Royal Pride

by Zelda Knight

  But as her body was almost subsumed, two hands gripped her around her waist and pulled back. Her spirits stirred, smiles flipping to grotesque frowns. They screeched, fingers elongating, nails sharpening as they attempted to drag her back.

  Sarah would have clutched her chest if she could. A giant weight on her heart as she felt her soul being literally ripped in two.

  "Let go of her!" the man screamed, and she knew it was Toshiyuki.

  He had come for her. They had come for her, most likely to save her from her foolish decisions. But could gods go against fate if this was the end of the road for her soul?

  I want to live. I have to live. If not for their sakes, because I want to live!

  A sudden burst of willpower jolted Sarah out of her stupor. She pulled and twisted, fighting against the innumerable other Sarahs who howled and cackled, trying to drag her back into submission and into the void. But she couldn't die. No, she wouldn't die just yet.

  Because I want to live!

  Chapter Nine

  LILLIAN

  “Lillian? Li-Lang! Wake up right now! We’re in deep shit and we need to get out of here right now.” Lillian gasped, choking on her own spit as someone continually slapped her cheeks, not hard enough to hurt, but hard enough to wake her up.

  When her eyes finally adjusted to the strange blinding light above her, she was relieved to see Jong-hyun’s face. But that’s when her relief ended. He was dressed strangely, in a long white robe with embroidered sunflowers, that didn’t seem to have any distinct ethnic origin, with his hair tied back. As he helped her sit up, she noticed she was wearing a scarlet red cheongsam embroidered with flowers, like some Shanghai movie star from the early twentieth century. It made little sense. Had the rabbit god Yuèguāng teleported them into the past?

  “I know what you’re thinking Li-Lang,” Jong-hyun whispered, adjusting his tall, layered hat that looked visibly Korean, though she only recognized it from dramas and not the name or significance, “But you’re wrong. We’re not in some feudal era or the turn of the century. We’re not dead, either. But we’re not in the Mortal Realm anymore, that’s for sure.”

  Lillian’s mouth flew open when she finally looked around to see what he was talking about. They lay in a vast field of sunflowers, some so tall they looked as if they’d pierce the bright blue sky, so clear above them it couldn’t be natural. And it wasn’t.

  Like a glass mirror acting as a portal to another world, the sky rippled, and various creatures glided above. Rainbow-colored dragons, giant goldfish, and even some dreaded crows flew above them like they were looking into a pool. The parallel world was like a highway for various shifters and gods, and they were trapped at the bottom of a vast bubble.

  “Where are we?” she murmured, clinging to Jong-hyun, who wrapped his arms around her much smaller shoulders.

  “I don’t know, but just stick close to me. I’m sure Yuèguāng will return any minute now. We’ll ask him.” It seemed easier said than done, but Lillian decided to trust in Jong-hyun and trust in the god.

  He always kept a much more level head than her during times of trouble, and always protected her. And for all his terrifying power, the god had saved them from that giant crow. And what could Lillian possibly do in their peculiar situation other than cry, seeing as she was never skilled with magic since her father didn’t bother to train her? What could she offer as a tribute to a god who obviously didn’t care for human luxuries? Why else would he abandon the Lunar Rabbit Clan and return to wherever they were?

  “Sssh,” Jong-hyun ordered, dragging her downward. His broad chest covered her tiny body.

  She held her hands over her mouth to stifle a scream, as her most trusted personal guard dug inside his long sleeves, probably looking for his mantras. Their power lived in their blood, members of the warring Rabbit Clans. But it was enhanced through the use of physical objects, especially for the less experienced like a guard in-training.

  “Oh no, what do we have here?” Jong-hyun pushed off of Lillian and let out a terrifying howl, a huge burst of black energy blasted towards the voice’s direction.

  Lillian rolled onto her stomach, got to her feet, and got into a fighting stance. She was woefully undertrained, but she wasn’t going down without a fight. However, before she could even start misremembering a spell, she noticed her friend was nowhere to be found.

  “Jong-hyun? Jong-hyun! Jong…” something told her to look up, and she did, shocked to find him levitating in the air.

  He kicked and fussed and cussed, and that’s when she noticed nine claws had captured his body. Above him flew a very large and ancient crow, some of his black feathers a shiny silver, scars and new wounds littering his body. His eyes, however, looked rather human and infinitely patient as he slowly lowered himself and Jong-hyun back to the ground.

  As he rolled away, darting backward to defend Lillian, they both noticed there was no malicious intent radiating from the new crow’s body. Instead, he seemed almost... jovial. The crow shifter waltzed forward on three legs, followed by what appeared to be a human man who materialized beside him. Only his purple eyes gave away that he was someone special.

  “I’m Asuka. And this here is my mentor, Old Crow,” the newcomer said, his voice much deeper than she expected, like an echo from a deep cave. He wore a simple striped, black Japanese yukata with a white paper fan in his hand, swooped back jet-black hair more elegant than his attire.

  What kind of name is Old Crow? And why does he have three legs? Is he a mutant? And what’s this about being his mentor? How does a crow god take on a human protege?

  Lillian whined. Jong-hyun had pinched her. His face was warning her that her emotions were clear to see. Lillian schooled her expression and attempted to smile and not stare. Though, she couldn’t help but stare once she really took in all of Old Crow’s gaudy adornments. The number of precious stones encrusted in the bangles around his legs must have been worth a fortune, and Lillian wondered if the Old Crow was some sort of mobster or another ancestral god from a wealthy dynasty? Was Asuka his protege or a servant?

  “I... I am Jong-hyun, a guardian of the Solar Rabbit Clan,” Jong-hyun began, guiding Lillian behind his back.

  She peeked over at the odd duo from behind his massive sleeves. “We need help. An ancestral god of our rivals, Yuèguāng, has kidnapped us. We can offer you… Well…”

  Just like Lillian, Jong-hyun seemed sincerely stumped. He couldn’t beat the crow, who was infinitely stronger than what little show of force he’d displayed. Even Lillian could pick up on that. And he seemed wealthy enough with enough tributes to tide him over. If he didn’t even bother to take a human form, did he care about human luxury at all? And if Asuka was truly his protege or a member of his human cult’s clan, he’d have no need for two teenage magicians to join him for protection or devotion.

  “Old Crow. I did not summon you here to scare my mates. I summoned you here to heal them and bear witness.” A booming voice appeared behind Lillian and Jong-hyun, who spun around.

  These immortals are going to give me a heart attack if they keep appearing out of thin air like that!

  The teens backed away as none other than Yuèguāng appeared a little over six feet in height, all muscle and might. His hair was parted, one section tied into a curly bun that rested on the nape of his neck, and the rest spiraling down past his buttocks. It was longer than Lillian’s that stopped at the small of her back. His features seemed more mature, with a high nose and deep-set dark eyes, lashes so long they made him appear almost feminine. But on closer inspection, he didn’t look much older than them by human standards, maybe nineteen at most. He was just very tall, very imposing, and still mostly naked, with only a thick loincloth covering his privates.

  It would have been quite hilarious to think such a fearsome god took the form of a small white rabbit, but Lillian was too scared shitless to make the connection. All she wanted to do was curl up with her Toshi body pillow and pretend the whole gruesome day ha
dn’t happened. Why had she been so foolish to push the limits of her promise, only to get trapped in a parallel dimension?

  Lillian and Jong-hyun looked to each other, partly to find strength in each other’s presence to get through their situation, and also to wrap their heads around their next steps. Both coming up empty, Lillian reached for her most trusted guard’s hand and squeezed tight. He did the same.

  Asuka and Old Crow ambled towards Yuèguāng, calm and composed, like they were greeting an old friend after a long time. And they most likely were. He had been the ancestral god for the Solar Rabbit Clan for at least three generations, if not more, since they split. The history from back when they were united was unclear to Lillian, and she never bothered asking any of her elders. They didn’t know and also didn’t care.

  “Now then. It’s time Old Crow prepare—” Lillian cut him off, finding her courage now that she was sure he wasn’t trying to end their lives.

  “Wait a minute! Stop! Please! We saved your life, didn’t we? So, we should be rewarded. Please send us back home, we... erm,” she tried to find the right word, dropping to her knees.

  Jong-hyun’s mouth flew open in shock before he joined her on the ground, head bowed, beseeching Yuèguāng alongside his young mistress. “We implore you, god of the Moon!”

  They waited for his mercy to rain down on their bowed heads, believing that all gods returned a favor. Gods were mostly immortal, but even they could be rendered mortal by special means, like being weakened through the withdrawal of tribute and trapped in the Mortal Realm. That was one rumor Lillian knew now was true. By all accounts, Yuèguāng would be dead if not for them.

  But instead of a portal opening up to send them back, his booming laughter shook the air and bent the sunflowers around them. He stopped just as suddenly as he began, expression souring a bit. “Have I not already offered you both a reward? You will be made immortal, risen to my rank, once the ceremony is held and you give your consent.”

  Ceremony? Immortality? Consent? The words bounced around Lillian’s head like dropped plates, shattering and creating a huge, confusing mess. But then, just as rapidly, bits and pieces of conversations came to Lillian in waves. Her mouth flew open, and she stammered, “You wanted Xiuying to be your br-bride? The Solar Rabbit Clan’s eldest daughter? Isn’t that right?”

  “Why yes, mortal, I did. They refused my request and then had the audacity to try and sell me to that dragon-devil Ju-long for my own pearl! As if I’d let its true secrets fall into the hands of those ungrateful human elders,” Yuèguāng spat, obviously enraged.

  “But what does that have to do... with us?” Jong-hyun ventured, reaching over to squeeze the top of Lillian’s hand.

  “Well, according to Ying Yue Jiang here, I’ll have the honor of conferring immortality to you both after I officiate your wedding! One bride out the door, and two fated mates enter. I know Old Yuè Lǎo is cackling!” Old Crow chirped, wings flapping as if to say congratulations.

  “Wh-what?!” Lillian and Jong-hyun shouted in unison.

  “What do you mean ‘what’? It’s time your petty war came to an end anyway. Dividing the Rabbit Clans has caused me nothing but grief. Now, what is her name, yes that Bijoux has gone and made a mess. If I hadn’t snatched that divine treasure in time, your clans would have made a mockery of the gods, thrashing around Earth, causing a great calamity. What better way to solidify unity than to marry a member from each and join the opposing clans as one once more? It’s destiny!” Lillian was barely keeping up, still on her knees, when two things struck her at once.

  Her aunt had failed to recover the Eternal Lunar Pearl and was most likely in big trouble over in Macau. And there was only one problem with his marriage pact plan. Besides the obvious, Jong-hyun and Lillian were both from the same clan, just different branches... correct?

  Lillian looked over to Jong-hyun to confirm the obvious, but the way he nodded, and his right eye squinted, gave her pause. No one else would notice the tick, but she knew him long enough to know his eye squinted when he was lying to her.

  But she didn’t have time to process the enormity of that truth, as the Red String of Fate began to materialize, or should she say strings. One wound itself around Lillian’s right ankle, only to connect Yuèguāng’s, and she felt the middle of her chest burning where her black rabbit birthmark was. Then, around her left pinky, and Jong-hyun’s right, a twin red string appeared, and he reached up to clutch his chest, like his birthmark burned as well.

  Destiny? Fated mates? A shotgun wedding while her aunt was probably dead? It was like unlocking a harem ending in an otome game, but she hated everyone in it. Lillian gazed between Jong-hyun, Asuka, Old Crow, and her supposed fiancé, now called Ying Yue Jiang. Then the next thing she knew, reality distorted, rippling, and she blacked out from the shock.

  Chapter Eleven

  SARAH

  “Haaah!” Sarah gasped, eyes flying wide open, mouth gaped.

  At first, she lay frozen, unable to speak or truly see anything but shadows moving frantically above her. When her eyes adjusted to the dim candle-lit scene before her, she grew even more confused. Bo, Min-joon, and Toshi were above her, all sporting smiles so wide their faces looked ghastly.

  "Thank the gods! She's awake. She's alive!" Min-joon groaned, bending forward to snatch his ex-lover into his arms.

  Sarah didn't resist him, because she couldn't have even if she tried. Her body was like jello, loose and jiggly, unable to do much other than fold against the force of his arms wrapped around her back as he pulled her in for a tight hug.

  "Stop it, co-fated! You're going to crush our beloved!" Bo admonished, though the look in his honey-yellow eyes told her he'd been crying, though he'd never admit it out loud.

  “Where am I?” she whispered, assuming somehow her soul had snuck into a type of paradise with her men.

  Was that why she had dreamed of Toshiyuki saving her before everything burst into bright white light? Was she dead? She didn't feel dead, not with the usually reserved Min-joon trying to sever her spine with his brute strength, arms tightening even tighter around her waist.

  “Home,” he whispered, and with that, Toshi nodded, stepping forward.

  He cupped his fated mate’s clammy cheek in his hand as his co-mates all laid a hand on her freezing cold body, infusing some of their magic into her as the fox-shaped birthmark in between her breasts glowed. However, when they each pulled away, each of their joyous expression crumbled.

  "Rest for now, Bijoux. We will return before nightfall in our realm," Bo said rather ominously as they all turned their backs on her and vanished seconds later in a plume of white smoke.

  Sarah blinked, not processing what was happening until she looked around. She wasn't in her realm anymore. No, she was in a bedroom large enough to fit a city block, most assuredly in the Realm of the Divine.

  “House of the... Nine Foxes?” Sarah murmured quizzically as she slid a housecoat over her naked body. It resembled something out of a high-end hotel, and she wondered briefly if one of them had taken it from the Mortal Realm during a visit?

  “Yes,” Bo Chang declared, “This is our home in the Realm of the Divine.”

  True to their word, the trio materialized back inside the overly large bedroom as the powder blue skies outside the embellished windows shifted to a hazy mixture of purple, pink, and orange as the afternoon rolled through like a gentle wave.

  They wore outfits she had never seen before, glamorous and uncanny. They each had a hint of a variety of Asian influences, but no single ethnic group's culture stood out. The deep azure blue of the fox flame candles that lined the room made her shudder, remembering her brush with death. Just the memory of it made her heart clench and stomachache.

  “You cannot cross over until the next full moon, Bijoux. We have consulted our oracle and made countless intercessions to the goddess. But we see no other way," Bo Chang stated, voice much more commanding than his usual tone.

  Min-joon and Toshi
remained silent, arms folded in front of them, rigid as statues.

  What's this about a full moon? Do they mean to trap me here for almost a month in human days? That's insane!

  And Sarah made her feelings known.

  "I'm thankful, really. Nothing can describe how thankful I am that Toshiyuki saved me. But I can't stay here for that long. I need to get home. To find out if Ju-long–" Min-joon intervened before she could finish.

  "Is dead. He was swallowed whole by the eternal inferno, and his soul devoured by the goddess' holy light." Sarah's nose scrunched up.

  It would be silly of her to deny the existence of gods, seeing as she'd slept with three and was currently shacked up in their room. But all the overly heavy religious tones of their message were making her uneasy.

  "Eternal inferno?" she asked, honestly stumped by what they were saying.

  If Ju-long was dead, that solved one of her pressing problems. But that still left the affairs of her clan now that she had failed to seize the pearl. And what of the moon god, the ancestral god of the Lunar Rabbit Clan? Was Yuèguāng alive? Had he survived Ju-long's blade and escaped his horde of feathered henchmen?

  If so, Sarah was glad. She knew the Lunar Rabbit Clan was already looking to start a war. If their ancestral god died, even if it had all been Ju-long's plan to double cross, the mortal underworld would be in shambles, and the bloodletting would spill into the streets.

  "Yuèguāng," Toshi murmured, turning towards the direction of the parallel setting sun, "is alive and well. The Nine-Tailed Moon would tell us otherwise. All is well, except for you, Bijoux. You must stay. The human world can wait."

  "But I can't," she declared, swinging her legs over the side of the enormous bed she lay in.

  If she stood, she felt like she'd have more equal footing in their conversation, even though it would be purely psychological. There was no such thing as being equal to an immortal as a mortal.