Chapter 25
Forest Sense + Lesser Shadow Qi Affinity perception check: success!
You successfully spot that which had been hidden!
Alex refused to let terror or dismay freeze him.
The instant he sensed cloaked presences trying so desperately to hide in the sixty-foot radius of ferns, grass, and wildflowers Rachel had so diligently set to blooming before the gate, he was off, darting through the undergrowth, sensing the void so carefully hidden, finding his worst fears vindicated as he strove to eliminate shadowed Red Prince assassins before they could harm a single member of his injured party—
“Alex!”
He froze in terrified dismay, Rank 3 Silver Finesse and Rank 4 Quickness all that allowed him to stop his terrifying lethal blade, surrounded by a corona of liquid darkness shrieking about the blade’s edge, crackling with ebony lightning that promised oblivion to any foe that dared even to touch it.
And here his blade was, just inches away from the throat of a whimpering Lini who looked ready to collapse, gazing at him with the desperate eyes of a terrified fox cub.
“Lini, what are you doing here!?” Alex all but sobbed, instantly dispelling his perilous technique, his blade seeming to disappear as he gathered up the trembling kitsune girl into his arms.
“I’m sorry, Lini. So, so sorry!”
A soft murmur whispered in his chest.
“I’m sorry?”
“It’s okay!” Lini whispered louder, trembling still.
“No it’s not!” Nili snapped, appearing out of the darkness a heartbeat later. Her presence, unlike her daughter’s, had been perfectly cloaked. And the look in her eyes for just a heartbeat as she put away her deadly daggers…
Alex felt a twist of dread in his gut before her expression turned from fury to frustration to an exasperated sigh.
“Really, Alex? So battle-strung that you would have lashed out on anyone you encountered after daring the perils of Winter, which you never should have done?”
Alex swallowed, bowing his head in apology.
“You’re right, Nili. I came so close to doing the unforgivable.
All because I assumed that Dongfang Hong’s deadly pawns would show up exactly where and when I was most vulnerable, and I almost destroyed one of my dearest friends.
It’s almost as if the fat man himself had a hand in this, even as he guides my sworn nemesis’s footsteps. ”
“Don’t ever say his name!” Nili snapped. “You know better!”
“I didn’t,” Alex carefully reminded. “Though I now appreciate all the more why allegories are so common in this place and time. Because even if the gods are no more, that doesn’t mean people are stupid enough to poke probability’s belly and risk absolute peril when all one should do is breathe a heartfelt sigh of relief. ”
Lini nodded in Alex’s arms. “That’s a very good point. And please don’t feel bad about nearly killing me. I mean, it was totally my fault. I definitely shouldn’t have been gazing so intently at you, while hidden in waist-high grass nearly twenty yards away.”
Alex cringed. “I’m so sorry, Lini. I was so prepared for the worst, so ready to shoot from the hip, that I nearly struck my friend.”
“But you didn’t,” she assured, glaring at her mom a heartbeat before she could yell.
“Instead, you wrapped me in your deliciously muscly arms and made me feel all safe and warm, and I think you and I should jump into the Spring portal right now and find a quiet grove and talk about, um… stuff.” Her nostrils flared as if captivated by his scent while her soft brown eyes locked with his own.
Alex suddenly had a hard time focusing on her words, his heart now roaring in his ears.
He blinked upon feeling a surprisingly dexterous tail stroking things that perhaps she shouldn’t as the beautiful kitsune girl bit her lip with a teasing smile.
“And maybe we can figure out how you can make things up to me… and I can finally give you a proper thank you for saving this silly girl’s—ow, Mom!”
“That will be enough, child,” her mother snapped, scolding the kitsune girl now dangling as limply in her arms as any fox cub, Nili having reclaimed her daughter from Alex’s arms using mother techniques Alex had no hope of understanding that clearly trumped Rank 4 Silver Quickness.
Nili cleared her throat, regaining her composure.
“There’s a reason we’re here, Alex, waiting outside this gate, on the miraculous off chance that we could actually find you.
” She swallowed, gazing at him with imploring eyes, her ire of moments before gone as if it had never been.
Replaced by a desperation that instantly put him on edge.
“Alex…”
“What happened?”
Lini sighed as her mother lowered her gaze, as if in shame.
“So, Alex, you know how you and Mother, along with the rest of her party, managed to smuggle that extra Bronze-tier Water core into the city, all in the desperate hope that we could instill it into the ritual site before Dongfang Hong’s troops could use hardship and desperation to fragment the city and then make us a subjugated state full of slaves for his pleasure? ”
Alex gritted his teeth even as the gate behind him began to hum.
“All too well,” he said, preparing himself for the worst.
“Yeah, well, you know how your original party had a pair of wujen helping you and my mother and father and the princess and your Ruidian friends?”
Alex forced himself to nod even as Linnea popped through, her eyes widening with delight when she caught sight of a nonplussed Nili.
“Ooh, Nili! You’re here too! Of course you are!
Where else would you be? And that girl you’re holding like a stray pup whose scent is ALL OVER MY HUSBAND looks just like you!
I’m guessing she’s your daughter?” Linnea said, suddenly by Alex’s side with an arm wrapped protectively around his waist, and she, too, must be using some sort of feminine technique, because there was no way she should have been able to move up on him like that so quickly, and yet there she was, radiating an odd, prickly combination of jealousy and concern for the suddenly shy girl who now couldn’t look Alex in the eye.
“So… you two are married?” Lini’s voice had fallen to a whisper again.
Linnea squeezed Alex’s hand with unexpected strength. “Absolutely! But don’t worry. I’m not the jealous type. Not at all! Ha ha. I LOVE the idea of my husband having lots and lots of talented friends.”
“Okay, but, um… why are you covered in flame right now?”
“What flame?” Linnea asked as her fist covered in flame instantly extinguished as if it had never been, before frowning back at the gate. “That’s weird. Why didn’t we all come out at the same time?”
“Because gates don’t work that way unless you were all holding hands,” Nili said with a sigh. “Which you should know already, child, especially if you all fear trouble at your exit.”
Linnea frowned, then shrugged. “Oh well. Never came up, since we always linked hands before. Anyway, it’s good to see you, Nili. How have things been in the day we’ve been gone?”
Nili flashed a bitter smile. “Zichen and Anjen, Princess Sunlay’s noble cousins who have proven their trustworthiness and dedication for well over a decade, noble companions well worthy of sharing in the most sacred of burdens, have gone missing.”
Linnea’s cheerful smile faded to a look of concern. “Oh my. I’m so sorry, Nili. Do you and Alex plan on performing a rescue?”
“Missing, along with their children, all their worldly possessions… and the Bronze-tier Water core upon which the fate of Wanshi now depends.”
Linnea froze for a second, blinking, before her concerned expression hardened. “Fuck. Those bitches sold us out.”
Nili nodded. “Yes. As much as it pains me to admit it, I fear they did. For were it anything else, why are their children missing with no sign of anything untoward? Why are all their possessions gone? And no neighbor reported strange disturbances or the sounds of screaming, fighting, or struggle. Most especially nothing to suggest a child in distress.”
Alex froze, staring at Nili in disbelief.
“Seriously? After all we went through? After seeing firsthand what those bastards were capable of, after feeling the Red Prince’s slave collars biting into their necks before I snapped them the fuck off, they actually sold us out and gave that bastard the keys to this city?
Knowing what he could do to them? Knowing what would be in store for the entire city? ”
Alex was chilled by the furious hate in Nili’s gaze.
“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Alex. Sunlay’s been locked in her chambers by her own father’s orders, and unless we can come up with a miracle… “
Lini cleared her throat. “Remember that deadly Silver monster you were sparring with while in disguise? Somehow, he’s the one who was presenting a Bronze Water core to the king, demanding Sunlay’s hand in marriage.”
Alex froze, blinking with dismay.
“Ooh, this situation sounds absolutely catastrophic!” Linnea squealed, before turning to face Alex with a pout. “You’ve been having exciting adventures without me, love.”
Lini tilted her head. “Um… are you two really married? Or was that a cover story, like when Rachel Lu married Alex?”
Linnea blinked in surprise. “Alex, have you been marrying other people again?”
Alex blinked. “You mean… wait, you and Rachel haven’t already discussed this?”
Linnea crossed her arms. “So, this is what she was so shy to speak about!”
“Linnea, let’s focus on the issue at hand.
Saving the city and preventing the entire region from becoming an extension of a psychopath’s domain!
” Nili urged. “Look, I know I have absolutely no right to ask either of you this. Not with the hour being so late. Not with a marriage to be scheduled just as soon as that core is secured and the water flows again. But with the Fox’s luck on our side, perhaps there’s the slightest chance… ”