by Zelda Knight
It would be romantic, if not for the fact her destiny was such a hot mess. The two other reasons contributing to that fact appeared beside Bo Chang in plumes of bright blue glowing fox flames.
“Toshi. Kim Min-joon. I see everybody's here.” Rolling her eyes, Sarah watched as a crimson red string materialized from her little finger and attached to the man named Toshiyuki.
"Why wouldn't we come?" Toshi cocked his head to the side, curls covering his left eye.
“Sarah. You really came?” There was a hint of anger in Min-joon’s baritone voice, so soothing it made Sarah’s shoulders relax, tension dissipating in an instant.
His black suit had a bit of flourish, embroidery woven into it, which was typical of him. He always was a little extra, ever the gentlemen dressed to perfection. Sarah didn’t even watch the bright red string attach to her right pinky from his left little finger.
Unlike Bo and Toshi, Min-joon and she had a sort of relationship between them. They’d gone past primal fucking and passionate kissing, with the occasional wine in-between to something approaching boyfriend and girlfriend. So, she was used to their string, back from the days when she thought she had one fated mate and not three.
“Of course, she did, Min-joon! When has she ever listened to anyone with common sense? If there’s a heist worth attending, she’s going to be there.” Toshi laughed, his pitched voice and even higher laughter grating on Sarah’s ears.
He was wearing a black suit like Bo and Min-joon, which was unlike his typical appearance of rainbow vomit on stage, or trendy street fashion during his days off as an idol, both of which sent her niece into a frenzy. Oh, how she would come to hate Aunt Bijoux if she knew she used to regularly bang her favorite idol, and that they were fated mates and she was his “first.”
Toshi had told her on over one occasion that this version of herself was the first time they’d met. She found it hard to believe, seeing as she’d encountered Bo so many times, and Min-joon at least twice in her previous lives, according to what she could pry out of them. But seeing as he was the youngest of the fox shifters, and the newest god among them, it wasn’t beyond possible. What was impossible in the Realm of the Divine?
“Look, I’m not sure why you’re helping a scumbag like Ju-long—” Bo cut her off.
“Helping Ju-long? That pest means nothing to us. We’re here to stop you, not help him, and you know this.” Sarah knew on a fundamental level he wasn’t lying but pressed on, ignoring the implications.
“I don’t know why you care about my business with that menace to social order, and I know divine pearls don’t interest any of you enough to get involved. Why don’t you let me slip on by and ignore the fact we even met, hm? Why drag yourselves into unnecessary trouble.” She smoothed out her cerulean blue dress and waited for a response. She figured it would be the eldest, Bo, as usual. But Sarah was stunned when Toshi spoke instead.
“Do you really think greed would drive us to do anything? You're mistaken, love. We came here because you're here, to protect you. How could we leave you in a viper’s den? Sarah, come on. Think, for once, not about the glory or money, but about you and us. We’re fated mates! Can fated mates let their fated one die over a fool’s errand?” Sarah was taken aback.
Die?
She could lose the pearl or get seriously injured, but the thought she would really die never truly crossed her mind. The threat of death always hung in the air, but the Eternal Lunar Pearl only meant something to humans.
It was more of a decorative item to a god, according to the legends she had access to. Ju-long was a rotten bastard, but he was also a demi-god deeply connected with the Human Realm. His reputation meant something to him. That was true. Bijoux, getting over on him would harm it. But would he really kill her over a pearl and an ancestral god and start a war in the process?
“You doubt his evil intent, and that will be your downfall. Yuèguāng is not just an ancestral god. Ju-long wants him for a reason.” Now it was Min-joon’s turn to warn her, and his ominous tone was off-putting.
Her fated mates had one thing in common—being insufferable worrywarts. Sarah knew for at least Bo and Min-joon, it was warranted. Who knew how long they waited in between her reincarnations? Or, if they had witnessed her death repeatedly, unable to stop the inevitable for humans? They never made a point of telling her anything about her past lives other than she had them, and she didn’t ask.
Toshi, for the most part, was just possessive, as all of them were over what they thought was theirs for the taking. Sarah could understand an emotion like possession very well. She coveted much in her brief life. But the way the trio’s expressions and emotions radiated genuine concern threw her off her game and worried her. Was there a kernel of truth in Brother Lieu’s warning? Could this really be her last heist if things went south?
“So be it. My life is my life. My destiny is ready to be created. I don’t run from a challenge, be it a god or a human. Now show me the way or get out of my way.” Sarah raised her chin upward, trying to appear tough. But she averted her eyes.
When she looked at them, really looked at them, she always felt so weak. She blamed her previous lives and chalked it up to a cruel “gift” from the gods. Just like their love for each other, her visceral emotions were nothing more than an illusion. Once a fate line formed, it always seemed like the person on the other end was the end all be all to existence. But what future did a human thief have with three immortal princes?
“Very well. Follow us. It’s not far,” Bo Chang said, as Min-joon’s and Toshi’s eyes transformed too into the eerie yellow glow and slanted pupils of a fox. They turned on their heels in unison, in order of their rank, and Sarah trailed behind with butterflies fluttering in her gut.
Is my destiny really in my hands right now, or, like fate, am I just walking a predetermined path?
Chapter Four
MIN-JOON
Bijoux’s going to get herself killed this time around being so bullheaded, Min-joon thought with a hint of despair, glancing between the remnants of blue magic Sarah left behind, and his co-fated mate’s retreating backsides, foxtails swishing back and forth.
They’d led her down the hall to a large glass mirror, and helped her pass into Ju-long’s territory, a mirror world like Macau’s gambling mecca, but unlike it at the same time. And now they were heading in the opposite direction, as if they hadn’t transported their mate to her impending death mere minutes ago.
“Are we going to let her die, then? She’s foolhardy but has never been a fool, up until now. We can’t let her do this, not alone at least,” he pleaded his case as he caught up with them.
The fox god trio collectively phased through another section of the hallway, stepping out into a lavish banquet hall. It was like the restaurant section of the Grand Lisboa, only filled with paranormal and immortal beings instead of humans.
“Why not? Her life and choices are none of our concern, apparently.” Bitter as ever, Bo Chang snatched a cup of soju from a minor spirits’ hand, who cowered before him, taking back the empty cup as if they had been handed a magnificent treasure.
Copious amounts of his magic leaked out, barely repressed fury warping his features closer to that of his original form of a twin-tailed fox, though they only showed one tail when in the company of others. They drew too much attention to themselves otherwise.
Min-joon looked down and over to Toshiyuki, who shrugged his shoulders and let out a prolonged sigh. Min-joon joined him, sighing so deep he could feel his sorrows weighing down on his soul. Sarah was a handful and had always been through every iteration of her life, but this was the first time she’d been so resistant to even an iota of love. So strong-willed, so independent, and underneath it all so terrified of commitment.
Why persist with your futile struggle? You are strong, true, and brave to go against fate. Therefore, I will reward you with the gift of life, and help you laugh in the face of the gods.
Her voice had been music to his weary
ears, withering away at the edge of a large farm in late Joseon-era Korea.
Why persist? Why fight to survive in the cruel mortal world where his death would go unnoticed, flesh eaten away by vultures, soul recycled, and bones crushed under the weight of decay? Because he wanted to live. Because he was on the cusp of immortality. Because it was his fault, and their prejudice had been his undoing.
Min-joon was spotted at dawn by villagers, chased, and nearly beaten to death, accused of devouring the liver of a human he’d never met. But despite it all, the fox spirit clung to life, his second tail shuddering, on the verge of disintegration, and with it, his cultivated magic. A traveling shaman had come to Min-joon then, prayed over him, and gave him a home to heal. In time, he cultivated enough magic to maintain his transformation. They lived a happy life, until her health faded away, and he was forced to bury his beloved.
That had been the first time of three lifetimes spent with an iteration of the woman he now knew as Sarah Lee Ho, or Bijoux the Jewel Thief. First, he knew her as Soo Yoon the Shaman from Korea who he lived happily with until old age. Then they had met briefly when she was in the arms of another immortal, Bo Chang. They had courted Sugar the Singer from the Philippines equally, and separately, until her life was cut tragically short by an illness that no magic could cure, as Death stole her away on his time. And now they loved Sarah alongside Toshiyuki, together, mated to one.
Can one soul be bound to so many over so many years?
It was a question that plagued him since meeting Bo, and even more so when he caught Sarah in the arms of Toshi after their breakup. Each of them had attempted to capture her heart, but alone they failed. Together, maybe they stood a chance. She had stolen his heart three times, and Min-joon was committed to having the third time be the last.
Maybe falling in love and watching her die, only for her to reincarnate and die once more, has hardened Bo’s heart?
It wasn’t impossible to believe. This was only his third time meeting his fated mate, and yet a part of his heart had dulled to the inevitable pain. At least, that’s what he told himself, to numb himself to the possibility of her death.
Min-joon glanced at Toshiyuki again, who looked impatient. If he remembered correctly, Sarah was the only version of Sarah he had ever known, their mate whose soul never seemed to find peace upon death. Wandering as they wandered, longing for each other, but never to cross paths for long. It was time to put a stop to that. But if she didn’t live, they would be forced to repeat that tragic cycle all over again.
“Maybe one of us should kidnap her? That should give her time to sit and think, and hopefully learn that she’s not an immortal goddess...yet,” Bo Chang offered, finally calming down enough to offer up a useful strategy, reclining on a petal of a blue lily.
“I agree! Best route is seduction,” Toshiyuki countered, lounging on another petal of a floating white lily, legs resting on its pads, “She’s weak to desire. Let’s kidnap her, and in a matter of days, she’ll be begging us for her hand in marriage!”
They shared a laugh together, but Min-joon didn’t join in. Now wasn’t the time for flights of fancy. Bijoux was attempting to steal an item so valuable; she wouldn’t make it out of the heist alive. The humans who were after it probably thought they knew what it could do, but that was only a piece of a much bigger picture. As though he sensed Min-joon’s inner turmoil, Bo Chang’s expression changed. He was serious, lips turning down in a frown.
Ignoring the youngest of the fox trio completely, as he rattled off more ways they could cow their fated mate, Bo Chang turned to Min-joon and murmured, pupils narrowing into slits, “Look, I get it. She’s in over her head. And we can’t risk her dying on us when we can prevent it this time around. I’m just shooting shit because I’m pissed, she won’t listen to us.”
“I can get us through the door, Min-joon, but that doesn’t mean we won’t get stabbed in the back or be too late. If Sarah is crazy enough to try to pull off this heist, then...” Min-joon clasped his shoulder, squeezing down roughly. It was bad luck to voice their worst fears. They would save Sarah, no matter what trouble she got herself into.
“Ugh! Why is no one listening to me!” Toshiyuki whined, stretching obnoxiously loud as his bones cracked and morphed. In seconds, he had shrunk down into a fox, with one tail that burned bright white.
“At least walk upright, no matter how pissed off you are! We’re not animals anymore. Were gods,” Bo barked, straightening his shoulders as his modern suit melted away into a Zhongshan suit reminiscent of Republic Era China.
He tipped his fedora and slid his hand across his face to crop his long hair right above his ears. He was lying on the gangster persona a little thick; all he needed was a cigar and tommy gun to complete the effect. But it would make things easier for them once they crossed in Ju-Long’s border realm. They were going up against a monster, after all. Plus, if one looked the part of an all-powerful immortal, minor gods and spirits tended to treat them until they achieved immortality, which was a bonus.
“So, shall we go support our mate?” Bo asked.
“Support or save?” Toshi countered.
“I don’t know about you, but as much as she may overestimate herself, it’s usually a safe bet to bet on Bijoux.” Min-joon couldn’t argue with that.
Toshi transformed back and repeated his plan of simply kidnapping her and skipping the whole courting her hand in marriage. Bo Chang swatted him on the back of his head, insisting it wouldn’t work, and the time for talking shit was over with. Now they needed to act. But as they argued, Min-joon noticed something unusual in the corner of the hall. A stooped old man was cackling under the glowing light of the parallel crescent moon.
It took him a moment to realize who the tiny god was, but when he did, Min-joon’s foxy eyes almost popped out of his head. He was Yuè Lǎo, God of Fate, and to his absolute horror, Sarah’s red thread was being severed! They should only stretch and tangle, never break. But as he looked down at his hand, he saw the threads untangling one by one, holding on by a single thread. He turned to his co-fated, who were equally stunned as they watched what should be their unbreakable bond unraveling before their eyes.
Bijoux’s in trouble! We have to save Sarah! Now!
Chapter Five
SARAH
For some odd reason, she couldn’t put into words, Sarah was disappointed when the trio of fox gods didn’t come after her immediately. It was beyond selfish, she knew, but she couldn’t help but wonder why they weren’t by her side, ready to help? She’d broken their hearts, but it wasn’t like they were total strangers, and the rewards outweighed their petty differences. Even a gift of fox flame would have been enough. But to be so coldly dropped off and then rebuffed left a nasty taste in her mouth.
No matter. She was used to going it alone, and it was only her fickle heart trying to tell her otherwise. Maybe they weighed the battle ahead with the worth of the Eternal Lunar Pearl and decided against it. It wasn't worth much anyway...in the Realm of the Divine. But in the Mortal Realm, it granted its owner unimaginable power and temporary immortality. At least, that's what she had heard. She still wasn't sure why Ju-long would trade something of such worth for an ancestral god, but Sarah was hoping she wouldn't find out. The deal couldn't go through. She'd get her hands on the pearl first.
"Now what's all of this?" she chuckled, staring at the single door stopping her, blocking her from her goal.
The solid gold was beyond gaudy, and the black imperial dragon with five claws almost comical. Ju-long fashioned himself the Emperor of the Underworld, but he was little more than a coward who hid just on the cusp of each realm, afraid that if the pearl were to slip from his control, he'd be reduced to the weak half-breed bully he'd always been.
"Enter," a sinister voice called out to her as the doors slid open.
Sarah shrugged her shoulders and stepped inside boldly. Ju-long knew she was coming for the pearl; he'd been tipped off long ago. So, what was the point of pretending
she was walking into anything but a trap, trying to sneak within his mock-throne room.
If one could call it that. Once she stepped inside, it looked nothing like she imagined. A strange cross between a hot spring and a penthouse office. Gods loved their hot springs. To her left were said hot springs with various merwomen lying around, and as her eyes traced the sandy walkway until it turned into tile, Sarah's eyes met more gorgeous women. All were paranormals, maybe even minor gods, some with animal ears and others clearly element spirits in the shape of a woman.
The walls were lined in crystal clear glass overlooking a strange world filled with giant floating koi fish and twisting towers made of ancient trees, leaves all colors under the sun. It was the mirror version of the Las Vegas of Asia, equally gorgeous in a strange sense, and rife with opportunities to get rich.
To her right, Sarah gasped in shock, and awe as her eyes landed on the pearl. Its mystic aura made her shudder, radiating pure power that flowed through her veins and made her groan with pleasure. Underneath it, a glorious blue lily bloomed, radiant as it was otherworldly. It lay on an eggshell-colored pedestal, carved into the shapes of seashells.
And at the center of it all, the enchanting beauty of the border between worlds—at least in his delusional mind—was none other than the dragon-shifter predator Ju-long.
"Bijoux," he hissed, voice harsh to her ears and cruel. It stung her ears and made her frown.
"In the flesh, as I have always been," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest, her torn neckline sloping downward from where she’d escaped from Bo Chang. She would have fixed it with a quick spell, but she would need all her remaining power to pull off her carefully laid plans.
“I...see. I suppose you’re here to join my harem instead of pulling off your pointless attempt at a heist. I wouldn't mind adding a mere human, especially one as beautiful as you.” He grinned, jagged teeth razor-sharp like a shark.
