“We’re wasting time! This can’t possibly be the correct way to lure sirens,” I snapped at Tui. Jin was casually floating on a long piece of driftwood, holding a single fish over the water while we sat in their mystical carriage watching them attempt to lure an unsuspecting mermaid.

“Do you have any better ideas?” she replied, not understanding how strange the situation appeared.

“No, but this is ridiculous! Everyone knows sirens prefer men, that’s the only way they can cast their spell! Waving a fish around like that, they’d probably find it insulting and drown us all before eating our hearts.” Why didn’t they understand time is of the essence?

“That’s the point,” Yami said with a scoff. “Every siren is as self-righteous as any mer, believing all aquatic life is special. They won’t turn a blind eye to a fish in need. Even if it’s a heart-eating monster.”

“What? Are you scared of a little water, dragon?” Tui asked.

“I should be the one to ask you that. You’re kind of a cat, right?” I fired back.

“You know what–” She squared up to me, her foxfire flickering at her fingertips.

“Enough! Your bickering isn’t helping anyone,” Sosuke interjected, baring his teeth for all to see.

Ripples appeared in the water and before we knew it, an ethereal woman ascended the water, right in front of us. Her wet gray hair glistened under the sun, shining like silver. Like the legends foretold, there was an air of innocence about the angelic beauty. Her doe-eyed expression left little to the imagination as to how she attracted their victims.

“Jin!” she exclaimed with a bright grin. Her exuberance caught me off guard. I had always thought they had darker personalities like the morgen, who existed only to bring death to sailors.

“Long time no see, Loraina,” Jin replied.

‘How the hell did that work?’ I thought in disbelief. Looking over at Jin, he was conversing with another siren like they were the best of friends. Unlike Sun Fang, who fawned over the brown-haired mermaid closest to us, he appeared unphased by the fish’s words.

Sun Fang leaned over the edge of the boat, attempting to kiss the brunette. I grabbed him by the collar, yanking him back into his seat. Stop fooling around, I told him. I won’t hear the end from your family if you get devoured.

Then there was Hana, who appeared fascinated by a third siren’s scales as she attempted to ply one off her tail. The siren shook a fist at Hana, cursing at her as she splashed water towards us. Yami gently took his mate’s hand and said, “I’ll get you scales when we return to our village. You can’t take these.”

“Crown Prince Zixin, I never thought I would see you so far from Wuzhen,” the silvery-haired siren remarked. Her eyes were blue like the sea and if I were interested in females, I would have been completely mesmerized. “What brings you to the Sea of Kaiaerra?”

“We know you may have information concerning the trumpets. Is this true?” Jin explained.

“The trumpets? You want to summon the Hierophant, don’t you? What do you intend to do once she’s here?” She peered at Sosuke, disapproval quickly contorting her features. My dragon grumbled low, not appreciating how she looked at our mate. “You’ve been touched by the Fallen. The scent of their magic is fresh on you and yet you’ve been confined to this form for so long,” she added.

“We intend to break it,” I said confidently.

Her eyes widened in surprise, knowing we intended to kill them. “Jin, we’ve been friends for many years and you appear to me now because your quest to save the world will end in sacrificing my friend. You know I can’t agree to help you with this,” Loraina replied, her smile morphing into a grimace.

“Friend? Who is your friend, fish?” I asked her, a brow raised in confusion. If one of the Fallen was her friend, how could we trust her words? She could lead us down a false path, all to protect her good friend. We should’ve never confided in a siren. It was a fool’s errand.

“Uriel, of course.”

“A siren with no sexual restraint is friends with the Aeyavielan God of Chastity?”

“Watch your tongue, dragon. Although our songs speak of desire and pleasure, I can assure you we only eat the hearts of our victims. We never force ourselves on our victims.”

“Am I supposed to be relieved?”

“Are you going to help us or not, Loraina? As much as Jin loves having you around and may be afraid of ruining his friendship with you, I’m not afraid to make a few sacrifices for the good of our Master. He’s suffered enough the past two centuries. He deserves to have the curse broken,” Tui interjected.

“I can’t tell you where the trumpets are because I don’t know.” I opened my mouth to object, but she added, “Even if I did, I still wouldn’t tell you.”

“How are we supposed to find them?”

“Get creative. Where there is an angel, there is a fallen counterpart. When the two come together, the trumpets will appear. A thin string of fate connects the Hierophant and the Devil. When you find one, you will find the other.”

“If that’s the case, why aren’t you stopping us?”

“That implies you will be able to use all seven trumpets and locate the Devil. For your own sake, I hope you fail in finding him. If you can’t find him, you won’t get the chance to endanger my friend’s future.”

“Let me guess, you would like us to find a crack in the earth and transport ourselves into the netherworld to find the Devil?” I asked, knowing my irritation seeped through my tone. I’d had enough. The fish did everything in her power to impede this expedition, and my dragon didn’t like anyone standing in our way or treating us like we were insignificant. Especially in front of our mate.

“Of course not. All the cracks have already been sealed. You can only enter Hell if you’re a spirit and have a valkyrie as an escort. And even then, I doubt you would like what you find,” she responded. “However, there is another means.”

The Valkyrie were guardians between the lands of the living and the dead. There were rumors of how the winged women never slept because they had to ensure spirits were traveling safely and to the correct location.

“What’s the catch?”

“There is no catch, dragon. Just how far are you willing to go to find the answers you seek?”

“We won’t consult the Forbidden Arts,” Sosuke replied with a stern tone.

“I know. And that’s what makes this arrangement work for me.”

“If what you’re saying is remotely true, you mean to send us off to our deaths if we don’t succeed?” I asked.

“Is that a problem? Either way, it’s one less enemy for me and one less problem for Uriel,” she answered.

“I don’t know what fish speak of under the sea, but battles to the death are something I excel at. Even if this body breaks down from the Devil’s powers, I’ll keep fighting until my last breath leaves my body.”

“I wouldn’t expect anything less from the Prince of the dragons. However, it would be in your best interests to remember you only have one life on this plane.”

While kitsune were granted the ability to reincarnate, dragons were not as fortunate. What the siren spoke of was true, but it was somewhat insulting to hear how lowly she thought of me. If my mate wasn’t there, I would have struck her down.

I looked down to find Sosuke glancing in my direction out of the corner of his eye. My heart nearly stopped as he held me captive in his gaze. He said nothing; he didn’t have to say anything. My dragon turned control over to its mate, not thinking twice about it. Was he concerned about the coming battles? Was he worried I’d lash out at the siren? Did he really think of me as a bloodthirsty beast?

“There is another way. We can search for artifacts that represent the Fallen. With dark magic that powerful, they need a tether to ensure they remain in this realm. And so they embedded magical artifacts within the hearts of seven living creatures. With Sathanas purged, she has the chance to return unless we find her tether,” Sosuke said, turning his head away from me. “If they sense their gateway is endangered, they’ll appear in an instant.”

“The only problem with that is how to avoid the attention from other members of the Dark Court. It’s not just the Fallen we have to be concerned with,” I replied. “Or have you already forgotten about the remaining Pixie Generals and dark elf faction? I killed one and somehow I doubt they will let that slide.”

“Is that all?” Yami remarked.

“I may have killed some of their young and elderly. My father thought it would be the most effective way to pass along a message. They won’t be happy if they know of my involvement, if they haven’t already discovered it through Sathanas. How do we know she didn’t send a message to the other Fallen?” I awkwardly glanced at Sosuke, but he wore a blank expression. Would he think less of me for killing children?

“Then we’ll be ready for them,” Yami said. “Hana is always looking forward to expanding her yokai collection. We’ve only ever gone after Mutsu and Wuzhean demons. I can’t imagine what else we’ll find in the west.”

“Fine, but how do you plan to get there without raising suspicion?”

“It’s simple enough, Zixin,” Jin replied this time. He pulled a fan out from his sleeves, waving it and releasing puffs of smoke. It quickly took the shape of their ghostly carriage. Miasma crept along the edges of the black carriage and my body shivered from its cold caresses.

“You wouldn’t catch me dead in that contraption.”

“I’m happy to prove you wrong,” Tui retorted.

“Tui,” Sosuke warned.

“We can’t fly. We might as well stop by their front door with a banner that says ‘Hey, we’re here to kill the people you view as gods,’” Tui said, crossing her arms as the Inari Defensive Forces boarded the carriage.

“And teleporting wasn’t a better idea?” I asked.

“We can’t teleport to a place we’ve never been to before. Unless you want to be stuck in a rock or wall, you’re better off riding with us. At least with this, our spiritual energy will be cloaked and allow us the element of surprise.”

The miasma’s tendrils snaked around the bottom of the rickshaw, reminding me of a slippery reptilian. The amount of negative energy emitting from it was almost overwhelming. Even with my naturally hot internal temperature, the cold kept nipping at my skin, eager for more of my spiritual energy.

“You might notice a change in your strength. It feeds on spiritual energy when you’re near. It’s the only way it hides us,” Sosuke explained.

“It better return my energy when we get there or you’ll have to pick up driftwood from the seas,” I rumbled with displeasure.

* * *


My stomach heaved at the sight of the different colored fish swimming around us. Sun Fang remained in the carriage, refusing to come out. Asari and Aimi pulled on his legs, while Sayuri said words of encouragement to get him to release his grip. 

Bile rose from the back of my throat, threatening to escape my mouth as I leaned over to the side, dry heaving. Although Jin used his magic to concoct a thin layer of spiritual energy to protect us, it did little to ease my bubbling stomach.

“What’s the matter, Zixin? Never seen a fish before?” Tui asked, her snickers audible to everyone around us. Her concerns were invalid. She found amusement in my suffering.

Unlike water dragons, I was not well equipped to water. Even though I was half-Celestial, my fire dragon energy overpowered everything else in my essence. All I could think about was how quick it would take for me to reach the surface before my stomach decided it needed to empty its contents.

Looking up, the sunlight couldn’t even be seen from the depth we were at. The ocean floor was only a couple of feet below us, but I wouldn’t dare step down. Who knew what predators lurked in the sand?

“And what about you? Doesn’t the sight of fish just drive your senses crazy?” I replied once I felt I had a firmer grasp of my bearings. It was difficult not to tease Tui when she gave me a difficult time. There was something about it that made it fun. However, that didn’t mean I liked her. She was still a fox demon.

“I’m not a cat!” she retorted with a snarl. Her feline-like features morphed into a menacing frown, a laugh almost escaping me. Her three tails wagged with fury behind her. It was a humorous sight to behold.

“Could have fooled me.”

“Let’s not fight amongst ourselves. Remember the objective,” Asari interjected this time.

Our eyes met, and my body flushed under his intense gaze. Even if he was incapable of seeing me, it felt like he stared deep into my soul. My dragon rumbled softly in my mind, appreciating the attention we got from our mate. His eyes, while still mostly white, looked less cloudy than usual. Was that the result of the bond?

‘Don’t be ridiculous, Zixin. What would Fùqīn say?’ I thought. Then, realization hit me. ‘When do I care what Fùqīn thinks? It never stopped me in the past.’

Sosuke’s mind remained blocked off to me. Whatever he was thinking, I had absolutely no idea. Knowing that, it made me wary. He kept the barrier between us locked tight, so not even a stray thought or emotion escaped his mind. Why was he so insistent on shielding his thoughts from me? I couldn’t tell if it was his thoughts or himself that he was so scared of showing. He’d seen into my mind, but when it came to his own, he was defensive? It made little sense.