The True Confessions of a Nine-Tailed Fox

Chapter 133: A Royal Mission

Jullie's on the verge of a breakdown. That was Anthea's first thought.

Across the throne room, over the bejeweled hairstyles of the courtiers, she could see Jullie's mouth twitching. Just a bit, but it was enough to tell her that the queen was under incredible strain.

Poor Jullie. From her earliest childhood, her great-grandfather, grandfather, and father had fought tirelessly to preserve their kingdom. Her great-grandfather had striven to hold the border against the demons' raids, her grandfather had struggled to push them back into the Wilds, and her father had worked to drive them out of the lowlands. Now Jullie sat on the throne, and not only had South Serica failed to reclaim any of its lost lands, but she was about to lose her crown and her head along with it.

I won't let that happen, Anthea vowed. Not again. Never again.

Back in the City of Dawn Song, she'd been too young to counter or even fully grasp Piri's machinations. She'd watched helplessly from the sidelines as the fox demon eroded Aurelia's authority and erased the empress' very person. All Anthea had been able to do was provide a fluffy back for Aurelia to cry on.

But not this time.

This time, Anthea was older and wiser. Also, this time, she'd compelled Piri's diabolical mind to work for her. No matter how much she hated to admit it, a tiny voice at the back of her head had always whispered that it was wisest to bet on Piri against any force on Earth. It had taken Heaven itself to take down the old fox, after all.

If Piri could build the Temple to the Kitchen God from scratch as a tiny mortal sparrow, then she could handle a passel of demons. No problems there.

All Anthea had to do was explain that the Temple would handle the demon army. Jullie would be grateful for the assistance, and the Earl of Yellow Flame would be grateful for volunteers for a suicide mission. No problems there either.

Yes. This was going to work. They were going to save Jullie, and South Serica too.

And then Anthea spotted the man on Jullie's left.

"Representatives of the Temple to the Kitchen God!" bellowed the herald, banging his staff on the marble floor.

I actually recognized the man – it was the same herald who'd announced us at the banquet in Lychee Grove after I'd saved the city from the Earl of Black Crag.

Who now stood on the dais next to the queen.

Who recalled him? I hissed into Anthea's ear as the courtiers scooted back to open a path to the dais.

"Don't know," she muttered back out of the corner of her mouth.

We have to get rid of him.

"Why?" Bobo's head popped up right next to mine. "Maybe he'll help us! He likes fighting, doesssn't he?"

"Who is he?" whispered Lodia, going pale and shaky again.

Floridiana answered before I could. "The Earl of Black Crag."

"The Earl of Black Crag?" Lodia's horror mirrored mine when I'd heard that Cassius' self-created funeral pyre had consumed my pagoda along with the rest of his palace. "I thought – I heard – he got banished...?"

As did I, I said grimly. A squabble over legitimate ownership of the Temple's hallowed grounds was the last distraction we needed now. I directed a stern stare at Anthea. Explain this development.