A Fox's Family (28 page)

“Open
your eyes.” Responding to the command without a second’s
thought, Kevin snapped his eyes back open. Iris smiled. “That’s
better; we can’t hold a proper conversation if you’re not
even willing to look at me.”

With
an unusual amount of grace for such a simple action, Iris stepped out
of the tub and knelt beside him. Kevin struggled to think, to do
something, anything. But he couldn’t. Thoughts slipped through
his grasp like water in his hands, and taking action was impossible
when his muscles refused to work.

“W-what
is…”

“Uh,
uh, uh.” She placed a delicate finger on his lips. “There’s
no need to think. All you need to do is feel. And see.”

Kevin’s
pupils dilated as the blood rushed to his eyes… and he saw. He
saw himself and this vixen in the heat of passion. He saw her riding
him, her sharp nails raking against his chest and drawing blood. He
saw himself, shoving her against the wall and brutally pounding into
her. He saw and saw and saw, and there were so many scenes that he
was seeing; of sex and violence and things that not even Eric in his
freakiest state could imagine. It was too much. It was way too much.
He couldn’t… couldn’t…

“Just
let go…” a voice whispered in his ear. Warm breath hit
his skin. Kevin shuddered, which intensified when a set of teeth
gently nibbled on his earlobe.

“Nggg…
gu…”

“Struggling
is pointless,” the voice whispered seductively, “just
give in.”

Kevin
thought about doing just that. Why was he even struggling in the
first place? It felt so good, this lust; it was incredible.

The
moment his mind began slipping away to embrace the dark feelings,
animalistic attraction and carnal desires, an image speared through
the haze clouding his mind; of red hair and green eyes, of a
beautiful girl who looked like she’d come straight out of a
fairytale.

“
My
name is Lilian Pnevma, but you may call me Lilly, or anything else
you would prefer.”

Lilian.
That name. He remembered that name, and those words. It was back when
he and Lilian had first met.

“
However,
I would be particularly pleased if you called me You Sexy Thing,
You.”

Ugh.
He wished he could forget that. It was so embarrassing!

“
My
three sizes are ninety-nine, fifty-eight, ninety. Oh! Wait.
You
Americans don't use the metric system, do you? In which case, my
three sizes would be thirty-nine, twenty-three, thirty-five.”

And
he really wished he could forget that. Seriously, who reveals their
hip to bust ratio to people?

“
And
my seiyuu is Yukari Fukui.”

Kevin
frowned. He didn’t remember Lilian saying that.

“
I
don't really have much experience with this kind of thing, but then,
given your age, I don't really think you have too much either. I'm
really looking forward to learning more about you as we deepen and
explore our relationship together.”

Yes.
That was what she had said.

“
I
love you! I love you so much, Kevin! I know you don't love me back. I
realize that, but I… I don't care! I don't want to leave you!
I want to stay with you forever!”

“
But
you're not just anyone. You're my mate. I love you.”

More
and more images bombarded him. Images of Lilian, of the times they
shared, of the hardships they’d gone through, of the sexy and
zany situations that had become a staple of his everyday life.

Kevin
found the strength to move.

“St…
stop… it… stop this…” He ground his teeth
hard enough to draw blood. Hands scraped against the ground until the
skin on his fingertips was rubbed raw. “Stop it…!”

“W-what…?”
He glared at Iris, whose eyes had grown inhumanly wide. “How
are you…?”

“I
said… stop it… right… NOW!”

With
one final push, Kevin shoved everything he had against the
compulsion. All of his strength, all of his will was brought to bear.
He pushed it into these carnal feelings with every ounce of willpower
he possessed.

Pain
exploded in his head. It was agony like nothing he’d ever felt
before. It felt worse than if someone had shoved his brain onto a bed
of hot coals. He would rather have his head dunked in a vat of acid.
Nothing he could have thought up could’ve prepared him for the
unimaginable pain he felt in that moment.

He
felt liquid pouring out of every orifice. Thick and potent, it held a
coppery scent. He felt himself falling, like a puppet whose strings
had been cut. He heard his head cracking against the ground, but he
could not feel it.

Everything
was spinning. Darkness crept along the edge of his vision. Why was
everything so blurry?

“Beloved!”

Was
that shouting? It sounded so familiar, yet he couldn’t…
couldn’t…

Darkness.

***

Lilian
had never felt so exhausted before.

After
waking up that morning, she had left the bedroom and headed for the
kitchen, only to stop when she saw the restroom door ajar. Curious,
she had glanced inside, and found Kevin undergoing seizures on the
floor while Iris stood over him. It hadn’t take long to realize
what had happened.

She
looked down at her mate. Kevin was lying on the bed, his breathing
even and steady. He looked peaceful now, but there had been several
close calls where she thought he might have gone into shock.

Wiping
the sweat from her brow, Lilian completely missed Kotohime entering
the room until the woman spoke up behind her.

“How
is he?”

“I’ve
managed to heal him,” Lilian responded, turning her head. “I’ve
stopped his blood hemorrhaging, and I’ve repaired the damage
done to his mind as well.” She reached out with her left hand
and placed her palm over his forehead. “We’re lucky I
managed to get to him when I did. Had I not started healing him right
away…” Lilian trailed off. She didn’t want
consider what would have happened had she found him a second later.

“Indeed,
we are quite fortunate.” Kotohime looked at Kevin for a moment,
then shifted her gaze back to Lilian. “Your healing abilities
have improved. I can see that you’ve been practicing.”

“When
I can.” Lilian rubbed her arms to ward off the chill that came
over her. “Kevin’s spars have been getting dangerous.
I’ve had to heal him a lot this past week. Without me there to
heal him, he’d be going to school with broken bones and
bruises.”

“Hmm…”

Lilian
looked at Kotohime with a curious frown. What was she smiling about?

“Anyway,
would you mind looking after him?” she asked.

“Of
course.” Kotohime sat down on the bed. “If you want, I
can even heal the part of his brain that ruptured. You seem to have
missed it.”

Lilian
felt both horrified and embarrassed. “I would like that,”
she said softly.

Kotohime
gave her charge a gentle look. “Do not worry too much,
Lilian-sama. You did an admirable job on everything else. You simply
need to remember to look deeper next time.” As she spoke, a
soft blue glow emanated from her hands. The swordswoman placed them
under Kevin’s head, where the rupture was located.

“I’ll
remember that next time, though I hope there won’t be a next
time.”

“Of
course. Might I ask where you are going, Lilian-sama?”

Lilian’s
face darkened. “To speak with my sister.”

***

Lilian
found Iris sitting on the couch in the living room. She appeared
nervous. Her posture remained relaxed, but her eyes were flickering
about, as if she was expecting something to leap out at her. Fingers
occasionally twitched, and her left foot tapped incessantly against
the beige carpet.

Normally,
such out of character behavior from her sister would have thrown
Lilian for a loop. However, she was angry enough right then that she
found herself not caring.

She
stomped into the room.

Iris
looked up. Her eyes widened. She stood up from the couch and tried to
speak. “Lilian, I’m―”

“You
hurt my mate,” Lilian’s harsh whisper sounded out
menacingly. “Do you have any idea how much damage you’ve
done? I had to spend almost an hour just to stop the bleeding! He
could have died!”

“L-Lilian,
I―”

“And
for what? Why would you do this to him? Why would you hurt him like
that?”

“Because
he was taking you away from me!” Iris shouted, stunning Lilian
into silence. “Ever since you first met him, he’s all you
would talk about, all you would think about. You started ignoring me
in favor of him. Even when he wasn’t around, you wouldn’t
think of anyone else. It’s like you completely forgot I even
existed.”

“I
never ignored you, Iris. I simply can’t be what you wanted me
to be. Kevin would never accept our relationship. And don’t
give me that speech about me being brainwashed by our matriarch; we
both know that’s a lie. I have never once let anything that hag
has said guide my decisions. Every decision I’ve made is one
that I chose myself.”

Iris
looked like she wanted to say something but wasn’t sure what to
say.

“Not
that any of this matters anymore.” Lilian narrowed her eyes
into angry slits. “You and I are done.”

“You
don’t mean that,” Iris whispered, her voice conveying a
sense of shock. “You don’t mean that… you can’t!
I’m your sister!”

“Correction:
you were my sister until you decided to hurt my mate. Now you’re
just someone I share the same blood with.” Lilian turned
around. “I could never be related to someone who would
willingly hurt the person I love the most in this world.”

“W-wait!
Lilian! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to! Please, come back!”

But
Lilian did not come back. She left the living room, leaving a
distraught Iris in her wake and ignoring the way it felt like her
heart was breaking.

She
went back to her bedroom. Kevin remained lying on the bed, but
Kotohime was sitting in seiza against the wall.

“Do
you know how long it’ll be until he wakes up?” Lilian
asked.

Kotohime
cocked her head to the side. “It’s hard to say, as I am
unsure of how much damage was done to him. However, he is a rather
strong-willed young man. I imagine it won’t be long before he
wakes up.”

As
if on cue, Kevin groaned. Lilian rushed over to the bed and sat down.
One of her hands reached for Kevin’s face, cupping it as blue
eyes slowly opened.

“Kevin?”

“Lilian?”
he whispered, blinking. “Wha… what happened?” Eyes
fluttered about in confusion as they took in their surroundings. “Why
am I in bed? What happened? The last thing I remember is…”
Something wet fell on his face. Tears. Lilian’s tears. “H-hey
now, Lilian, what’s wrong? Please don’t cry.”

“I’m
sorry,” Lilian sniffled, wiping a few stray tears from her eyes
before they could fall. “I’m just so relieved to see that
you’re not hurt. I was so worried. I’ve never been so
frightened in my life.”

Kevin
still looked confused. At any other time, Lilian would have found
that expression adorable. Not right now, though. Not after what had
just happened.

“Lilian,”
Kevin placed his hands over hers, “what’s wrong?”

Lilian
tried to calmly explain how Iris had used an enchantment on him to
increase his arousal and sexual desire. Kevin listened with an oddly
calm face, as if he was not being told that someone had just tried to
manipulate him by increasing his lust to levels even Eric Corrompere
couldn’t fathom. By the end of it, Kevin was sitting against
the headboard while Lilian leaned against him.

“So
all of that was an enchantment, huh?” He sighed in obvious
relief. “I’m glad to hear that.”

“Glad?”
Lilian’s brows furrowed. “How can you be glad? Iris tried
to manipulate you. She used an enchantment, a very powerful one.
You’re lucky that your brain isn’t oozing out of your
ears right now.”

Kevin
smiled at her, and Lilian’s breath caught in her throat. “I’m
glad because I, well, I was worried. When I saw all those images in
my head and felt those overwhelming desires, I thought that… I
thought they were…”

“You
believed they were your own feelings, yes?” Graceful as always,
Kotohime rose to her feet and walked over to the bed, stopping at the
edge and gazing down at the young man. “You need not worry,
Kevin-sama. Those images you saw, those feelings you had, all of them
were implanted within your psyche by Iris’ enchantment. None of
what you saw or felt came from your own mind.”

“I’m
glad to hear that.”

“Still,
I must say, I am most impressed.” Lilian and Kevin looked at
Kotohime curiously. She saw this and gave the young man a warm gaze
filled with pride. “Few humans can resist an enchantment,
especially one that powerful. The fact that you were able to speaks
highly of your willpower and mental strength. That’s quite
admirable.”

“Ah-hahaha…”
Kevin’s awkward laugh made Lilian smile. His embarrassment at
her maid’s words was very endearing. “T-thank you. So!”
Kevin coughed into his hand. “I believe we had some plans
today, didn’t we?”

Kevin
tried to sit up, but Lilian put her hands on his shoulders and pushed
him back down.

“Easy,
Kevin. Don’t try to stand up just yet,” she fretted over
him. “Even though I healed you, the damage done to you isn’t
something you can walk off so easily.”

Kevin
did his best to wave off her concerns.

“Ma,
ma, I feel fine. Really.”

He
insisted on sitting up again. Lilian tried to stop him, but
eventually gave up. Her mate, it seemed, could be just as stubborn as
her when he wanted to be.

“There’s
no way you can expect me to lay around in bed all day doing nothing.”
He scooted over to the edge of the bed, his feet dangling off. “We
made plans today, and I would hate to see those plans ruined because
of something like this.” Heedless of Lilian’s previous
protests, Kevin pushed himself off the bed—