Bingo. She definitely needed to revisit this conversation later. Price and Ryden were two virile, powerful men. Yet only one of them was a fox spirit? Huh? She cleared her throat. “About Ryden…”
Daji waved her hand. “You snuck off with him yesterday and rescued three of your sisters.” Her lips pursed. “It was reckless of you to leave without my permission, but I’m glad you enlisted the aid of others. You were acting like a Queen.” She inclined her head. “Price and I are working on a way to restore their fox spirits. To determine if anything can be done for them.”
The air whooshed from her lungs in relief. That was great news. “We have to save them.”
“We will.” Daji clasped Naya’s hand and squeezed it. “These past weeks, I’ve been more hopeful for the endurance of our race than I have been in centuries.” Her lips curved in a whimsical smile and she released Naya’s hand.
“Does this mean you’re going to keep Price?”
Daji fingered the pages of her book and then set it on the table to her right. “I’m not certain.”
“How long, exactly, can a Queen keep a Consort for…” Naya twisted her hands in her lap. This was embarrassing.
“Is that a general question or do you have a particular male in mind?”
Her cheeks heated at the Queen’s knowing smirk.
“I believe as Queen you may adjust our customs.” Daji’s teasing tone grew serious. “For the best interests of our people, of course.”
A weight eased off Naya’s shoulders. Even though her people didn’t take mates, she might be allowed to claim Ryden as hers.
“I’m glad to see you happy.” Daji rubbed Naya’s arm.
“Me too.” She leaned her head against Daji’s shoulder. “Oh, there’s something else I had to tell you.” She puffed out her breath. “Ryden is a fox spirit.”
Daji grew quiet. So still, Naya didn’t detect her breaths. Her heart racing, Naya scrambled to elaborate. “Yesterday, when he was fighting those sick bastards, I saw the aura of his fox spirit.” She twisted around to peer at Daji. The woman’s face had grown pale, her gaze glued to her hands. “What?”
Daji lifted her lashes and met Naya’s stare. “It cannot be. If what you say is true—” She slapped a hand across her mouth and shook her head, tears glistening in her eyes. “We are all doomed.”
***
Ryden frowned at the empty place beside him. Naya was taking too damn long. He yearned to embrace her in his arms. Where she belonged.
Where I belong.
For the first time in his life, he was free to be everything he’d been taught to suppress. To hide.
No more hiding.
If he really was a fox spirit, he belonged in this palace, with his people. Mum, why didn’t you tell me? She must have known—why else would she have given him that talisman and warned him never to take it off?
Why? Was his nature really that bad?
Had she also been a fox spirit?
Hell, he had more questions than answers, and Naya had spent long enough with her Queen. My turn.
After he dressed in a blue, short-sleeved shirt and khakis, he strode through the halls, searching for the women. As he rounded the corner into the kitchen, Price jerked to a stand, the pegs of his stool screeching across the marble floors.
“You.” Price stormed toward him and got up in his face. “What the fuck have you been doing?”
Ryden raised his hands. “Nothing, why?”
Price shook his head, his left hand fisting. “Don’t lie to me. You dragged one of my subjects on some field trip and,” he shoved a finger into Ryden’s chest, “let it loose.” He gripped Ryden’s collar. “Where the hell is your talisman?”
Ryden seized Price’s wrists and shoved them off. “Don’t need it anymore.”
“The fuck you don’t. Without it, you’re dangerous, Ryden.” Price shoved an accusing finger in his face. “If you’re going to play games, stay the hell away from Naya. That’s not a request.”
Rage burned in his veins. How dare Price order him to do anything. Especially regarding Naya. “I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. You’re not my father.” Snarling, he lunged for Price, tackling him to the floor, and pummeled his fist into his brother’s jaw. Must have Naya. The beast in him raged, thrashing to the surface.
His brother threw him off and hopped to his feet, swiping blood from his lip. “See? You would never hit me.”
On his back, Ryden stared up at the cut on Price’s lip. Did I do that? He staggered to his feet, his muscles trembling.
“No, I’m not our father.” Price raked a hand through his dark hair. “I’m the one who’s always looked out for you, and trust me, this is in your best interest.” He lowered his head and glanced at Ryden sideways, his blue eyes piercing. “I know you, and I know Daji. When you hurt that girl, Daji is going to fuck you up.”
Not if. When. Shit. Was Price right? He grimaced at his hands, at the black claws curling from his fingertips. How easy it had been to strike his brother. He swallowed against his tightening throat. The beast inside him hadn’t targeted Naya yet, but what if it did? Would he, could he, hurt her?
Had he done the same to their mother?
“If anything happens to Naya, that’s their bloody future Queen. You’re messing with the fate of an entire race and it isn’t worth the risk.” Price shook his head. “Man, you look fucking evil.” He scoffed. “You want Naya, you wear the talisman. Simple as that.”
He drew his brows together. “I can’t. I lost it.” In the cave, when he’d rescued Naya from the dragon.
“Fine.” Price perched on the countertop, plucked a banana, peeled it, and took a bite. “We’ll get you another one. Mum must have gotten it somewhere.”
Their mother. Yeah, where had she procured something like that? The time to hide his secrets and fears had passed. He cleared his throat. “Price, I think I’m a—”
“Fox spirit.” Daji sauntered into the room, casting him a wary frown. “Yes, it would appear so.”
“What happened?” Naya strolled in behind the Queen, scanning the overturned stool and the cut on Price’s lip.
“Nothing.” Price set aside his banana and waved Daji toward him, as though to shield her from Ryden.
From what I am.
“He’s okay.” Price jerked his chin at Ryden. “Right, brother?”
Ryden grimaced, flipping over his hands. “I don’t know.”
“I didn’t wish to believe it, but there is no mistaking your nature. Ryden, you are a fox spirit.” Daji pressed her lips firmly together and then sighed. “Which also means you are our King.”
***
Naya’s mouth fell open. King? She peered at her Queen’s face for answers.
Daji squared her shoulders. “A male húli jīng is a rare genetic mutation. Even I have never met one, but in the oldest annals of our race, there is mention of a ruling pair. Male and female. Together, these—”
Heels clacking toward them drew Naya’s attention. She twisted around as the Matchmaker strolled into the kitchen. Naya had only met her once, briefly, years ago, but the woman’s sharp scrutiny was just as piercing. Her inky black hair was drawn into a tight chignon and her fitted green cheongsam—traditional Chinese dress—gave her a no-nonsense, school mistress appearance.
“Together, these rulers restored the balance of power.” The Matchmaker arched a brow at Daji. “Yin and yang. As a female race, the húli jīng slant heavily toward yin. Too much of any one force will result in imbalance.” She folded her arms, tapping long red nails along her forearms. “Therefore, your race has adapted. When the imbalance tips the scales, a male húli jīng is born. He will assume the throne alongside the Queen, and the race will thrive once more.”
“Wait.” Price hopped off the counter, scowling. “Does this mean Ryden gets to wear a fucking crown and I don’t?”
Naya stepped to Ryden’s side as he rolled his eyes at his brother.
“Hey, I’m being serious. If he’
s a fox spirit, maybe I am too.”
Daji placed a hand on Price’s arm. “Even if you carried the gene, the Horse spirit animal within you would suppress such a mutation.”
“Fine.” He huffed. “None of this explains why our mother hid us, why she made him wear a talisman.”
Daji glanced between the two of them. “If my suspicions are correct, your mother was a fox spirit. If she realized what he was, she would have understood the implications.”
Ryden went pale, staring at his hands. “Did I…” He cleared his throat and whispered, “Did I kill her?”
Oh, Ryden. Naya’s heart seized. What a dark fear to be carrying around for so many years.
“No.” Price’s voice was as hard as ice. “I can’t believe you would even think that.” He rubbed at his swollen jaw. “You might have a solid right punch, but even as messed up as you are, you were only a kid then.”
“Indeed.” Daji offered Ryden a meek smile. “We have a lead on what might have happened though. Considering your mother’s true nature, there’s a good chance the person who protected Price that night was in fact your mother.” Daji squeezed Price’s arm then inclined her head toward Ryden. “I assure you, whatever happened to your mother, it had nothing to do with you. She sacrificed everything to protect the two of you. Fleeing her people and suppressing your nature. At least, until you chose this for yourself.”
Right. Naya swallowed hard. Ryden could back out.
He rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. “What if I don’t assume the throne?”
The Matchmaker’s eyes flashed, glinting obsidian depths. “Then the húli jīng will fall into extinction.”
His hand slipped to finger his collar as he swallowed thickly. “Okay, then. What do I have to do?”
The Matchmaker cut her gaze between him and Daji. “Traditionally? Mate the Queen.”
“Not bloody likely,” Price spat.
Her insides twisted as Naya stole a glimpse of Daji, who’d grown ghostly pale. Was this what she’d meant when she’d declared them doomed? How were they supposed to choose between love and the fate of their people?
“If that is what must be done.” Daji stepped out from behind Price, her shoulders set regally.
Tears stung in Naya’s eyes. Every fiber of her being was at war. She should copy her Queen’s selfless sacrifice, but as she focused on Ryden, her heart screamed that she couldn’t. Despair flickered in his blue eyes, but his jaw was firmly clenched.
Oh, hell. He would do it, too. For me.
To save our race.
“The fuck you will.” Price seized Daji’s arm, whirled her around, and crushed her to his chest. “This is sick and twisted. And never going to happen.” He grimaced at Ryden before glowering at the Matchmaker.
A sly grin curved her lips as she unfolded her arms. “Honestly, would I have placed you in each other’s paths if I believed this your only course?”
“There’s another way?” Naya took one hopeful step forward.
“Indeed.” The Matchmaker’s eyes flashed. “But only if you claim the one thing more powerful than Fate itself.”
Naya frowned. What could that be?
Ryden strode to her side and clasped her hand. The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her. “Love.”
***
Holy shit. Ryden’s heart staggered like a drunk stumbling off a rollercoaster. Each new revelation had taken him for one hell of a ride, and now, was he ever thankful to have both feet firmly planted on the ground.
Beside her. Beside the woman his heart—and his fox spirit—had claimed. Naya might not be Queen yet, but maybe the King in him had sensed she one day would be. When the time came for Daji to step down from the throne, Naya would claim her place as his Queen and they would rule together.
Regardless, the beast inside had howled in revolt at the notion of mating Daji—no offense, Price. He’d never viewed the current Queen as anyone but his brother’s mate.
He didn’t want to be with anyone but Naya. Except… “I want you, Naya, but I’m afraid of what I am. Of what I might do to you.” His earlier fears surged, spilling from his gut. He might have to relinquish her, after all.
How could he accept his true nature, saving their race, when that very beast might tear her from him? Even though his chest eased at Daji and Price’s declaration that he hadn’t killed his mother, he was far stronger now. Far more dangerous, and unpredictable.
“There’s no need for such concern.” The Matchmaker waved off his words. “Your fox spirit has chosen hers. A húli jīng would never harm his mate. However,” she shot a glance at Price’s cut lip, “he would destroy anything that came between them.”
Ryden’s shoulders deflated. Hell, the relief buzzed through his veins like strong liquor. Warming and easing his tension.
Naya squeezed his hand, and as he peered at her, her bright eyes glistened with the love they shared.
“Any other questions?” The Matchmaker cleared her throat. “Because I am a busy woman.”
“None here.” Ryden grinned, gazing at his beautiful Naya.
“Yes, of course. Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Daji murmured.
Heels clacked and boots thudded as the room emptied.
Alone. With my destiny. “Guess that means you’re mine.” He whirled her into his arms and bent his forehead to hers.
She stuck her hand beneath the collar of her dress and drew a gold chain over her head.
My talisman. “Where the hell did you get that?”
She shrugged. “Finders keepers.” He snatched for the pendant, but she whipped it behind her back. “Ah, uhn. This is mine. If you’re bad, I’ll—”
“Oh, I plan to be,” he snared her head and stole a kiss, “very wicked indeed.”
She pulled back from his grasp and tossed her hair, those curly cinnamon brown locks shortening into the wispy black haircut she’d worn when he’d first met her at the club. Her silver eyes sparkled. “With who, Megan?” She winked and her hair lengthened, spinning red. “Or me?”
He snagged the back of her head again and drew her face to his. “All of you, my future Queen.”
A mischievous curve quirked her lips and her hand flattened against the front of his pants. He definitely didn’t need her help in getting hard—his cock had already thickened in anticipation of her next move. Fuck yeah, he was definitely getting laid tonight. And every other night. For as long as he breathed, this was where he belonged.
With Naya.
As her fingers stroked him, she wet her lips and transformed back into his Naya.
His hands slid over her hips to squeeze her sweet ass. “Hungry?”
She leaned in on her tiptoes and purred, “Insatiable.”
His fingers slipped under the hem of her dress. “Good, me too.”
*****
nĭn hăo – formal greeting
nĭ hăo – informal greeting
shūshu – uncle (father’s younger brother)
zhínǚ – niece (brother’s daughter)
xiānshēng – Mr.
Nonya – a traditional blend of Chinese and Malay cuisine
chī fàn – traditional words spoken for elders to eat first
xiăo tùzi guāi guāi – nursery rhyme “Well-behaved Little Rabbit”
tùzi – rabbit
Lái Zhīdé – Neo-Confucian philosopher who introduced the yin-yang symbol
sayang – “love” in Malay, used as a term of endearment
yin-yang – complementary, opposing forces that when in sync, result in the balance of the Earth. When out of sync, the Earth falls into imbalance. Yin is dark, cold, water, death, female, moon, etc. Yang is light, hot, fire, life, male, sun, etc.
jīng – one of the Three Treasures; sexual energy
qì – one of the Three Treasures; life-force energy
shén – one of the Three Treasures; spiritual energy
qìgōng – a practice involving coordinated breathing, movemen
t, and awareness, traditionally viewed as a practice to cultivate and balance qì
Iron Crutch Li – one of the Eight Immortals
Hé Qióng – The Immortal Woman, one of the Eight Immortals
Zhongli Quan – one of the Eight Immortals, Natalie’s ancestor
Zhang Guolao – one of the Eight Immortals, Kassian’s ancestor
Pénglái, Fāngzhàng, Yíngzhōu – the islands of the Eight Immortals
Áo – a large marine turtle in Chinese mythology that carries the islands of the Eight Immortals upon his back
yāoguài – demons who live in Dìyù and sometimes break free
Dìyù – Hell. It contains eighteen layers
batik – a traditional Malaysian fabric
wŭshù – a form of martial arts
Kongsi – a clan association; a secret society
Hai San – Sheng’s Kongsi
Ghee Hin – the enemy of the Hai San
Wen Shen – The Plague God responsible for the Red Death
Báijiŭ – an Asian liquor similar to vodka
Shèhúnzéi – “Spirit Thief”
Néih hóu – a Cantonese greeting
Match Me Later (Chinese Zodiac Romance Series Book 4) Page 8
