30. Kitsuki

Chapter 30

Kitsuki

T here was an overwhelming sense of dread weighing heavily on Kitsuki when he summoned his sister to his room for a meeting. It was almost always a futile effort to get direct answers out of Kizoshi, but Kitsuki at least had to try.

She entered in an aubergine dress, which glittered in the light like all the stars in the night sky. In contrast to Kitsuki's dark mood, Kizoshi was in bright spirits. She made herself comfortable on his couch. "You wished to speak with me?"

There was no point in dancing around the topic. "Why were you not here when Nasume ambushed me?" He frowned when she didn't immediately answer. "You have always been here to disrupt his nefarious intentions. Why did you allow him to go unchecked this time?"

Some of the lightness left her demeanor. "Understand it was because it was necessary. Otherwise, I would have gladly interfered."

"What made it ‘necessary,' as you say?"

She smoothed her hand over her skirt. "His appearance triggered a series of events to be put into motion."

Kitsuki frowned at her vagueness. "Meaning?"

"Important things that had to happen for you to have the ultimate happiness."

What she said didn't add up for Kitsuki. "How could Nasume ever be involved in anything that brings me happiness?"

"He has a crucial role to play." A vicious gleam came into her amethyst-colored eyes. "And once he has fulfilled that purpose, he will get everything he deserves."

Kitsuki attempted to read between the lines. "You think he deserves death."

She arched a challenging eyebrow at him. "Do you disagree?"

The answer left Kitsuki conflicted. On the one hand, he couldn't wait until Nasume was no longer a problem for him. On the other, he had promised Auslin to let the wolf shifter live. "I do not."

"It is not a bad thing, dear brother. But trust me when I say it will be an inglorious end that he more than deserves."

"Why?"

Her smile was vicious. "Because he will have done everything in his power to earn that fate."

Kitsuki couldn't fathom what she was referring to. "How?"

"His dastardly deeds will come to light soon enough. Not even you will want to stay your hand after it does."

The blood in Kitsuki's veins ran cold at the implication. "Does he hurt Maseo?"

She tilted her head as she studied him with curiosity. "Why is that your first assumption?"

"Because I said something foolish to Nasume while he was here, and I cannot shake the fear I put Maseo in harm's way because of it." Guilt ate away at Kitsuki. How could he have done something so stupid? Maseo had done nothing to earn his father's wrath.

Her gaze softened with sympathy. "After a lifetime of abuse, Maseo is stronger than you think. You also did everything you could to protect him from afar. It was not in vain." Her smile turned playful. "The ring was a nice touch."

It didn't surprise him she knew about something he had kept secret, even from Auslin. The truth was too embarrassing to confess. Kitsuki sighed with aggravation. "I cannot bear the thought of him being hurt because I was so careless."

"Have you figured out why Maseo being hurt pains your heart so much?"

"The guilt of knowing it would be my fault." Kitsuki rubbed his hand over his heart, which ached at the mere thought of it.

She hummed with interest. "Is that the only reason?"

He stiffened in his seat. "What are you implying?"

"You have wanted to protect him long before this situation arose." Her all-knowing gaze left Kitsuki unsettled. "Do you think all those times you stopped Kio from hurting Maseo means nothing?"

It was a question that made Kitsuki deeply uncomfortable. "Are you suggesting I have an ulterior interest in Maseo?"

"You do not find it strange you feel the same impulse to protect him the way you do with Auslin?"

Kitsuki scowled. "It was not the same at all. Auslin reminded me of my long-lost Vanra. I have no reason to protect Maseo."

"And yet you did." She gave her brother a challenging look. "Do you truly think that means nothing?"

It meant more than nothing, which troubled Kitsuki. "I love only Auslin."

"Loving Auslin does not prevent you from having feelings for Maseo."

The implication outraged Kitsuki. "I do not have feelings for Maseo!"

"If that were true, then why are you so upset right now?" She didn't back down from asking questions Kitsuki didn't want to consider. "Why does the idea of Nasume hurting Maseo pain your heart so much? Do you think guilt alone would make it so hard to breathe because you are not there to save him?"

The persistent tightness of Kitsuki's chest whenever he thought about Maseo in peril left the shifter king uneasy. "What are you implying?"

To his surprise, she gave him a direct answer. "Maseo has a place in your heart for more reasons than mere guilt over one isolated incident with his father." Somehow, it was worse hearing her state it so plainly. "We have spoken about this before."

His brow wrinkled in confusion. "When?"

"Think back, brother. It was a long, long time ago." When he didn't respond, she added, "Father spoke to you about this as well."

Indignation flared within him. "I do not ascribe to the mistaken belief that members of the Ariake clan cannot be satisfied with one love."

"I once told you if anyone deserved to be loved by many, it was you."

Some of Kitsuki's anger bled into his tone. "I will not betray Auslin by chasing after Maseo like our pathetic half brother! I would never hurt him with such shameful behavior. Quite frankly, I resent the implication."

His vehement reaction didn't stop her tough line of questioning. "Has it ever occurred to you Auslin has his own reasons for being so concerned with Maseo's well-being?" She continued when he remained silent. "Do you not find his passionate defense of Maseo strange, given their long history of shared heartache?"

"Auslin's heart is so pure, he cannot help but feel compassion for someone as wretched as Maseo." Kitsuki huffed in indignation. "It does not mean he is in love with Maseo."

"Even though Auslin is also a member of the Ariake clan?"

Her question stopped Kitsuki short. "So is Kisano, but he clearly only has eyes for Sephen."

She laughed behind her hand. "For now. Their story is only beginning."

"There is no better partner for Kisano in all the Living Realm than Sephen."

"Agreed." Her acquiescence to his point made him suspicious.

Kitsuki rubbed his forehead with a heavy sigh. "Why do I always end up with more questions and a headache when you speak like this?"

"Because you are in denial about the truth of the situation."

"I am not in love with Maseo," Kitsuki heatedly denied.

"Would you not breathe easier if he were standing in front of you so you could see with your own eyes he is safe from anyone who seeks to harm him?"

The fact that it would indeed make Kitsuki feel better bothered him a great deal. "It does not mean I am in love with him."

"If Nasume hurt Maseo, what would your dragon tell you to do?"

" Tear Nasume from limb to limb and burn Kunushi to the ground ," his dragon answered in his mind. " Rid this realm and everyone in it of Nasume's danger, once and for all ."

His dragon's venomous thirst to shed Nasume's blood in retribution for harming Maseo caught Kitsuki off guard. " We do not love Maseo ," Kitsuki reminded his unruly dragon.

" He is ours to protect ," his dragon growled with a ferocity that scared Kitsuki. " We must keep him safe. It will please Auslin ."

" Is Auslin the only reason you want to save him? " Kitsuki asked his dragon.

His dragon sidestepped the question. " We protect what is ours ."

Kitsuki was so caught up in his internal conflict he almost missed hearing what his sister said next. "Your dragon cannot lie to you."

"Maseo is not ours," Kitsuki growled, resenting his dragon's rebellion and his sister's implications.

" He wears our mark ," his dragon argued.

Kitsuki's discomfort increased at the reminder of Fersen informing him his dragon shaped the ring in his own image. He sternly told his dragon, " We will not betray Auslin by being interested in Maseo! We will not be disloyal filth like Kio ."

" It is not a betrayal when we all want the same thing ," Kitsuki's dragon purred in the depths of his heart.

"Is it true?" Kitsuki asked his sister, as if she could hear his dragon's thoughts. "Do we all want the same thing?"

Her smile was as enigmatic as ever. "Love and happiness? I would think so."

"I refuse to betray Auslin's trust in me," Kitsuki insisted.

"Then why have you not told him about the ring you made for Maseo? Or your letter to him?"

The shame her question brought on hit Kitsuki hard. "Because I do not have the words to explain it to him."

"Do you really think Auslin would be upset to hear you took extra measures to protect Maseo?" Kizoshi asked. "Would he not be grateful when he also desires to keep Maseo safe from all harm?"

Kitsuki knew his sister was right, but it was too embarrassing to say out loud to Auslin. He couldn't admit to his intended he had any kind of interest in Maseo. It felt like a dangerous bridge Kitsuki did not want to cross.

"Do you believe I would ever lead you astray?" Kizoshi asked. "Have I not always had your best interests at heart?"

"You have," Kitsuki begrudgingly conceded.

"Then why do you think this situation would be any different?" Kizoshi gave him a pointed look. "Do you not think I hate Nasume as much as you do?"

It was all true, but Kitsuki still struggled. "But what about Maseo? Where is your sudden interest in him coming from?"

She shrugged. "It is not so sudden, dear brother. I have had my eye on him for a long time."

"But why ?" Kitsuki demanded in an anguished tone.

"Because he was born to give you the ultimate happiness."

Her answer floored Kitsuki. It also made him realize something important. "Is that why you never killed Nasume in the past? Because he had not had Maseo yet?"

She sighed. "Alas, it was a necessary evil to ensure that happened for you."

He struggled with what to do with that information. "You once said someone more deserving would end Nasume's life. Is that person Maseo?"

"Would he not have every reason to kill his miserable excuse for a father?" Kizoshi asked with a shrug.

He would, but Kitsuki knew his sister better than that. "But there is a reason Maseo has not done it yet."

"Several, actually." Her gaze grew troubled. "What matters most is Maseo will be victorious in his war against his father."

"Because you will make sure of it," Kitsuki realized.

Her grin was lethal. "I will do anything to make sure Nasume gets the hell he deserves. Maseo will have more than earned the right to do the Living Realm the ultimate favor."

Why did the implications scare Kitsuki so much?