Page 27 of Foxes of Legend

“Goddess, why are you such an asshole, Seven?” Enko groaned as he got up from the bed and crossed the room toward me.

Seven intercepted him, grabbing the front of Enko’s shirt. “Me?Youmade our entire Fated group look weak today when you went feral. All of us. Even your precious new Fated. Kairos barely managed to scrape your mess together. We still don’t know if he’ll live.”

“I already handled it, Seven. Let him go,” Kairos ordered.

Seven pushed Enko forward, and despite the size difference, Enko stumbled back, dropping his eyes to the floor.

“The Archfox will be notified,” Seven said, keeping his gaze on Enko. “There’s nothing I can do to stop it. Too many witnesses.”

The room hung in a long silence as we took in Seven’s words. The Archfox, the highest of our order, the most powerful kitsune in the world. He assigned contracts and doled out punishments for serious crimes committed by all our kind.

Enko’s eyes rose to Seven’s in shock. “He tried to assault our Fated. He left bruises on her, Seven. The Archfox will find me innocent.”

“Maybe. But he’ll have to account for your past crimes, Enko. And we both know how that looks,” Seven snorted, his eyes landing on me for a moment. “See what you’ve done?”

“Do not blame her,” Kairos growled, jumping up from the bed. “Don’t you fucking dare.”

Seven reared onto him. “I knew it was only a matter of time before you both turned on me. Next, you’ll turn on each other.” Seven’s lips curled into a sickly smile, eyes glazing me up and down. “Who will she want most? What will you do to betray each other to have her all to yourself?”

I backed into the wall, feeling as though Seven’s words had physically punched me. I was going to be sick, my stomach retched at the insult.

“I would never…” My body swayed and I steadied myself against the wall. A blurry dark figure reached out and grabbed me before I hit the floor. My vision distorted into darkness.

16

Dove

When I awoke, the room was empty. Kairos’ fluffy blankets encased me, coaxing me back to sleep. The bright white light of my phone’s screen caught my eye, resting on the mahogany end table.

Kairos:Dove, we received a contract for some vampires in Lethe. STAY AT THE ACADEMY. Be safe, back tonight.

Kairos’ message was the first between us. The way he had demanded Seven to release Enko told me they looked to Kairos for leadership. His bossy nature and constant orders suddenly made more sense.

After dressing, I strapped a small knife to my ankle, concealing it under my tall combat boots. My heart rattled at the thought of being alone for the day, of some creep following me again. I’d known my Fated for less than a week, and I already couldn’t stand being without them. I needed Enko’s protection and comfort, Kairos’ authority and power.

I watched their names on the leaderboard. The numbers would tick up as soon as a kill registered. If Kairos, Enko, and Seven were out hunting demons in the city, it wouldn’t take long for their counts to increase.

Varma shouted out orders on the field while I scanned the third-years for my Fated, though I knew they wouldn’t be there. Every single muscle ached as I went through the motions, wondering if my body would ever adjust to the harsh physical training at the academy. The day dragged by, each time I passed by the leaderboard, I glanced up at their names and numbers.

After classes, I sauntered to the campus shrine. The brick building rested within a loose grove of trees a quarter-mile away from the massive castle academy. A cherry blossom tree stretched its branches out over a small pond nearby.

I bowed to each of the guarding Holy Foxes before entering.

There were weapons of silver and gold and bronze and platinum, all displayed in glass cases in endless columns. Only Forgefire illuminated the room, its glow was more white than natural fire. The actual entrance to the Forge appeared unguarded, but an invisible magic wall blocked the way, only allowing tailed kitsune within its chamber near its blaze.

I continued to walk deeper into the halls, the weapons catching the light and reflecting it onto everything, making the passageways sparkle.

She called me to her, I felt her drawing me closer. The goddess.

At her stone feet, a dark figure lurked in a bow, an unnatural shadow amid the firelight glow. A small tug within drew me closer.

“Seven?”

The shadow figure moved, his shadows retreating back into himself. He wasn’t shocked by my sudden appearance. He stood and gave a curt nod. He slipped around me and escaped from me like I was the scary one.

“Hey!”

His voice echoed in the chamber. “What do you want?”

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