humans that she hadn’t needed to use her enchantments on, and thus, one of the only humans that she’d truly interacted with.
He knew that wasn’t the case now. No one could fake emotions like that. Kevin doubted anyone, even a kitsune―a master at manipulating the emotions of others―could fake the intensity in her stare, the pure form of unadulterated emotions in her gaze. That the girl in question was one of those very kitsune wasn’t lost on him.
But then, this was also Lilian, a kitsune who was surprisingly honest with her thoughts and feelings. Innocent. That’s the word he was looking for. Everything that she did, from her attempts to seduce him to her love for nerd culture and sheer joy at experiencing new things was overwhelming in its purity.
A strange dichotomy, considering she wanted to screw him into a coma.
“ How can you feel so strongly about me?” he asked. It was, in all honesty, the only question he could think to ask in that moment. He had several others, but for whatever reason, they refused to come to him. “We… we hardly even know each other. I know that I helped you when you were injured, but…”
The smile Lilian gave him was soft and gentle, but there was a tinge of sadness to it, like his words were slowly breaking her heart. It made him feel like the biggest prick this side of the multiverse.
“ Several years ago—ten, I think it was—I met a young boy,” she said.
Kevin nodded. “I think you told me about him.”
“ I did. Anyway, this human boy had gotten lost in the forest that separates our village from the resort. When he found me, I was very distraught. I had just overheard a conversation between the matriarch and a member of th e Shénshèng Cla n . The matriarch was trying to set up mating arrangements between me and a member of that clan. I was crying.”
Kevin was able to conjure an image of Lilian, a little younger than she was now, lost within a forest and shedding tears of sorrow after discovering that her matriarch was trying to use her in a power play. His chest began to ache.
“ You can imagine my surprise when this little boy walked up to me,” Lilian continued to weave her tale, her smile soft and her eyes tinged with gentle amusement. “There are barriers put in place around the village to prevent humans from stumbling upon it. They create a very powerful illusion that makes whoever is trapped in them think they’re walking around in circles. This, however, did not happen to the boy. Somehow, he managed to not only breach the barrier, which should have been impossible, but also find me.”
“ I suspect this was due to his age,” she added when Kevin opened his mouth, correctly interpreting his question before he could ask it. “He was so young that the barrier probably couldn’t detect him, allowing him to slip inside somehow.”
“ So what happened after that?” Kevin asked, enraptured by the story.
“ He came up to me and asked why I was crying. I don’t know why, maybe it was because I was so distraught, or maybe I just wasn’t thinking clearly, but I told him everything. I told him about how the matriarch wanted to force me into a mating arrangement, about how I didn’t want to be forced into a relationship with someone I didn’t love, and how I wanted to be with someone for love and not because the matriarch told me to.”
“ Do you know what that little boy said to me?” When Kevin shook his head, Lilian’s lips curled beautifully. “He said, ‘you shouldn’t care what other people want. If you don’t want to mate with someone, then don’t mate with them.’” Lilian’s laugh was very lyrical, even if there was a hint of melancholy tinging it. “I remember telling him that I couldn’t defy my matriarch. He just stared at me like I was some kind of idiot, and then asked me why I couldn’t just say no.”
Lilian walked over to the window to stand beside Kevin. He followed her with his eyes as she looked up at the
He knew that wasn’t the case now. No one could fake emotions like that. Kevin doubted anyone, even a kitsune―a master at manipulating the emotions of others―could fake the intensity in her stare, the pure form of unadulterated emotions in her gaze. That the girl in question was one of those very kitsune wasn’t lost on him.
But then, this was also Lilian, a kitsune who was surprisingly honest with her thoughts and feelings. Innocent. That’s the word he was looking for. Everything that she did, from her attempts to seduce him to her love for nerd culture and sheer joy at experiencing new things was overwhelming in its purity.
A strange dichotomy, considering she wanted to screw him into a coma.
“ How can you feel so strongly about me?” he asked. It was, in all honesty, the only question he could think to ask in that moment. He had several others, but for whatever reason, they refused to come to him. “We… we hardly even know each other. I know that I helped you when you were injured, but…”
The smile Lilian gave him was soft and gentle, but there was a tinge of sadness to it, like his words were slowly breaking her heart. It made him feel like the biggest prick this side of the multiverse.
“ Several years ago—ten, I think it was—I met a young boy,” she said.
Kevin nodded. “I think you told me about him.”
“ I did. Anyway, this human boy had gotten lost in the forest that separates our village from the resort. When he found me, I was very distraught. I had just overheard a conversation between the matriarch and a member of th e Shénshèng Cla n . The matriarch was trying to set up mating arrangements between me and a member of that clan. I was crying.”
Kevin was able to conjure an image of Lilian, a little younger than she was now, lost within a forest and shedding tears of sorrow after discovering that her matriarch was trying to use her in a power play. His chest began to ache.
“ You can imagine my surprise when this little boy walked up to me,” Lilian continued to weave her tale, her smile soft and her eyes tinged with gentle amusement. “There are barriers put in place around the village to prevent humans from stumbling upon it. They create a very powerful illusion that makes whoever is trapped in them think they’re walking around in circles. This, however, did not happen to the boy. Somehow, he managed to not only breach the barrier, which should have been impossible, but also find me.”
“ I suspect this was due to his age,” she added when Kevin opened his mouth, correctly interpreting his question before he could ask it. “He was so young that the barrier probably couldn’t detect him, allowing him to slip inside somehow.”
“ So what happened after that?” Kevin asked, enraptured by the story.
“ He came up to me and asked why I was crying. I don’t know why, maybe it was because I was so distraught, or maybe I just wasn’t thinking clearly, but I told him everything. I told him about how the matriarch wanted to force me into a mating arrangement, about how I didn’t want to be forced into a relationship with someone I didn’t love, and how I wanted to be with someone for love and not because the matriarch told me to.”
“ Do you know what that little boy said to me?” When Kevin shook his head, Lilian’s lips curled beautifully. “He said, ‘you shouldn’t care what other people want. If you don’t want to mate with someone, then don’t mate with them.’” Lilian’s laugh was very lyrical, even if there was a hint of melancholy tinging it. “I remember telling him that I couldn’t defy my matriarch. He just stared at me like I was some kind of idiot, and then asked me why I couldn’t just say no.”
Lilian walked over to the window to stand beside Kevin. He followed her with his eyes as she looked up at the
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