Celestial Shift: A Young Adult Kitsune Paranormal Romance (Nine Tails Book 9)

by J. L. Weil

  The Unseelie wasn’t easily dissuaded. He could be relentless when he felt strongly about something. That something being me. “Why does it have to be manipulation?” he countered.

  “Kai,” I sighed exasperatedly.

  He shrugged, easing back nonchalantly. “The offer is there... if you find yourself missing him.”

  “Don’t hold your breath,” I muttered and shifted toward the edge of the bed but paused when his hand touched my arm. My head turned, looking back at Kai.

  “Thank you for sneaking into my room, little queen.”

  He made everything sound naughty. I swore that Kai could talk about the weather, and it would steam up the windows.

  My nostrils flared. “You mean, thank you Karina for saving my ass? You’re welcome, Kai. I’m not going to let him take you.”

  His laughter rang in the room.

  Chapter Nine

  KARINA

  A bell chimed in the castle, the twinkling signal of a new day echoing through the vacant and silent hall. Kai, Reilly, and I headed to Katsura’s extensive library, or so I was informed by Reilly. It housed ancient texts full of fae history, unspoken languages, and handwritten spells according to Reilly. It was unparalleled to any other collection in the Second Moon.

  He had said very little when I woke him up and informed him that Talin tried to summon Kai again. There had been no surprise in the shifter’s dragon eyes, and he agreed that something needed to be done, suggesting the library was the best place to start. We couldn’t lose an ally like Kai, one who knew the inner workings of Talin and his elite militia. Kai might have vital information necessary to defeat my uncle in this war.

  One day. That was all we had. One single day dedicated to sunder the control Talin had on Devyn and Kai.

  “If there is anything about breaking a servitude oath it would be within these shelves, or it doesn’t exist,” Reilly assured as he shoved open the towering glass doors.

  I wrapped my velvet cloak tighter around me, gazing at the rows of books. The amulet against my chest warmed. From the second I strolled through the glass doors, a wave of energy hummed, coming from hundreds of different points in the room. Magic. It trembled, sung, and vibrated, all of which set my powers into a tailspin.

  An ancient, primal part of me recognized the surge of magic pulsing within these shelves.

  “Are you okay?” Reilly asked.

  “Yeah, it’s just… a lot.” It was like walking into a room charged with electricity and having all my hair stick straight up, but that didn’t even fully describe what I felt. “Electricity” wasn’t quite the word. Some of it was just that, but magic had different signatures, and in this room, there were too many to identify.

  “It is,” Kai agreed. “Be careful what you touch. Some texts are enchanted, and touching them alone can set off the spell.”

  “Wonderful,” I groused, staring at the shelves with a new perspective. “How do I know which are safe?”

  “Let your Kitsune instincts guide you,” Reilly offered, moving to flick on a few lanterns in the library. Soft glows of gold cast over the stones as he lit one in each corner of the library, his footsteps were soundless while he moved around the room. Something I found surprising, considering he could shift into a dragon who easily weighed more than a thousand pounds.

  “Like calls to like,” Kai mused, eyeing a shelf of books shrouded in shadows.

  Determination spun within me. Remembering what Kai had gone through this morning, thinking about what could have happened if I hadn’t woken him up, spurred me forward.

  “If Talin can figure out how to summon and unleash such darkness, then surely we can uncover how to break this oath,” I reasoned, sounding far more optimistic than I felt. This wasn’t just about the Unseelie, I had to find a way to get Devyn back. Not hearing from him these past two days, not having him beside me was wearing on my mental health.

  Reilly messed up his already messy hair, forking a hand through the tangle of brown, spiky locks. “That’s the theory, but magic such as the dark variety Talin is so fond of, doesn’t follow the same rules as most, not even the laws of Unseelie.”

  Splitting up to different directions of the library, I ran my palm over the row of books—without touching them—and glanced at the spines. Many didn’t have names, which made choosing them difficult. So, I closed my eyes and let my fox do the work. She was eager to stretch her legs, but I gave her just enough leeway without actually shifting.

  The first few tomes I pulled out were warm, making my fingers tingle as they grazed over the covers. Yet, the third one I touched zapped me. “Ouch!” I squeaked, jumping back from it. Obviously, that one was a no go.

  Fifteen minutes later, I had more than enough to get started.

  Sending an ember of flame into the cold hearth, I waited for the spark to catch, igniting the logs before finding a comfortable spot to start attacking my stack of books. Deep, comfortable chairs arced around the stone hearth, separated by little side tables. Kai was already deep into a book when I sank into one, setting the pile beside me. I picked up the first text and let my fae eyes skim the pages.

  The three of us scoured through book after book for hours. I rubbed at the crick in my neck from bending over for so long. The castle had long since woken, and people began to go about their day—busy checking the wards, sharpening swords, reinforcing fighting leathers, and mapping out battle strategies.

  I couldn’t help feeling as if I should be out there, among them, doing something other than being tucked away in a library, reading.

  Outside the windows, the blight continued to swirl, poking and prodding at the barrier encompassing the castle. It was the only thing shielding everyone within from destruction. The bulk of the blight’s power was centered at Halcyon, as if it knew this was where the battle would begin.

  Food and drink were brought to us throughout the day, though I didn’t know who to thank, Niklaus or just the fae who lived here and were being generous. I ate very little, too occupied by the books. A part of me wished I had the pleasure to just read for pure entertainment. There were so many interesting things to learn about the fae, and those who walked this world even before them.

  Sighing, I lifted my gaze, giving my eyes a break. “Do you think he is alright?” I asked, interrupting the lull of quiet that had fallen between us. Neither Kai nor Reilly needed me to clarify who I was speaking of, though.

  Kai went still before he glanced at me. “I want to lie to you, little queen, because it is not just what you want to hear, but what you need to hear. The truth of it, inside Talin’s ranks, you become a puppet—a solider who does what you are told without thought or question. You are a machine, a weapon wielded by the Lord of Thorndale.”

  “What Kai is trying to say is, that even if we get Devyn back, he might not be the same. It only takes moments to snap back into the unyielding warrior Talin taught us, demanded us to be. Devyn has been under that control for two days now. You need to prepare yourself,” Reilly explained in an attempt to smooth over Kai’s response.

  I nodded. They were telling me that Devyn wasn’t okay.

  My heart throbbed, pain slicing through my chest like I’d been speared by a sword. “What of Wrath and Fury? Do they also fall under Talin’s influence?” I tried to calm my reeling mind and the wild beating against my ribs.

  Kai’s hair shone in the firelight, picking up strands of gold. “No, they belong only to Devyn.”

  “But by proxy, if Talin commands Devyn, then he also commands the fae creatures in Devyn’s swords,” Reilly clarified.

  I had never wanted to murder someone before, not until that moment. “I want to kill him,” I whispered, but the words seemed to carry through the library, a spoken vow that shuddered through the room—even the candles flickered.

  “There are many fae who feel the same,” Reilly admitted after a beat. Walking to the closest shelf, he ran a finger along the edge of a spine. “But death by the hand of another fae is not the s
ame as it is in your world. You call it murder. In the Second Moon, it is often justice or a way of life. Not that there aren’t laws forbidding it, they are just much looser laws than that of the human realm.”

  A tick pulsed behind my eyes. “I have to find a way to break this oath.”

  “We know, little queen,” Kai breathed.

  It wasn’t until a few hours later that any of us spoke again. My eyes grew tired, but I forced them to keep skimming page after page. I’d been here before. Not this exact place, just searching for answers in between the books of fae. I hadn’t found any then, yet I’d learned those answers on my own.

  From what I’d uncovered so far about my Kitsune gifts, I began formulating a plan. I hadn’t shared it with Devyn or Kai—with no one—and for good reason. They would have tried to stop me, might still try, but I had to do this. It was my destiny.

  When the time came, I would face the blight alone. Just me and the darkness. Only one of us would come out victorious.

  "I think I might have found something,” Reilly announced, interrupting my dark thoughts. He lifted his eyes from the open book that lay on the arm of his chair, a finger pressed to the page to hold a place in the text. “Have you ever heard anything regarding a mating bond severing all previous oaths?" he posed to Kai.

  Kai glanced up from his tome, dropping his head onto the back of his chair. “It’s been known that there is no stronger bond than that of a mate.”

  “Exactly,” Reilly agreed, tapping his finger on the page. The glint in his eyes told me that he was working through something—an idea.

  My brows furrowed together. "That doesn't make sense. If that is true, then how was Talin able to summon Devyn? Our mating bond was made after he took a warrior's oath of servitude."

  "Talin must have found a way around it. It is the only thing that makes sense. He was able to conjure a creature such as the blight, a corruption this world hasn’t seen in centuries," Reilly reminded.

  "Perhaps," Kai mused. “Devyn and Karina were conceived with a link, a connection that Talin believed he could undo, but failed. The bond he felt for the little queen snapped into place the moment he saw her, everything Talin worked years to destroy dissipated in a second. That is how strong their Shaman-Kitsune bond is. I’m betting that it was only made stronger when they mated.”

  A faint warmth bloomed in my chest. “What are you getting at?” From the look Reilly was giving me, I wasn’t going to like what he was about to say.

  “What if Devyn let himself be summoned?” he proposed.

  God, I didn’t want to even let myself consider that. “Why would he do that?” I muttered. To save you, a little voice whispered inside me.

  Kai and Reilly shared a somber look.

  “He means to kill Talin,” I murmured. When silence followed my statement, I knew that they had come to the same conclusion.

  “He is just fiercely protective, and crazy enough to do something like that,” Kai admitted, breaking the void of quiet that had befallen upon us.

  “Does that mean he could leave whenever he chose?” I asked.

  Reilly shook his head as he closed the book and leaned forward in the chair. “Not if he wanted to catch Talin off guard, but my guess is, if you were in any kind of real danger, he would abandon his reckless plan to save you.”

  My gaze shifted to the crackling wood nestled inside the hearth. “Then all I have to do is put myself in danger.”

  That did not go over well with Kai. “Do you really want to do that, little queen?” His voice sharpened just enough to have my focus pulled to his face. “You could risk something happening to Devyn. He would expose himself while surrounded by an army of Talin’s men, including his Elite. They are few in numbers, but an entire fleet in themselves.”

  I huffed. The Shaman would do just that and get himself killed. I did not want to live this life without him. “Fine, but that still doesn’t help us figure out how to keep Kai from being summoned,” I argued, circling back to the immediate problem at hand.

  “What if we don’t break the oath, but override it?” Reilly suggested.

  Uncrossing my legs, I tucked one of them underneath me. "Isn’t it the same thing? And how would we do that?"

  Reilly scowled, the muscles along his jaw tightening. "By Kai binding himself to you," he finally said between gritted teeth, like it caused him physical pain to suggest.

  Kai’s lips twitched. “Finally, an idea I can get behind.”

  My head jerked from Reilly to Kai. “What do you mean bind? Like, as mates?”

  “It is the strongest of fae magic.”

  My eyes narrowed, I didn’t like the tone in Kai’s voice, or the expression that sprang into his face.

  “Kai and I are not mates,” I argued. “And besides, I already have a mate, or have you forgotten your brother so soon?”

  “I wonder…” Reilly brooded, not exactly pleased at what he was suggesting.

  It was fucking crazy.

  My hands snapped the book closed in my lap, the harsh sound echoing throughout the library. “You are both insane if you think I’d sever my bond with Devyn to mate with Kai. I won’t do it.”

  Reilly shook his head, his lips pulled down in a deep frown. “I can’t believe I am even entertaining this thought, but… perhaps you could have two mates.”

  I blinked, seconds away from cleaning out my ears. “What did you just say? You can’t be serious?”

  “It’s the only idea we have,” Reilly disputed.

  “No,” I stated definitively. “How could that be? No,” I repeated, but with less conviction this time. “Is it possible?” I heard the question leave my lips, unable to believe it was my voice. What was wrong with me?

  Reilly stared at me. “It's extremely uncommon, but… You are half-human, half-fae. The fae part of you is stronger now, expected with the amount of power you possess, which is why your connection to the Shaman was so easy to detect. He is your fae mate. But what if that human part of you could also have a mate?”

  “That’s a big if. What if it doesn’t work? Or worse, what if it does something to mess with my connection with Devyn?” My actual mate!

  Could I take that risk? For Kai?

  I didn’t love him. Not like I loved Devyn.

  And yet, I couldn’t pretend that I didn’t feel anything at all for him. I also wasn’t sure that I wanted to find out what those feelings meant. My gaze bounced between Reilly and Kai as they waited for me to say something.

  I opened my mouth and then clamped it closed again.

  Why did I always get stuck with the big decisions? Of course, there was always the chance that Kai wouldn’t want to take such an oath.

  Was this the best plan we could come up with?

  The clock ticked on. A constant reminder that time was short, taunting me.

  This was what a queen did. She made the difficult decisions no one wanted to, but it wasn’t just my life that would be altered. Devyn wasn’t here to weigh in, and I already knew how the Shaman would feel, and still… My gaze went to the Unseelie’s. “Kai?”

  I half anticipated to see smugness glimmering in his eyes. For weeks, Kai had been suggesting that I marry him, make him king, and keep Devyn as my lover. I was making no such promises. Not yet. This was just me saving his ass. Devyn’s too.

  Kai glanced at me under thick, long lashes. He stroked a hand along his chin, eyes darker than they had been a minute ago. “I always wondered how I could have such strong feelings for you. It never made sense to me. And when you chose Devyn for your mate, I was even more positive that I was mistaken. For how could you be my mate, if you loved another?”

  Oh, shit. This was everything I wanted to avoid, what I had been ignoring for weeks and wanted to keep ignoring. Facing my feelings for Kai made them too real, and hearing Kai voice the feelings he had out loud made me want to run from the room. This whole time I believed the only reason Kai wanted me was for self-gain—to be a king. I had convinced myself that was al
l the Unseelie cared about—power and himself. Was there more?

  My fingers dug into the chair as I forced my butt to stay planted into the seat. “Are you saying that you thought I was your mate?”

  Tension stretched between Kai and me as I waited for him to answer me.

  “Since the night I saw you in Devyn’s room.”

  Shock slammed into me with such a force that I lost my breath. Jesus. That had been the night I accidentally voided to the Second Moon. Kai had walked in on Devyn and me making out. “You couldn’t have possibly felt that. We’d never met before then.”

  “It only takes a moment,” Reilly informed.

  The smirk I found irritating and yet comforting spread on Kai’s lips. He used it as both a defense mechanism and a weapon. He was shielding himself. “You’re not the only one taken by surprise. I never thought I’d want to mate, for who could I possibly love more than myself?”

  A small snort escaped me. It was so Kai to admit such a selfish thing.

  “But it is because of how much I value myself, and my freedom, that I’d rather take a vow with you, little queen, than be Talin’s dog. I made my choice when I picked you over him. I won’t go back on that, even if it costs me my life.”

  I shook my head. “This can’t be happening.” Yet, it was.

  Could I have two mates?

  Was that what these feelings for Kai were? My human side had the hots for him?

  Was Kai my human mate?

  Oh. My Gawd.

  I didn’t even want to think of such a thing. I couldn’t. It felt wrong. Like I’d be cheating on Devyn. What the fuck was I going to do about it?

  "Kai, I-I don’t know if I can do this,” I stammered. “I need a moment to consider." I had to figure out what it would mean if I tied myself to another fae male. Like holy hell? Could I handle both Devyn and Kai?

  What the fuck would Devyn think? Would he hate me?

  Would he accept that a part of me belonged to his stepbrother? Someone he had a strained relationship with? As much as Devyn threatened to hurt Kai, I knew his true feelings. He didn’t hate Kai. Not truly.