Free A Fox's Maid by Brandon Varnell Page A

by Lilian’s words.
    “ Pnév̱ma-denka…” Kevin mumbled to himself, his nose crinkling at the use of the Japanese suffix, which meant “his/her/your highness” in layman's terms. Not that the two had heard him anyway. He was more or less being ignored at the moment. It seemed the presence of one human did not matter in the face of the topic these two yōkai were conversing about.
    “ Does she?” Lilian’s voice was filled with bitterness. “Would a person who truly cared for someone else force them to do something they didn’t want to?”
    Kotohime appeared untroubled by the spiteful question. Kevin didn’t know if she was masking her feelings or honestly didn’t care. The kimono-clad woman just calmly sipped her tea.
    “ If it was for the sake of her clan, then yes.”
    “ I’m just as much a part of her clan as anyone else!” Tears were beginning to leak out of Lilian’s eyes as her emotions boiled over. Kevin could almost feel the girl’s inner turmoil, like a dagger knifing him through the chest. “I am just as much a part of the Pnév̱ma clan as Daphne! Yet you don’t see her being pawned off like some cheap trinket!”
    “ Daphne-sama is also going to become the head of the clan, and she does not have Lilian-sama’s rebellious nature,” Kotohime tried to reason with Lilian, as if this would somehow calm the two-tail’s stormy emotions. Fat chance of that happening. Kevin was beginning to learn that kitsune were illogical creatures by nature.
    Lilian’s face took on a truly frightening visage as she gritted her teeth in frustration. Kevin could actually see her whiskers appearing as the control she possessed over her transformation slipped.
    “ Um, excuse me,” he finally interrupted, trying to prevent this precarious situation from degrading any further, “but could someone please tell me what the heck is going on? What are you two talking about?”
    When Kotohime’s sharp gaze landed on him, Kevin’s entire body froze as if he’d been violently dumped in the Arctic Circle. An indescribable feeling washed over him, chilling him to his very core. He would have called this feeling fear, but that wouldn’t have done it justice. Terror would have been more accurate, but still an understatement. Being underneath that leering, predatory gaze made him feel like an insect that the woman was about to step on, something so beneath her notice that he wasn’t even worth the time it would take to purposefully kill.
    “ Do not speak out of turn, human. While I have nothing against your kind, we are discussing clan matters, of which you have no right to know about.” Kotohime scoffed, as if the very thought of her indulging his curiosity was preposterous. “Know your place.”
    “ Do not talk to my mate like that!”
    Kotohime twitched. Her gaze shifted from Kevin to Lilian. With her penetrating, dagger-like stare no longer pinning him in place, Kevin heaved a deep gasp and slumped in his seat.
    “ Lilian-sama, you cannot possibly mean to say that this… this boy is―”
    “ That is exactly what I’m saying.” Once more, Lilian interrupted the woman, whose frown grew very prominent. “Kevin is my mate. I chose him of my own volition, with my own free will, and I will not allow you or anyone else to keep me from him.”
    “ Lilian-sama, you are the heiress to one of the Thirteen Great Clans, one of the most powerful clans in our world. Someone like yourself needs a mate worthy of her stature.”
    “ Just what are you trying to say?” Lilian’s eyes flickered, her pupils shifting from their rounded shape to black slits.
    “ I am saying that you cannot be with a human,” Kotohime replied bluntly.
    Eyes narrowing dangerously, Lilian bared her canines, which Kevin noticed were very sharp. “Who are you to tell me who I can and cannot be with?”
    “ The matriarch―”
    “ The matriarch can go to hell! Do you think I care what that old hag wants? Do you really think I’ll allow