CHAPTER 381: UNITED IN CELEBRATION, PART NINE

{Sirah}

Sirah watched from the palace courtyard as that tiny kitsune dragged Melisa around like a doll.

The girl looked like she’d snap in half if Sirah so much as breathed on her wrong. All colorful hair and bouncing energy, probably weighed as much as Sirah’s left tit. And yet there was Melisa, following along with that dazed expression that meant she was either confused or horny.

[Probably both, knowing her.]

"You’re staring."

Kimiko appeared beside her, those huge breasts barely contained in what could generously be called a dress. The older kitsune grabbed Sirah’s hand without warning.

"Come on. We’re going to enjoy the city."

"I don’t—"

"Isabella! We’re leaving!"

Isabella popped up from behind a fountain.

"Oh good! Are we going shopping?"

"Better." Kimiko’s grin turned predatory. "Much better."

---

Twenty minutes later, Sirah stood in front of a building that screamed "sex happens here" from every angle.

Red silk curtains in the windows. The smell of incense and arousal thick in the air. Moaning drifting from upstairs rooms. And a sign with a picture of two kitsune women in a very acrobatic sex position.

"A brothel," Sirah said flatly.

"The best brothel in the capital!" Kimiko announced, already pulling them toward the entrance. "My treat!"

"I don’t need—"

"Yes you do." Kimiko stopped and looked at her seriously. "You want to win Melisa’s heart? Start changing. Stop thinking like a darian warrior who claims property and start thinking like someone who deserves her."

Sirah’s jaw clenched.

"I do deserve her."

[I’m the strongest warrior there is. Who could possibly deserve her more?]

"Then prove it. Learn what it means to share pleasure instead of just taking it."

Isabella was already inside, chatting up a kitsune whose breasts jiggled with every little chuckle. The woman had her hand on Isabella’s cock through her pants, and Isabella looked ready to combust.

"This is stupid," Sirah muttered.

But she followed them in anyway.

The interior was all plush red velvet and golden accents. Kitsune women lounged on divans, some naked, some in lingerie that covered nothing important. A few were already entertaining clients, and the sounds coming from the private rooms upstairs left nothing to the imagination.

"Welcome to the Velvet Tail!" A kitsune with silver hair and three tails approached them. Her cock was visible through her sheer dress, already half-hard. "Kimiko! It’s been too long!"

"Yuki!" They embraced like old friends, grinding against each other just enough to make it clear they were more than that. "This is Sirah. She needs an education."

Yuki looked Sirah up and down, licking her lips.

"Mmm, a darian. And clearly a Rhayan at that. We don’t get many of those. Virgin?"

"No!" Sirah snapped.

"Virgin to pleasure then." Yuki circled her, trailing a finger across Sirah’s abs. "You’ve only ever fucked to dominate, haven’t you? To claim. To own."

Sirah grabbed her wrist.

"Watch it."

"See?" Yuki grinned. "All aggression, no finesse. Don’t worry, darling. We’ll fix that."

She led them upstairs to a room that was basically a bed with walls. Isabella immediately started stripping, her cock bouncing free.

"So who’s going first?" she asked cheerfully.

"Sirah is," Kimiko said, pushing the darian toward the bed. "And she’s going to learn what it means to receive."

"I don’t receive."

"Tonight you do." Yuki’s dress hit the floor. Her cock was massive, probably almost as big as Sirah’s own. Almost. "Unless you’re scared?"

"... Scared?"

Sirah really didn’t like that word. But, that was the energy that carried in the air. The three women around her looked at Sirah like...

Like she was a wimp.

[Fuck. They’re challenging me. And if I back down...]

"Fine." Sirah started pulling off her clothes. "But if this is stupid, I’m leaving."

"Deal." Yuki climbed onto the bed, stroking herself to full hardness. "Now come here and let me blow your mind."

---

{Melisa}

The interrogation room smelled like fear and old blood.

Melisa stood beside Aria and the Matriarch, watching through enchanted glass as two kitsune guards questioned the nim assassin. The woman sat chained to a chair, her face bruised but defiant.

"Tell us who sent you," one guard said for probably the hundredth time.

"Fuck yourself," the assassin spat back.

"This is going nowhere," Aria muttered. "We’ve been at this for hours."

The assassin laughed, high and sharp.

"You’ll get nothing from me! The nim will rise again! We’ll take back what’s ours!"

"She’s clearly insane," Aria said.

But something bothered Melisa. The way the woman moved, the way she held herself. It was off somehow.

"Let me try," Melisa said.

Aria looked at her skeptically.

"You think you can do better than trained interrogators?" The Matriarch asked, amused.

"I’m nim. Maybe she’ll talk to me."

After a moment, the Matriarch nodded.

"Fine. But be careful."

Melisa entered the room. The assassin’s eyes locked onto her immediately.

"The famous Melisa Blackflame," she sneered. "The nim who thinks she’s human."

"I don’t think I’m human. I know exactly what I am." Melisa sat down across from her. "The question is, what are you?"

"I’m nim! A true nim! Not like you, sucking up to our oppressors!"

"Right." Melisa leaned back. "So tell me, fellow nim, who organized this? Who’s leading our glorious revolution?"

The assassin’s eyes gleamed.

"Wouldn’t you like to know?"

"I would, actually."

[She’s too eager. Too theatrical. Something’s wrong here.]

"The humans and kitsune have kept us down for centuries!" the assassin ranted. "But we remember! We remember when we ruled! When they served us!"

"Uh-huh. And killing the Matriarch would accomplish what exactly?"

"Chaos! Fear! Show them we’re not weak!"

Melisa stood and walked around the table, noting how the assassin tensed.

"You know what? You’re right. We should take what’s ours." She moved closer. "In fact..."

She began weaving a spellsign the guards wouldn’t recognize. The charm spell she’d created herself a year ago, the one that had worked on Queen Melara.

"Pheromono desiderium proicere!"

The spell hit the assassin like a wave. Her pupils dilated, her breathing quickened, and her thighs pressed together.

"W-what did you...?"

"Just a little something to help you relax." Melisa straddled her. "Now, let’s talk honestly. Who sent you?"

The assassin squirmed in her chair, her face flushed.

"I... I can’t..."

"Sure you can." Melisa leaned forward, giving the woman a clear view down her shirt. "Just tell me the truth and I’ll make this feeling stop."

"The Shadow... the Shadow Mages..."

"Good girl. Names?"

The assassin was panting now, grinding against her chair. But then something unexpected happened.

Something poked against Melisa’s pussy.

[Eh?]

Melisa looked down. There was a distinct bulge in the assassin’s pants. A bulge that was growing.

[Wait, nim can’t be hermaphroditic. We’re either one or the other, not both. Unless...]

Understanding hit her like a thunderbolt.

Before the assassin could respond, Melisa was already casting.

"Dispello, illusio, veritas!"

The dispel spell washed over the assassin. For a moment, nothing happened.

Then her appearance flickered like a bad hologram. Her black hair turned pink. Her horns vanished. Fox ears sprouted from her head, and three tails appeared behind her.

A kitsune.

She’d been a kitsune the entire time.

"Shit," the fake assassin breathed.

"GUARDS!" Melisa shouted.

The door burst open. The kitsune guards took one look at the revealed infiltrator and drew their weapons.

"Shadow Mage," Melisa said, backing away. "The so-called ’nim assassin’ was a kitsune Shadow Mage using illusion magic."

Aria appeared in the doorway, her eyes wide.

"How did she fool everyone?"

"Really good illusions, apparently." Melisa was still processing. "They didn’t just send a nim to kill you, Silviana. They sent a kitsune disguised as a nim."

"To make it look like nim were responsible," the Matriarch finished. "Fuck. I’m almost impressed at the audacity."

The Shadow Mage kitsune laughed, the charm spell still making her squirm.

"You think you’ve won? This is just the beginning! The nim will be blamed regardless! The seeds of doubt are planted!"

"Gag her," the Matriarch ordered. "And get her out of my sight."

As the guards dragged the Shadow Mage away, still aroused and struggling, Aria turned to Melisa.

"What kind of magic did you use there?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Just... something I’ve been working on for a while." Melisa tried to sound casual. "Figured it might be useful someday."

"Useful is an understatement. You just exposed their entire plan."

[Not the entire plan. This is just one piece. They’re playing a bigger game.]