Miu returned from Lavia's grand fortress a changed creature.

Her little forest home had never looked more welcoming. She scurried back inside her burrow, feeling weary in mind and heavy of heart. With a sigh, Miu curled her tails about her and laid her head upon some soft, musk-scented moss to rest, to ponder, to try and make sense of the startling, new revelations Lavia had instilled in her...

For centuries, Miu had been content, spending her time hunting down mortals and sapping up their power for her own gain. Nary did she pay much attention to the political strife and existential conflicts that often simmered between the realms.

Her most recent conversation with the crimson-eyed fox demon, however, altered something in her mindset.

"The God of Water sent me to you."

"I am not surprised. Cassian told me he would."

"I did not realize the two of you were so intimately acquainted with one another."

"There are a great many things that you do not know, you foolish seven-tailed pup..."

Barely a moon and a sun ago, Miu had found herself agreeing with Orion's observations on life. 'Suffering' was the natural state of the living, and—as long Miu wasn't the one suffering at the moment—she saw little value in stepping outside her selfish habits and creaturely comforts.

"Have you ever wondered, Miu of Seven Tails, why I have not killed you outright? Your very existence, after all, threatens my throne."

"Why, my impending demise plagues me on a nightly basis! Please do not kill me, my lady."

"I am in no mood for your sass and cheek."

"My apologies, my lady."

"The end is coming for us, Miu, it is coming for all of demonkind..."

"Are the rumors true, then? Is Helios planning to destroy the Under Realm?"

"So, you have heard the whispers about Helios and his ridiculous army..."

"I have, my lady."

"It is not Helios who worries me..."

"No?"

"It is the new gods. The ones who have emerged from powerful new religions in the mortal realm. These deities champion the one you call 'Helios.' They intend to rewrite the stars in his favor..."

"The new gods, my lady?"

"Yes, they are at odds with the ancients."

"Like... Cassian?"

"Indeed."

"So... might you be suggesting that... the real war will not be fought between demons and seraphs, but... between the gods?"

"Yes."

"And they intend to use us as their pawns on their battlefield?"

"I believe you are finally beginning to see the chaos that awaits us all."

Like a tiny fissure in a once pristine wall that couldn't be unseen, for the first time in her four hundred year existence, Miu wondered if it was time to lift her head from the sand and take a good, hard look at the world around her.

Lavia's parting words continued to haunt her.

"When the tides of change come for us, Miu of Seven Tails, I shall call upon you, and you must come to my aide—else we may all fall prey to a most dismal fate. There will be death. There will be destruction. You must prepare accordingly. Seven tails will not be enough. You will need all nine of them."

But it was the nine-tailed demon's final remark about the God of Water that had sent Miu spiraling into her current pit of depression and misery.

"Did the God of Water attend your ball to rally support against the new gods?"

"No."

"Why did he come, then?"

"He was searching for a bride."

***

Miu felt like a fool.

Time and again, the emptiness of Cassian's vow from Lavia's ball continued to gnaw at her. Taunt her. Mock her.

I have never sought a lover—and I never will.

This blatant lie stood in direct contention with the nine-tailed one's claims.

Indignation burned inside Miu. It was laced with echoes of embarrassment and hurt. The God of Water had looked her dead in the eye that night and lied to her face. She wasn't accustomed to rejection. She felt even more upset about being duped in such an unapologetic manner.

To think—the two-faced immortal had been searching for a bride this entire time!

In an agitated flurry, Miu scampered out of her burrow for some fresh air. She needed to calm her ire. As she stepped into the chilly autumn's eve, the blackened-blue darkness of twilight enveloped her. Silvery light from the moon cast shadows and silhouettes upon the trees and brush all around.

Miu gazed upwards and cursed the heavens. "You deceived me, my lord. Shame on you."

His reply came briskly like a sharp morning breeze.

A lover and a bride are not one and the same, my lady.

Miu scowled.

"Semantics and excuses!" she barked. "It was cruel of you to mislead me when I clearly expressed my interest in your person and you were clearly in need of a bride!"

I do not owe you an explanation.

Miu bared her teeth with a low growl. Her sharp canines gleamed under the light of the moon.

"I beg to differ, sir! Our souls are bound by a spell that has been threaded into eternity. I doubt your future bride will be happy about another female's presence constantly looming over your marital bliss..."

She felt his vexation creep towards her.

As of yet, I have not found a suitable candidate, but, when I do, you need not fret over the welfare of my future bride. Our alliance shall not be a love match, and I will make certain she is made aware of my expectations. We will be married in name only.

This remark had a sobering effect on Miu.

"You do not wish to marry... for love?"

No—came his clipped reply.

"Then, why not propose to me, my lord?" she hummed spitefully. "Better the devil you know than the devil you do not!"

There was a slight pause. His emotions were undecipherable.

You do not meet my requirements for a bride.

She grumbled, "Your frankness cuts like a dagger, my lord."

Do not ask foolish questions, then, if your pride is so easily wounded.

Miu's blue eyes darkened with displeasure. "What is it about me that you find to be lacking in a potential candidate?"

You are not powerful enough—nor influential enough—to be a worthy ally.

Again, the god's candor bruised her ego, but Miu took it in stride. His point was, unfortunately, a fair one. Seven tails wouldn't do at all. It seemed she would need all nine of them as Lavia had suggested...

"Is that the only reason I have failed to make the cut?"

There is another reason.

She clicked her tongue in annoyance. "Pray tell, what else is wrong with me, then?"

I intend to live separately from my intended. As I have told you many times in the past, I value solitude. I do not believe you would be biddable to this sort of arrangement.

"No," Miu jeered softly, "I most certainly would not be biddable in this way—if I were your wife, my lord, rest assured that our days and especially our nights would be spent together... without a speck of clothing between us... so that you might roll towards me and slide betwixt my thighs whenever the need arises—"

He bristled uncomfortably, That is quite enough, Miu of Seven Tails!

The skies thundered overhead.

Something wicked inside Miu compelled her to continue teasing him, "I would like nothing more than to feel you release your passion inside me—"

My lady, this conversation is over!

Icy droplets of rain began to fall from the gathering clouds above.

Miu smiled faintly as the coldness and wetness hit her skin. The discomfort didn't bother her. In fact, the silver-eyed god's frustration pleased her to no end. Just now, she had felt the unmistakable pull of his arousal. Power now sang through her veins. Power—that she had siphoned from the God of Water's momentary lapse in judgment. His heady, overwhelming cloud of heat and desire had flickered out within an instant, but Miu knew a man's lust when she scented it, and Cassian was still a man, after all, no matter how fiercely he tried to push her away...

A sudden sense of calm settled over her.

It was all becoming clear to Miu. There was no need to feel foolish. Or hurt. Or embarrassed. The God of Water might be full of contradictions, but one truth seemed quite certain: Perhaps Cassian didn't want to covet her, but covet her he did, nonetheless.

His actions kept speaking louder than his words.

The god had shunted her at the ball, but he didn't sever their ties afterwards. He had harped at her incessantly to break the love spell—threatening to unwind it himself if need be—and yet here they were, two souls entwined together, bound tighter than ever through their daily telepathic exchanges. Cassian also claimed he didn't owe her an explanation when she probed into his hunt for a bride even though he didn't hesitate to reveal her shortcomings in his eyes. Shortcomings—that could be easily remedied by earning two more tails.

The wheels in her mind began to spin.

At present, Miu didn't understand why the stubborn god insisted on clinging to his solitary existence. He was obviously attracted to her.

Why wouldn't he claim her like all of the other red-blooded males in her acquaintance?

She wanted to stomp her feet in exasperation.

Cassian's voice broke through her musings. You have fallen silent for quite some time, my lady. Is everything alright?

He sounded concerned. Worried even.

The rain poured down even harder. Miu retired to her burrow and chose not to answer him.

He prompted again, What is running through your mind, little one?

"Nothing," Miu replied in distracted tones. "Nothing at all."

I do not believe you.

Purposely, Miu retreated further from his reach until their voices could no longer speak to one another through their tethered threads. For once, she would be the one to cut their conversation short. Let him wonder about her unspoken thoughts. Let him sweat over her intentions. The haughty god deserved to stew on his own for a bit.

Cassian didn't know it yet, but Miu harbored every intention of becoming his bride.

She wanted him for his power. She wanted him for protection against the new gods. Most of all, though, she wanted him for love. Miu had never been in love. She didn't even know if what she felt for Cassian could be classified as such a sacred emotion. All she knew was that—if death and destruction and war were imminent in her future, then she refused to die without ever experiencing such a phenomenon.

Miu wanted to fall deeply, madly, foolishly in love at least once in her lifetime, and she wished to fall into this state of dissolution with a beautiful, silver-eyed god who was plainly lusting after her, too.

She had every intention of convincing her beloved that they did, indeed, belong together. His stubbornness would be no match for her steadfast determination. Miu felt confident that she would be able to break down his walls. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow.

But, someday, she would make him love her, too.

Miu's jaw set determinedly. Time to pay a visit to another old friend.