressed in a gown of pastel red and black, the tulle hemline of the dress flowing around her bottom half as her black wings fluttered. The heart-shaped bodice of the dress glittered, drawing my attention to the stones of onyx sewn into the fabric.

Her crimson hair had sharp angles to it, styled into an a-line bob that complimented her striking cheekbones. The fierceness of her violet gaze pierced our souls as she observed us with an amused smirk. Power radiated from her, and although she carried the distinct fallen angel’s scent of nightshade, I immediately recognized she wasn’t like Ba’al Berith and Olivier. She was stronger. She knew she had the power to enforce her will upon us, but it only made my dragon awaken to ready us for the challenge. An aura surrounded her, demanding submission, but I refused to surrender. I would rather die than bend at the waist for scum like the Fallen.

Before I could ask who she was and what business she had with us, Sosuke’s voice echoed in my mind, Shift now!