Chapter 2
Mina’s three tails bobbed up and down behind her energetically as she gave Rys an upturned look. He imagined that she thought this looked seductive. It might, if she weren’t grinning.
“Mina, was it? Why don’t you give me an example of the sort of intimate things you might say to me tonight,” he said.
Rys was no stranger to playing along with young women. How many succubi had tried to force themselves on him in his youth, only to get more than they bargained for?
Right now, he was playing with fire. Fara’s eyes attempted to bore a hole through his head from a distance. If she used her tails, she could actually do that, given her ability to manipulate raw force.
The pain would be worth it, however. Rys hadn’t been able to tease Fara for weeks now. He was in drought.
Mina practically sprang to life in response to his words. She licked her lips. “An example of what I can say? I can do way more than that, Rys.” She tilted her head to one side. “No, Rys is what Auntie Fara calls you. How about Tal? Or Tallie?”
“Rys is fine,” he replied, keeping his voice neutral.
But his expression flickered for a moment when he heard that last nickname. He had zero positive feelings about it, but refused to allow others to know that it bothered him so much.
“If you want to demonstrate, go ahead,” he continued, ignoring the frown on Mina’s face.
“Rys!” Fara snapped. Her tails began to move, and he genuinely wondered if she was going to use magic.
The real question was, would she hit him or Mina?
“Auntie Fara, you should show respect for His Majesty,” Mina scolded, smugness leaking into every note.
Fara physically shifted to face Mina, and if Rys had any doubts about who her target was, they had been quelled. Mina was going to get a good smacking if she kept this up.
The white-tailed fox appeared to be unaware, however. She turned to face Rys and fanned her tails out as low to the ground as possible. That gesture meant something, Rys realized. Fara had used it before.
“Your wish is my command, master. Would you prefer me clothed or unclothed?” Mina purred.
“Fara, what would be your preference?” Rys asked.
She opened her mouth to scream at him, then paused. Her eyes narrowed and her tails stopped moving. An odd expression overtook her face.
The jig appeared to be up.
“Well, Fara seems indisposed. Vallis, your thoughts?” he asked, turning to his viceroy, who was hiding behind him.
Vallis looked like she had been caught in a mousetrap, given how wide her eyes were. She looked between everyone for a few seconds.
Rys didn’t miss the jealous gaze that Mina shot toward Vallis—or more specifically, Vallis’s massive tits.
“Err, clothed,” Vallis said. “I mean, that robe is pretty fine and the pattern would be nice to look at while she’s on her knees. Plus, she doesn’t really have the figure to give me something to stare at—I’ll shut up now.” She hid behind Rys again, as Fara’s fierce glare returned.
“Just because mine are smaller than yours,” Mina muttered, patting her chest while pouting. She recovered a moment later and bounced in front of Rys with a bright smile. “Don’t worry, master, I’m sure I can provide you plenty to see while I give you the experience of a lifetime.”
Wow. What a cliché. Rys sincerely hoped nobody actually taught her to say that.
“Well, Fara, what’s your opinion?” Rys asked her.
She stared at him. Then she let out an explosive sigh. “I don’t know, Your Majesty. Please illuminate me.”
Mina blinked, confused.
“I think your niece needs some lessons in seduction. Or perhaps she simply shouldn’t try. As it is, she mostly appeals to a niche audience. She’s cute and enthusiastic, but young and erratic. The performance bounced around a lot, and I was never certain if she was genuinely interested, or just trying to annoy you,” Rys explained, dispassionately rating Mina, whose tails sagged farther to the ground with each word that left his mouth.
He paused for a moment for theatrical effect. “I’d give her a three out of ten. No, make that a four. She was offering to give a foreign king a blowjob in front of her aunt.”
“I don’t think that’s worthy of an extra point,” Fara said flatly.
“Young? I’m fifty-four!” Mina protested. “I bet I’m older than you.”
Silence.
Two things sprang to mind for Rys. One, he remembered that foxes received their fourth tail at sixty and that was when they officially became adults. Mina looked close enough to an adult right now, but he imagined she would fill out once she got that extra tail.
The second thing was that Mina had no idea who or what he was. Fara had instantly realized he was unnatural. Did Mina lack that ability? Or was she simply not as on guard as Fara had been?
Fara ran a hand through her hair and sighed again. “Was this your idea of a joke, Rys?”
“Yes,” he said. “Welcome back.”
“Jackass.” She shook her head. “Well, I need a chance to actually settle back in and relax after the trip back. Thanks.”
Thanks? For what?
Then Fara leaped away, literally jumping over the hedges. Mina, Rys, and Vallis stared after her.
Several seconds passed before the reality of the situation dawned on Rys.
“I just got dumped with babysitting duty, didn’t I?” he said aloud.
Vallis clapped him on the back with a wink.
“Bet you wish you took me up on my offer. I’d be on my knees and you’d be loving it,” Mina muttered as she crossed her arms over her chest.
Realizing that this was his life now, and also that keeping this mystic fox away from his infernals was a good idea, Rys walked toward his office.
A moment later, he spun and grabbed Mina’s ankle with a spell. She screamed as she slammed her face into the grass. Her hands clawed at the invisible hand wrapped around her leg, then pouted at him.
“I was just going to find Auntie Fara,” she said.
“By going in the opposite direction that she went?” Rys asked.
“I was going to ask for directions.”
“But not from me?”
“No.” Mina’s smile broadened. Given her short height, her appearance matched her behavior: that of a devilish minx.
Rys walked up to her and pulled her up. Naturally, Mina tried to pull him down. His strength Gift flared to life, giving him the strength to match hers, and he yanked her up. She yelped as she crashed into his chest.
“Wow. You really are some sort of sorcerer lord,” she muttered.
Eying her, Rys didn’t let go of her as he walked to his office with Mina and Vallis. Her strength had been obscene by mortal standards. Forget bench pressing someone. If he didn’t have his strength Gift, she could probably physically crush him into a tiny ball and kick him around for fun.
Fara had said that her clan focused on the physical discipline and valued white tails. What she hadn’t mentioned was that she apparently wasn’t very good at it. Mina should be less powerful than Fara, but was far stronger. Rys hadn’t even sensed her use any magic.
“Are you training as an enforcer?” he asked as they entered the mansion.
At the same time, he used mindspeak to let the Lilim servants know to steer clear. Mindspeak allowed Rys to communicate telepathically with devils. If Mina remained unaware of his infernals, he wanted her to stay that way.
“Huh?” Mina asked, then smirked. “No, no. I trained as an adjutant. That’s an intelligence officer position in the Six-Star Alliance of foxes. I had to be trained in all the branches—enforcer, spy, assassin, command, messenger, bodyguard. Adjutants are field officers that assist enforcers, but they then fast-track into the clan hierarchy later.”
“Wow. I remember Fara mentioned you were amazing, but that genuinely seems impressive,” Vallis said. “You’ve spent most of your time in Pharos, right? Are you back here until you get your fourth tail, then heading back there for your position?”
Mina didn’t respond. A shadow fell over her face as they walked through the opulent corridors of the mansion.
When Vallis tried to say something more, Rys stopped her. Something was awry. He’d give Mina some space.
They stepped into his office, which had grown in size recently. Since conquering Compagnon, Rys had expanded the mansion to its full size. He had relocated a number of rooms and expanded others.
His office remained fairly subdued despite that. The room was L-shaped, with the lip of the L on the far side from the door. Rys’s desk dominated the far side of the room, but was almost empty of paperwork. A number of plush purple sofas were tucked away next to it, where the room curved away. Bookshelves full of magical tomes, encyclopedias, scientific journals, and references lined the walls.
“Wow. This place is stuffy,” Mina said. Then she screwed up her nose. “Also, I can totally smell that.”
She looked at the desk, where Rys had enjoyed Maria’s company earlier this morning.
“Weren’t you offering to do the same thing to our glorious king and conqueror five minutes ago?” Vallis asked.
Mina rolled her eyes. Then she spotted the liquor cabinet. She practically teleported over to it, a bottle of red wine appearing in her hands. Rys hadn’t even seen her open the doors.
“Did Fara ever tell you anything about when she started drinking?” Rys asked Vallis, unsure if Mina was old enough to drink by fox standards.
“She’s older than I am. I think she’ll be fine,” Vallis said, as she placed more glasses in front of Mina. Wine for everybody, apparently.
Somehow, Rys doubted that opinion would hold up in the court of Fara. But she should have known better than to leave her niece in his hands if she cared about something like alcohol.
The three of them settled into the sofas. Mina bounced up and down, apparently fascinated by their softness.
“I’ve never sat on anything like this before,” she admitted, when they both looked at her. “We mostly kneel or sit on the ground in Pharos or home.”
“So, you have been in Pharos?” Rys asked.
“Mmm.” Mina frowned and chose to focus on her wine. She blinked as she drank it. “Holy shit. What even is this stuff? It’s amazing.”
“It’s expensive, is what it is, you little minx,” Vallis said, with a glower. “You grabbed a bottle of wine from the personal liquor cabinet of the king of an entire country. What did you expect, some cheap shit you steal from the back of carts when the merchants aren’t paying attention?”
Mina winced. Clearly that hit a little close to home.
“It’s imported wine from southern Gauron. Blacktaffe, to be precise,” Rys explained. “I prefer cool-climate reds, and the vineyards here are too young.”
“Err, I think I remember Blacktaffe from geography lessons,” Mina said with a look of concentration. “Is that a city or a region?”
“It’s both,” Vallis said. “My family is originally from there. It’s one of the oldest cities on the continent, alongside Ahm and Shropham. Malataine is next to it, which I’m certain you know about.”
“Well, duh. Malataine is the largest trading port in the world.” Mina rolled her eyes. “Everyone knows about it.”
Rys didn’t, but he remained quiet. Blacktaffe, Ahm, and Shropham were cities that dated back to the time of the Infernal Empire. He had actually ruled Blacktaffe at one point, in the decades that preceded the collapse of the entire Empire. But Malataine was new. A lot had changed in the last 1500 years.
“Anyway, Rys, before this little monster tried to seduce you with her bountiful tits and tired cliches, we were talking about a bodyguard,” Vallis said, attracting Mina’s ire.
Mina slapped Vallis in the back of the head with a light force blow.
Vallis intended to treat Mina exactly the same as Fara it seemed. Her future appeared to be one that involved being perpetually bullied by foxes.
“Rys, can she do that to me? I’m the viceroy,” Vallis whined as she rubbed the back of her head.
“The what?” Mina said, staring at Vallis. “Wait, you’re actually important? I thought you were just a merchant that Fara took in?”
“Oh, yes, I’m hanging around one of the most powerful people on the island because Fara likes me.” Vallis rolled her eyes. “I run the kingdom, you dolt. Rys rails me every night as payment for my generous services.”
“Don’t say things that will cause misunderstandings,” he said. “But yes, Vallis does run the kingdom on my behalf.”
“Um, shouldn’t you run it yourself?” Mina said, sounding very confused.
“Why? I’m the king. I have better things to do than paperwork and bossing everyone around. Does the emperor in Pharos do everything himself?” Rys asked.
“Err, the emperor in Pharos doesn’t do much of anything. He’s a figurehead. The Imperial Court runs itself, and the Shadow Empress controls everything from behind the scenes,” Mina said. “Everyone serves her. If they don’t.” The fox ran a finger across her neck.
That was new information to Rys, even if it didn’t affect him now.
“I think you’ve proved my point,” he said. “Sounds like the Emperor and the Shadow Empress know what they’re doing.”
Mina frowned at him, unsure how to react.
“Anyway, bodyguard,” Vallis reiterated.
“I’ll look into my old list of… associates,” he said, trying to use words that wouldn’t set off Mina’s alarm bells. “I still don’t think both you and Maria need permanent bodyguards, given it’s rare for you to leave the castle for long stretches of time. With that said, I do think we need to start recruiting stronger fighters.”
“Like those wolfkin? Dalyros has some amazing knights, apparently. I’ve heard stories of how some of their wolfkin can cut open walls.” Vallis made a chopping motion with one hand, nearly spilling her wine in the process.
“Pffft, that’s nothing. Once I have six tails, I can teleport right through the wall. Why hire some dumb one-tailed loser, when you have a multi-tailed fox like me?” Mina’s tails danced in the air, as if to illustrate her point.
“Ah, yes, six tails.” Vallis nodded. “I’m sure my great-great-great-great-great-great—”
“Yeah, fuck you,” Mina spat. “I get it, it’ll be a couple of centuries before I have that many tails.”
Vallis grinned and drained her wine, then poured more. Apparently, the expense of the wine didn’t stop her from drinking a lot of it.
“But… I’m still really strong, and I’ve spent my entire life training for this,” Mina mumbled. “Why can’t I be given a real chance?”
“Alright, let’s stop avoiding the topic. What happened with you and your adjutant training?” Rys asked.
Mina fell silent. She slurped noisily at her wine for several seconds. Every paternal sense in Rys’s head told him that waterworks were coming, but he ignored them.
Why did he even have paternal senses?
“I’ve spent my entire life dedicated to my training,” Mina said, eyes tearing up. “I’m the first fox to ever be assigned to adjutant training with only three tails. All of my classmates are adults. I have no friends. I’ve spent the last thirty years training on Pharos with strangers who look down on me because of my age. Not even Fara, who can beat five-tail foxes in force manipulation, got offered the chance I did.”
She paused and took a big sniff. Rys waited patiently, while Vallis lingered in the far end of the office.
“Everything was for the chance to become an adjutant. I was going to get my fourth tail, go back to Pharos, and it would all be worth it. Now…” She sobbed. “They won’t let me go back. The elder told me that I’ll just become a spy. I don’t even know why. Do they expect me to roll over and say thank you after all this? My handler even told me that I was useless because I hadn’t done the right training. Why did I waste all that time, just to be told to fuck off, and that I’m good for nothing?”
Those paternal senses rang in Rys’s head, and he pulled her into his arms. Minutes passed as he allowed her to cry it out. He rubbed circles into her back.
Vallis ducked out at some point, no doubt to inform Fara of her niece’s breakdown.
Eventually, Mina calmed down. She leaned against him, face red, staring at the ground.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled.
“I’ve said this to the others, but it’s fine to accept a helping hand when you need it,” Rys said.
“Is that an offer?” Mina said, desperately trying to return to her cheeky self. “I’ll still take my clothes off if you want me to.”
Given he was certain that her attempts to sleep with him were because she wanted to escape her village and a job that she now despised, he didn’t take the bait.
“You can stay here for as long as you want. You’re Fara’s family, after all. Rest and think over your options. I will ask that you don’t tell anyone outside the mansion about what you see inside it, however,” he warned her.
“I got it. I won’t tell my mom or aunt that you’re fucking Fara.” Mina nodded enthusiastically.
“That’s the least of what I’m worried about,” he said drily. “I’m pretty sure Fara will be here soon. I won’t say that this is an offer, but if you are genuinely interested in working for me, instead of merely fleeing your current situation, then I’m happy to have you.”
“You… Do you really mean that?” Mina breathed out, eyes wide.
“Like I said, you need to be genuinely interested. No cliches about giving me the experience of a lifetime.” He ruffled her hair, tickling her ears.
She batted his hands away with a growl. Then smiled at him. It was the brightest smile she had given today, and it reached her eyes in a way that all the others hadn’t.
“Thanks, Rys,” she mumbled.
Then she stood up and rushed out of the room.
As he had expected, Fara stood outside. She caught her niece by the shoulders and pulled her into a hug. Mina fought back futilely, trying to escape her aunt’s grasp, but quickly gave in.
Vallis returned shortly afterward. The evening rays of the sun fell on the mansion as she poured the rest of the wine, and they lounged next to one another.
“You really poked that anthill,” she commented.
“I doubt that she had found much of a chance for release. She seemed to be avoiding the topic, even though it was on the top of her mind,” Rys said. “Less is more, in this case.”
“I mean, sure, but there’s a reason everyone is avoiding it. Her life is kind of ruined.” Vallis scowled. “It’s fucked up.”
“Couldn’t you have said the same about your life?”
“Is that what you’re doing now, going around and adopting all the poor, unfortunate souls who drew the short straw in life?” She laughed. “Well, I guess I can’t complain. I owe you everything. Without you, I’d—”
The door opened, and Fara stepped inside. Vallis clammed up, ignoring the odd look from the fox.
Realizing that the bottle of wine was empty, Fara instead poured some sake that was tucked away in the back of the cabinet.
“I’ve set her up in a room next to mine. A few of Alsia’s warriors are doing some drills with her. Which is going as poorly for them as I imagined, given Mina can collectively bench press Alsia’s army,” Fara said.
“She’s strong,” Rys said. “She tried to rip my arm out of my socket earlier.”
“Her biggest problem is that she’s almost too good for the level she’s at. That’s why she got thrown into the adjutant training. The problem is that there’s a hard gap—she can defeat the average four-tail fox, but I can slap her down effortlessly.” Fara took a seat. “Thank you, by the way. She’s a lot happier after whatever you said to her.”
“I didn’t say much.”
“Maybe not, but it was what she needed to hear.” The fox paused. “I still don’t forgive you for pretending you were going to get a blowjob off her.”
Damn.
“So, what happened?” he asked.
“Nobody knows. I went back to inform them that I was leaving the clan. That went better than I expected. My twin sister, Ariko, supported me and so did the village elder. She came out here to escape life in Pharos and raise Mina and Sarae the way she wanted, despite all the warnings. Now she’s happy. She told me that if you make me happy, then I should pursue you.” Fara smiled.
“Sarae?” Vallis asked.
“Mina’s twin sister. She’s a little less capable, and is still training as a spy over in Pharos,” Fara explained.
“So, do I make you happy?” Rys asked.
“From the noises I heard from her bedroom at night, I’d guess so,” Vallis said. “She said your name an awful lot.”
“Fara, don’t kill her. I need her to run my kingdom.” He physically restrained Fara from murdering the other woman in the room.
“Fine. You live. For now.” Fara’s eyes flashed dangerously at Vallis, who shot her a smug look in return.
“So, what happened after you left the clan?” Rys asked.
“Everything went well. Then the elder received a message that tried to recall me to Pharos immediately, ignoring my attempt to leave the clan and the fact I hadn’t received my fifth tail yet. At the same time, they ordered Mina to remain in Pharos and to operate as a spy under a Gold Clan handler.” Fara sighed.
More drinks were poured. The mansion had been dyed entirely red by now. Rys didn’t like where this story was going.
“This whole thing smacks of Alliance politics. The Gold Clan, who run everything, is up to something. Mina doesn’t know the full story. The Alliance ordered this, not our clan—the Garrote Clan. I don’t give a shit about the order for me, but this destroys Mina’s future. Enforcer deployments are determined by the Alliance, so they’re interfering with my decision at the very least.”
“What happens next?” Rys asked.
“The village has officially protested the orders and declared convalescence until the Alliance mediates on the matter,” Fara said.
Convalescence?
“… The village is recuperating?” he asked, certain that his translation Gift had malfunctioned.
“It’s a silly way of saying that the village feels wounded by the actions of the Alliance, so all residents will cease official activities until further notice. I brought Mina here, because the village is in an uproar over it. She was the shining star, and this has caused open fury,” Fara said.
“She should see that,” Rys said. “It might help her understand that people care.”
Fara remained silent. “Maybe.”
“Fara.”
“She seems interested in staying here,” Fara said, with a light smile.
Ha, so that had been the plan all along.
Then, to Rys’s surprise, Fara leaned over and planted a kiss on his cheek. Vallis stared at them. He ran a hand through one of her tails, and the fox gasped. Ecstasy coated her moan.
“Maybe not with company,” Rys said, noticing the way that Vallis’s hands wandered to her skirt.
Fara stopped, then looked at Vallis. Her eyes lowered to the compromised position of Vallis’s hands.
“Really?” Fara asked.
“Uhhh.” Vallis gulped. “It’s hot?”
“Well, that ruined the mood,” Fara said, then rose. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Rys.”
Rys glared at Vallis, who quickly escaped after the fox.
He didn’t intend to let Fara elude his grasp for very long, however. But tomorrow was another day. His fox had promised him some fun when she came back, and he intended for her to keep that promise.
The next morning, Rys paid Fara an early visit for exactly that reason. However, he found her outside of one of the guest bedrooms. Presumably Mina’s.
“I assume something is wrong,” he said.
“Yes and no,” Fara said.
“I’m fine,” Mina shouted from inside. Her voice sounded slightly different. A little huskier, and not just because it was early morning. “Just… adjusting. Actually, Rys can come in. Fara, stay out!”
Fara shrugged, then gestured for him to enter.
The door was unlocked, so he stepped inside.
Immediately, he realized what was wrong.
A nearly naked Mina stood inside, but now she had four fluffy white tails. She looked significantly older.
And bustier. Her chest had grown ten sizes overnight.
“So, uh, what do you think?” Mina asked Rys, giving him a nervous smile as she showed off her adult body.