30

Kairos

The green and gold pom poms sparkled in Dove's hands. Her ass looked perfect as she climbed the stairs in a pair of—obviously—black skinny jeans. One of Enko's extra jerseys had been knotted near her waist, an attempt to hide the ridiculous size difference.

It was the first time I'd seen her in color, and, goddess, did it look good. She had streaked black warpaint under each eye and put gold sparkles on her eyelids. Her white hair flowed in a breeze behind her, a black clip holding it half up.

Seven kept his arm around Dove, his nose pressed to the top of her head as they took their seats in the stadium. He was obsessed with her now. I could feel him staring at her from the shadows all night. Did he even sleep at all? Was he trying to scare her off?

"That happened fast," Enko commented.

"We'll never know what he's thinking."

Dove waved enthusiastically from the stands. Enko grinned and lifted his hand. Nothing was about to ruin his first chance to show off for Dove. He had been happier than I'd ever seen him since meeting her, but also more angry.

"She's happy with him. Is that not enough for you?"

I faced the truth. "She's hiding something from us."

Enko growled. "And she's the only one keeping secrets, is she?"

"That's for her own good." I snapped. "You were the one who thought she might run away. If she found out about everything all at once, she'd be gone in a heartbeat."

"She hasn't, though. She saw me go feral, Seven go psycho, and you be a complete control freak. And. She's. Still. Here." Enko slammed the locker room door behind him.

I let him go, climbing the stairs toward her. He'd keep our secrets. After all, his were worse than mine. Out of the corner of my eye, Mel waved me over, but I kept my destination on the only woman who existed.

Dove grinned as I took her other side, kissing her temple in greeting. "Did you wish him good luck for me?"

"Yes," I lied. Goddess, she's too good for any of us.

I pulled the heavy black box from my pocket, placing it on her lap casually. The black satin ribbon had begun to unravel after the day of hiding it from Dove.

"What's this?"

I cleared my throat. "You needed a new one so…"

Dove beamed, shoving her pom poms into Seven's arms. He held them away from him as though they'd infect him with girliness, glaring around to note who dared laugh at him to kill them later.

She lifted the top of the box, revealing the blackened dagger. It was sharp, shiny, and beautiful. Just like my Dove. White gold filigree to wrap her fingers around and secure the carbon steel blade. It reminded me of her hair over her black clothes.

"It's gorgeous," she said, holding it delicately in her hands like it was the most precious thing. "It's too much."

"Great quality, Kairos. Can't believe you got it done already. Nice work on the handle," Seven said.

The tear leaked down her cheek. "You forged it for me?"

"It's nothing, really. You needed a new one. Third-years have eight hours of forging required per week."

She sobbed, drawing the glares of several women around us who thought we might be mistreating our Fated. Seven sweat bullets, struck by panic, his wide eyes begged me to make it stop. Who knew the only thing that could frighten him was his Fated crying?

I pulled her against my side, my thumb rubbing circles on her arm, a silent plea for her to explain. It worked.

"Nobody has ever given me something so nice before."

"What about on your birthday?" I asked.

"Holy Foxes don't celebrate birthdays," she explained. "I don't know what day my birthday is since I was given to the temple as a baby."

She took the pom poms from Seven, placing the dagger through one of her belt loops, swiping away the tear like it was so natural for her to shove her emotions down.

I wanted to comfort her, but the microphone sputtered on the speakers and our conversation was drowned out by cheers.

"Good evening!" Varma's booming voice came over the loudspeaker. "Welcome to this year's first match against our rivals…all the way from the Great Lakes…Inari Academy!"

Everyone stomped their feet, a rumble of boos and cheers from across the stadium as the music played. Inari Academy players in deep purple uniforms sang their school song as they jogged onto the field, some waving to their fans in the other stands.

Dove's eyes twinkled, her wide grin and curious excitement were more than enough entertainment for me for the night. Seven came to the same conclusion.

Dove had other ideas, however, giddily quaking at the match's energy.

"And now…the two-time winners of the Championship, thanks to a man with more physical talent than I've ever seen in my life. Inari Academy will experience their full force tonight. From right here, in our home stadium…"

The stadium thundered with footfalls as Varma dragged out the words, "FOXFIRE ACADEMY!"

Dove sprung up, ripping herself from our grasp as she raised the pom poms in the air, cheering and whooping with our side of the stadium like a seasoned fan.

Enko led the group as a rock anthem began to play. He was huge, even compared to the other top athletes in the school. When I looked at my Dove, it was like a Vantage compared to an F-750. Would it hurt her when they mated? I acknowledged Seven's teasing was a legitimate concern, but neither Dove nor Enko had announced any issues yet.

"Woo!! Go Enko!" Dove yelled, shimmying her pom poms and leaping up and down, a show where I enjoyed every bounce.

Enko's team faced off against the other, six on each side. His fire blazed straight to the sword tip. I didn't spot any Storm; my kind was always rare.

"Wait, they're using real weapons?" Her glittery pink lips froze open into a little O. All the things we could do with those lips.

Seven taunted her, "What did you think they'd use? Foam?"

"What if he gets hurt?"

I joined Seven's laughter. "You're worried about him ? He's twice the size of anyone on the other team. He could crush them all on by himself. Besides, you heal quickly in fox form."

A foghorn sounded and the players rushed at each other from across the stadium. Shadow disappeared and Water lobbed balls at Enko in hopes to weaken the strongest player before having to face him. Air swirled high above the stadium, a hawk circling its prey.

A Water kitsune shifted, her magic more powerful in fox form as she sprayed the oncoming team by splashing her tails in their direction. Forest green uniforms collided with the royal purple, an explosion of magic as Enko's sword smashed against an Earth, melting the metal and slashing the chain off the flail. The spiked ball dropped to the ground, disconnecting from the magic of its user, leaving his opponent with half a nunchuck.

Dove's hand gripped my hand instinctually, lacing her fingers with mine as she made the noises of the finest symphony orchestra. Gasping when Enko dodged, gleefully cheering when he got a strike. I would learn to play her body like a Stradivarius, where to press, lick, suck to make all the musical notes I could ever want.

She was so much happier than when we'd first met, when she was so angry and sad. Meeting her Fated mates truly brought out her sunshine. If only she knew we were the darkness of night.