lisa wandered the palace corridors that night, too restless to sleep. She turned a corner and froze.
Aria stood twenty feet away, speaking with a kitsune advisor. The queen wore a silk nightrobe that clung to her small fra, her white hair loose around her shoulders.
Their eyes t.
Aria smiled, soft and private, before turning back to her conversation.
[Geez, what is with this weird vibe?]
lisa’s face burned. She nodded and hurried back toward the guest quarters before she did sothing stupid like wave back.
The common room was chaos. Isabella had clearly raided the palace wine stores, her cheeks flushed pink as she pressed Armia against a wall.
"You’re so tall," Isabella giggled, standing on her tiptoes. "Like a sexy tree."
"Trees aren’t sexy," Armia protested, though her hands found Isabella’s waist.
"You’ve been looking at the wrong trees then!"
Isabella kissed her. Armia’s protests died instantly, as usual, her massive fra lting into the smaller kitsune’s touch. Her hands tightened on Isabella’s hips as the kiss deepened.
"GET A ROOM!" listair called out with a smirk from the corner where he was reading.
"This IS a room!" Isabella shot back between kisses.
lisa dropped onto the couch, watching her cousin work her magic on the usually reluctant darian. Armia’s face had gone from stern to completely dazed in about three seconds flat.
"Disgusting." Sirah dropped beside her, still wearing her training leathers despite the late hour. "In my tribe, such intimate displays."
"Good thing we’re not in your tribe."
"She’s yours, isn’t she? The pink one. I’ve seen how she touches you." Sirah’s voice dripped disdain. "Yet you sit here while another claims her. And you just put up with that?"
lisa turned to face her fully. The darian’s blue eyes burned back at hers.
"Isabella isn’t ’mine.’ None of them are. We don’t own each other."
Sirah scoffed.
"Sounds to like weakness."
"No. It’s freedom." lisa kept her voice level. "Look, in your culture, you could have a plethora of lovers but they couldn’t touch anyone else, right?"
"Obviously. They would belong to alone."
"Well, that’s not how we do things. Isabella kisses who she wants. Armia kisses who she wants. And they also fuck they want. So do I." lisa leaned forward. "They aren’t mine to control."
"That’s insane! How do you know who belongs to who?"
"We don’t belong to anyone. That’s the whole point. And, let tell you, if you have a problem with fucking my friends, you’re going to be a very angry woman these days."
Sirah’s jaw clenched hard enough to crack teeth.
"You would choose them over ?"
"Uh, yes??? Setting aside the whole kidnapping thing, I barely know you!"
Despite the increasingly tense conversation, lisa nearly chuckled at the look on Sirah’s face, like the gears in her skull were slowly, steadily beginning to turn.
"So, yes. If you can’t handle our way of doing things..." lisa stood. "There’s caravans heading back to Rhaya every week."
Sirah flinched like she’d been slapped. Across the room, Isabella had progressed to sitting in Armia’s lap, whispering sothing that made the darian’s yellow eyes go wide.
"I could make you mine," Sirah said quietly. "If you gave a chance again, I could claim you properly."
"You could try." lisa headed for her room. "But I’d still fuck whoever I wanted afterward. Nim need sex. I’m not going to go against my own biology for you. You should think about whether you can live with that."
She left Sirah on the couch, the warrior’s face a storm of emotions.
---
Morning ca too soon. lisa dressed in her formal robes, trying not to think about how Aria had looked in silk. Or how Sirah had looked at breakfast, silent and brooding about the fact that she’d fallen for, probably in her mind, a promiscuous woman.
"LISA!" Isabella burst through the door. "The bathrooms have MAGICALLY HEATED FLOORS! My feet have achieved nirvana!"
"That’s great, ’Bella."
"Also I might’ve accidentally proposed to three guards last night. Or four? Math is hard when you’re drunk."
lisa blinked.
"Please tell you’re joking."
"About the math? Why would I joke about math?"
Margaret appeared behind her, looking remarkably composed for soone who’d spent the night at a brothel.
"Girls, we’re going to be late. The negotiations?"
"Right!" Isabella bounced. "Ti to show these kitsune what Syux can do!"
---
The negotiations took place in a chamber near the crown of the massive tree palace. The view stretched for miles, showing Yalmir’s capital in all its glory. The council table grew from the floor itself, polished smooth as glass.
Kitsune nobles filled most of the seats, all of them, of course, won of varying ages. They studied the Syux delegation with expressions ranging from curiosity to outright suspicion.
"Before we begin," Silviana said, "I should address the storm clouds gathering."
Aria straightened.
"Matriarch?"
"Reports from our borders grow concerning. Soone spreads lies among our people." Silviana’s nine tails swayed with agitation. "They claim nim plot to overthrow Yalmir’s leadership."
Gasps rippled through the room. Several councilors exchanged worried glances.
"That’s insane!" lisa blurted. "We would never—"
"I know." Silviana raised a hand. "But fear spreads faster than truth. These whispers speak of nim infiltrators, of secret armies, of blood magic awakening."
lisa blinked.
[What? Really?]
"Likely the work of the remnants of the shadow mages," Aria said quietly.
"Most likely. Though their presence in Syux has nearly been snuffed out, their presence outside of the city has increased, not decreased, right?" Silviana’s gaze found lisa. "You’ve fought them, I’ve read."
"Too many tis."
"Then you understand their thods. Lies wrapped in enough truth to sound believable." The Matriarch stood. "Already, a couple of villages have begun to restrict nim movent ’just in case’. Guards watch them with suspicion. Old prejudices resurface."
A younger kitsune councilor with a bright orange tail slamd her fist on the table.
"Because it could be true! The legends say the nim ruled once before—"
"Myths. And, even if we were to assu they’re true, that was centuries ago," Silviana cut her off. "Before any of us drew breath."
lisa shifted.
[... Well, funny that. It turns out we actually did rule. Syux, at least. I don’t know if we controlled Yalmir too, but if we ruled Syux, over our biggest enemies, the humans, I, uh, guess we could have controlled Yalmir too, hehe.]
"History! History that repeats! This is an on! They will grow stronger, learn magic they shouldn’t possess—" Her eyes locked on lisa. "Like her! A nim mage? It’s unnatural!"
"Councilor Feng," an older kitsune sighed. "Not this again."
"Don’t dismiss , Mother!"
[Oh great. Family drama.]
"You’re right," lisa said.
The room went silent.
"I am unnatural. By every law in Syux, I shouldn’t exist." She t Feng’s stare. "But I do. And instead of plotting to overthrow anyone, I’m here trying to build bridges."
"Pretty words—"
"Councilor Feng." Silviana’s voice could’ve frozen fla. "You forget yourself. Again."
Feng sat back, but her glare promised this wasn’t over.
"The Shadow Mages know... alterations of history," Silviana continued. "And they use these rumors and myths against us. Nim who once ruled through seduction and pheromones. Humans who broke free through violence. As if such a thing could happen."
"..." lisa shifted.
"Then what do we do?" Another councilor asked. "My villages grow restless. So call for... preventive asures."
"You an imprisonnt," another one said coldly.
"I an protection!"
"Sa thing, different words," the Matriarch added. Her usual playfulness had vanished. "I’ve seen where that road leads. In any case," Silviana said, "this is what is causing the needless stress you’ve had the displeasure of seeing, dear guests. But, rest assured, I will deal with it."
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