Page 64 of Foxes of Legend

“Seven,” Kairos said, entering the room with Enko.

I jumped up and rushed over to them, abandoning the book. After a hug from both, Seven sheathed his blade. “Nevermind.”

“We picked up some food for dinner,” Enko said.

My stomach grumbled happily at the thought of eating, but Kairos turned on Seven. “What did you guys have for lunch?”

With the long conversations and drawn out silences throughout the day, I’d somehow missed lunch.

Kairos scolded Seven. “She barely eats as it is, Seven. You need to make sure she’s taken care of.”

Seven threw his hands in the air, “We ate like six hours ago! How dare you fucking scold me, I know my duty to her.”

Enko placed take-out boxes on the table, filling my nose with the delicious smells.

When we all sat around the table, Kairos asked, a little suspiciously, “What did you two do all day?”

“Training, went for a walk around the grounds, and then studied,” I said as I shoveled the food into my mouth.

“Are you up for another round of training?” Kairos asked. “Seven has a meeting with the Archfox.”

Seven glared, slamming the fork down and leaving the dorm as dramatically as possible.

38

Dove

Moonlight glinted against our blades as they crashed between us. Kairos’ cheek lifted as I blocked his swing. Enko swooped in, taking a stab.Dodge.We danced more than we fought. Their magic guided me through the motions, their intentions before they acted. The new magical ability to read their minds was more than their thoughts. I couldfeelthem near without seeing them.

Kairos hit my sword, the vibrations running through my whole arm as I let my katana fall and I pounced on him. He dropped his mace quickly so as to not hurt me. He caught me, spinning me around and placing me beneath him on the ground in a bed of dead leaves before climbing on top of me.

“I win,” he mumbled as he leaned forward, his lips closing in on mine.

I closed my eyes, finding the ball of light within me and releasing it. My body transformed, and when I opened my eyes, my night-vision aided my play.

Enko shifted into his fox form as I dashed around Kairos’ legs.

His six tails ignited, swooping dangerously close to the layer of debris all around us.

Kairos remained in his human form. “Try to calm down before you set the whole forest ablaze, Enko.”

Enko sprang back, then leapt at me. His tails brushed against me, but the fire didn’t burn my soft white fur. I hurried away from him, but my solitary tail meant he was six times faster than I was.

Help!I called out to Kairos as Enko gained on me, knowing he could hear the word.

Kairos laughed, “You’re on your own, Dove. You’re the one who chose to play with fire.”

Enko’s teeth brushed through my tail and I let out a squeal—I was still defensive of my new bushy tail.

He caught me, his much larger fox form hit me, causing us to tumble through the russet leaves. We shifted back into our human forms and I laughed as we laid next to each other. Enko’s nude form was muscles on top of muscles, every bit of him woven into raw power.

The stars gleamed like diamonds, the fire of leaves falling from the trees onto us. Kairos’ eyes glazed over me, and my body heated from the scrutiny.

“Don’t cover yourself,” Kairos grumbled, causing Enko to turn his attention to me as well.

Enko brought his lips to my neck, fiery kisses. My neck tilted back automatically, eyes on Kairos. There wasn’t any jealousy in his eyes as he watched Enko work.

“Careful, Enko,” Kairos warned.

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