By late afternoon, the forest had begun to change.
The trees grew older and farther apart as Instinct and Arwen climbed into the mountains, their enormous roots twisting through dark earth and stone.
Even the air felt different—warmer despite the elevation, carrying the faint scent of flowers that Instinct couldn’t identify.
Nyx’s voice entered his mind.
Uncharacteristically serious.
” WE SHOULD BE CLOSE.
”
Instinct glanced around.
You can tell?
” NOT WITH CERTAINTY.
THE RECORDS I CAN ACCESS AREN’T EXACTLY CONSISTENT WHEN IT COMES TO KITSUNE.
SOME MENTION THIS REGION, OTHERS THE OLD RUINS.
IF THEY’RE EVEN REMOTELY ACCURATE, WE SHOULD BE NEAR HER TERRITORY.
”
Instinct’s hand drifted closer to Moonfall.
” THAT WASN’T AN INVITATION TO DRAW YOUR SWORD.
”
I wasn’t going to.
” YOU WERE THINKING ABOUT IT.
”
Arwen walked beside him, her hand occasionally brushing his.
“What is it?”
“Nothing yet.”
Her emerald eyes narrowed slightly.
“I think we’re close.”
Arwen’s expression became more serious.
“That would explain the forest.”
Instinct looked around again.
“What’s wrong with it?”
“Nothing.”
That wasn’t the answer he expected.
Arwen touched the trunk of a nearby tree as they passed.
“That’s the problem.
No broken branches.
No animal tracks crossing the path.
No territorial markings from larger predators.
Even the birds are keeping their distance.”
Instinct listened.
Now that she mentioned it, the forest was almost unnaturally peaceful.
” THE RECORDS ABOUT NINE-TAILED KITSUNE DON’T AGREE ON MUCH.
OLD.
POWERFUL.
CUNNING.
UNPREDICTABLE.
THOSE DESCRIPTIONS APPEAR OFTEN ENOUGH TO BE WORTH REMEMBERING.
”
Anything useful?
” DON’T LET HER DISTRACT YOU.
”
That’s your advice?
” YOU SAY THAT NOW.
”
Instinct frowned.
Arwen glanced at him.
“What?”
“Just thinking about what we might find.”
For some reason, Arwen didn’t look reassured.
“The oldest stories about nine-tailed kitsune rarely agree on much,” she said.
“Some call them tricksters.
Some call them spirits.
Others describe them as monsters or protectors.
But they all agree that dealing with one is dangerous.”
“Because they’re powerful?”
“That too.”
Her hand found his.
“But mostly because you may not realize you’re being tested until after you’ve already failed.”
Instinct looked at her.
“Encouraging.”
“I thought you’d appreciate honesty.”
” SEE?
I LIKE HER.
”
Instinct ignored Nyx.
Arwen squeezed his hand.
“Just be careful.
Please.”
“I will.”
She held his gaze another moment before nodding.
The shrine appeared less than an hour later.
There was no warning.
One moment, the path ahead contained nothing but ancient trees and climbing stone.
The next, the forest opened around an enormous weathered archway.
Instinct stopped.
Beyond it stretched a courtyard of polished black stone, smooth enough to reflect the sky like a dark mirror.
Ancient pillars bordered the space, their surfaces covered in carvings softened by time.
Lanterns hung from branches and wooden beams without visible ropes, their flames burning despite the absence of oil.
The scent he had noticed earlier was stronger here.
Incense.
Wildflowers.
And beneath both, something warmer.
Something alive.
Arwen’s fingers tightened around his.
Then Instinct saw her.
She stood in the center of the courtyard.
Completely naked.
For a moment, Instinct forgot whatever Nyx had been warning him about.
The kitsune made no attempt to cover herself.
She stood with the absolute ease of someone for whom modesty seemed entirely irrelevant.
Her skin was pale beneath the fading sunlight.
Long black hair fell in waves down her back, framing delicate features and two unmistakable fox ears.
Then Instinct saw the tails.
Nine of them.
Enormous and luxurious, spreading behind her in a flowing fan.
White and silver dominated their fur, broken by deep crimson-red and darker accents.
They moved independently with slow, graceful motions, surrounding her like a living mantle.
Then she looked at him.
Golden eyes.
Slitted pupils.
Instinct’s breath caught.
The reaction was immediate.
Too immediate.
Heat moved through his body, but it wasn’t merely attraction.
Something pressed against his senses the moment those eyes met his.
Her scent became stronger.
The movement of her tails seemed impossible not to follow.
Even the sound of the wind through the courtyard faded until his attention narrowed almost entirely to her.
Beautiful wasn’t enough to describe her.
She was overwhelming.
Deliberately so.
” AH.
”
Nyx sounded deeply irritated.
” THAT EXPLAINS SOME OF THE STORIES.
What?
” SHE’S DOING SOMETHING.
PRESENCE, SCENT, MAGIC—POSSIBLY ALL THREE.
DON’T JUST STAND THERE AND LET HER REARRANGE YOUR BRAIN.
”
Instinct realized he had, in fact, been standing there staring.
Beside him, Arwen had gone rigid.
The kitsune smiled.
Amusement filled her golden eyes.
“So…”
Her voice moved through the courtyard like warm silk.
“The amnesiac arrives.”
Instinct’s attention sharpened.
The kitsune’s gaze shifted toward Arwen.
“With his elf.”
Her smile widened.
“How domestic.”
Arwen’s posture changed subtly.
Not enough for most people to notice.
Instinct noticed.
The kitsune did too.
Of course she did.
She began walking toward them.
Each step was slow and deliberate, her nine tails moving behind her as though each possessed a mind of its own.
Instinct forced himself to keep his eyes on hers.
It was considerably harder than it should have been.
“I am Kyra,” she said.
“And you have entered my domain seeking something.”
She circled them.
One tail swept lazily behind her.
“My power?”
Another curled through the air near Instinct’s shoulder without touching him.
“My allegiance?”
Kyra stopped directly in front of him.
“Or perhaps…”
Her golden eyes traveled over him.
“…you simply came to worship.”
Instinct swallowed.
Kyra noticed.
Her smile became insufferably pleased.
“We came to make an offer.”
“An offer?”
“To form a bond.”
For the first time, something other than amusement appeared in her expression.
Interest.
“A bond.”
Instinct nodded.
“A taming.”
Kyra stared at him for one heartbeat.
Then laughed.
The sound rolled through the courtyard, beautiful and wild, while her nine tails spread behind her.
“A taming?”
She looked genuinely delighted.
“How deliciously presumptuous.”
Kyra stepped closer.
“Do you truly believe you could tame me, little mortal?”
“I came here to find out.”
That earned him another look.
Kyra tilted her head.
“I have watched kingdoms rise and disappear.
I have seen kings crawl and heroes break.
I have forgotten more about power than you have had time to learn.”
Her smile returned.
“And you walk into my home and ask me to let you tame me.”
“When you say it like that, it sounds unreasonable.”
Arwen made a small sound beside him that might have been a suppressed laugh.
Kyra’s eyes flashed with amusement.
“Unreasonable?”
“Very.”
“And yet you’re still here.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
Instinct met her gaze.
“Because Arwen’s people need basilisk venom.”
Kyra’s gaze shifted briefly toward the elf.
Instinct continued.
“She nearly died trying to obtain it alone.
We’re going after a basilisk again, and the two of us may not be enough.”
“So you came seeking my power.”
“I came to make you an offer.
I’m not asking you to risk yourself for us without giving you a choice.”
Kyra studied him.
“And if I refuse?”
“Then you refuse.”
Her tails slowed.
Instinct held her gaze.
“We leave and find another way.”
For a moment, Kyra said nothing.
Then one corner of her mouth lifted.
“And what exactly do you imagine you are offering me in exchange for this danger?”
“The bond.”
Her eyes sharpened.
Instinct continued before she could interrupt.
“I don’t know what it would mean for you.
I’m still learning what my class can do.
But the bond I share with Arwen made us stronger together.
It didn’t take anything from her.
It didn’t make her obey me.”
Kyra glanced toward Arwen.
“Is that true?”
“Yes,” Arwen answered without hesitation.
Kyra’s attention returned to Instinct.
“And you thought I might find that interesting enough to help you hunt a basilisk.”
“I hoped you might.”
A slow smile returned to her face.
“Presumptuous.”
“You mentioned that.”
“And yet…”
She let the word linger.
“…not entirely boring.”
Instinct almost smiled.
“Then why did you know we were coming?” Arwen asked.
Kyra’s eyes moved to her.
Arwen still held Instinct’s hand.
There was tension in her grip, but her voice remained steady.
“You were waiting before we crossed the archway.
You knew who he was before either of us introduced ourselves.”
Kyra studied her.
Then smiled.
“Clever.”
Arwen didn’t react.
“I like her.”
“That makes one of us,” Arwen replied.
Instinct turned slightly toward her.
Kyra laughed.
This time it sounded genuine. This story is hosted at g.com.
“Yes,” she said after a moment.
“I knew you were coming.”
The humor in her expression faded.
“Someone visited my dreams four days ago.”
Instinct became still.
Even Nyx said nothing.
“They spoke of a man who had awakened without a past.
An Absolute Tamer walking the world.”
Cold replaced some of the heat in Instinct’s blood.
“Who?”
“I don’t know.”
Kyra’s tails slowed behind her.
“I never saw their face.
I never learned their name.”
“What did they want?”
“To make certain I knew you existed.”
Her eyes settled on Instinct again.
“They said you carried something rare.
A bond formed through one of the old rituals.”
Her gaze moved briefly toward Arwen.
“Then they told me you would come.”
Silence filled the courtyard.
Instinct reached inward.
Nyx?
For once, she had no joke waiting.
” I DON’T KNOW.
”
Another mystery.
Instinct was beginning to collect them.
Kyra moved closer.
One step.
Then another.
The supernatural pressure surrounding her intensified.
Her scent filled his lungs.
Her presence seemed to press against every instinct he possessed, coaxing his attention back toward her no matter where he tried to place it.
“Yet here you are,” she whispered.
Close enough now that he could feel the warmth of her body.
“Unable to look away.”
Instinct’s jaw tightened.
Kyra’s eyes flicked downward, then returned to his face.
“Your body is considerably more honest than your expression.”
Beside him, Arwen’s grip tightened.
Kyra looked toward her.
“And your elf doesn’t like me very much.”
“I don’t know you,” Arwen replied.
“That’s not a denial.”
“No.”
Kyra smiled.
“But you’re afraid.”
Arwen’s eyes hardened.
“Of you?”
“Of what I might do to him.”
Arwen didn’t answer immediately.
Then—
“Yes.”
The admission wiped some of the amusement from Kyra’s face.
Not because Arwen sounded weak.
Because she didn’t.
“If you intend to harm him,” Arwen continued, “then yes.
I am.”
Kyra regarded her differently after that.
Instinct felt the pressure around him increase again.
” FOCUS.
”
Nyx’s voice cut through the haze.
” SHE’S PUSHING HARDER.
”
Instinct breathed slowly.
I noticed.
” GOOD.
I WAS WORRIED ALL THE BLOOD HAD ABANDONED YOUR BRAIN.
”
Despite himself, Instinct nearly laughed.
Kyra’s eyebrow rose.
That tiny reaction helped.
Instinct focused on it.
Then on his breathing.
Then on the stone beneath his boots.
The pressure remained.
So did the attraction.
He didn’t try to pretend otherwise.
He simply refused to let either control him.
Instinct turned his eyes away from Kyra.
For several seconds, he looked at one of the ancient pillars beside the courtyard.
The effort was absurd.
Every part of Kyra’s presence seemed designed to drag his attention back toward her.
He resisted.
Silence stretched.
Then—
“Oh?”
Instinct looked back.
Kyra’s expression had changed.
Surprise.
Small, but unmistakable.
Then it became interest.
Real interest.
“Interesting.”
She stepped backward.
The pressure eased.
Instinct hadn’t realized how strong it had become until it was gone.
Kyra studied him for another long moment before turning toward the shrine.
Her nine tails flowed behind her like an enormous mantle of white and silver, streaked with deep crimson and darker accents.
“Come then, Absolute Tamer.”
She glanced over her shoulder.
“Let us discuss this bond of yours.”
Her eyes gleamed.
“But understand something before you follow me.”
The tails spread behind her.
“I do not give myself easily.”
Instinct said nothing.
“If you want my acceptance, you will earn it.”
Then she disappeared into the shrine.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
Instinct remained where he was.
Arwen slowly exhaled beside him.
“Well.”
Instinct looked at her.
She looked toward the shrine.
Then back at him.
“That went better than expected.”
Instinct stared at the doorway through which Kyra had vanished.
He wasn’t entirely certain he agreed.