My husband, please, tell me what has happened.

The xianxia atop the spire continued to ignore her, and Mei Li had to struggle not to let the rejection weigh her down as she forced herself to continue ascending the uneven pillar of black crystals.

Doing so taxed her heart more than the climb taxed her body. Even with her Aunt Yuyan’s assistance Mei Li could still feel her spirit wavering as the despair coming from her husband threatened to overwhelm her again. It was like being caught in a flood, and although the ki treatment she’d received had given her a rock to cling to, the swirling anguish threatened to tear her free from it at any moment, drowning her in recrimination and self-loathing despite knowing that it wasn’t her own.

If anything, the knowledge that she was experiencing her husband’s emotions only made things worse.

The single most important duty of a wife was to bring peace and stability to her household, and since the husband was the head of the household, that meant that her first priority in all things was to soothe his heart and ease his mind. While that wasn’t her responsibility alone, Mei Li wasn’t surprised to find that she was the only one of her husband’s wives trying to reach Lex now.

As much as Mei Li respected Solvei, Nenet, and Nisha, she doubted if any of them were capable of weathering the onslaught of misery from their husband any better than she had. But unlike herself, there was no chance of Yuyan offering them any relief. Even assuming that her aunt could find the others in all of the chaos, she wasn’t familiar with their ki patterns the way she was with the foxes of their clan, which would make treating them that much harder even under the best of circumstances...which these were not.

Unless the others had some other method of alleviating the deleterious effects of their husband’s grief, Mei Li knew that she was on her own.

I implore you, speak to me.

She kept her mental voice calm and steady, trying to project peace and tranquility that she didn’t feel as she hauled herself up the spire. She was able to do so only because of how jagged and uneven it was, with deep crevices and sharp protrusions jutting from it at all angles. Even then, every inch of height that she gained was paid with pain, her fingers bloodied as she wrapped them around a small outcropping of crystal with edges like knives. Nor were her feet – now bare, having kicked off her wooden sandals – spared, the flesh of her toes tearing as she dug them into a cleft in the spire.

She didn’t cry aloud though, knowing that what her husband was enduring was far worse.

Nevertheless, she could feel her muscles beginning to waver. Kumiho were not weak creatures, but their excess of yin made their strength inward more than outward, having bodies that were resilient and quick to heal, but lacking in vigor. Combined with the fact that Mei Li hadn’t climbed since she was a child – such a menial activity was unbecoming for a grown vixen of a noble house – and she could already feel herself approaching her limit.

Nor did she have any magic that would let her scale the spire easier. She’d been able to repurpose several of the spells she’d learned for keeping a household while helping Solvei fight that barbarian that had called himself Burly Brawl, but she hadn’t learned any that would let her fly, levitate, or otherwise make an ascent less challenging.

Which left Mei Li with no choice but to continue hauling herself upward with her hands and feet, no matter how difficult it became.

No matter what has happened, I beg you to let me share the burden.

Again and again she beseeched him to open himself up to her, receiving only silence as she continued the arduous climb. More than once she struggled to find purchase, the dimness making it that much harder to find handholds and her blood making her grip falter.

Even so, she continued to climb, passing the halfway point and slowly but steadily closing in on the top.

Anything that I can do-

She was in the middle of another appeal when the inevitable finally caught up to her.

Digging the fingers of her left hand into a cleft barely wide enough for them, Mei Li struggled to hold back a pained moan as she pulled herself upward, reaching for a small shard jutting outward from just overhead, when the blood on her hand caused her to lose her grip.

Unable to stop a scream of terror from passing her lips, she flailed, trying to grasp something before it was too late, but caught only air. Her stomach rose into her throat as she began to plummet-

And then a momentary tugging sensation overcame her, and she found her momentum arrested as strong forelegs wrapped around her and held her close, the bond they shared telling her who was embracing her even before she took in the sight of him.

My husband.

He didn’t respond for a long moment, simply holding her, and when he finally released her it took Mei Li a moment to realize that the pain in her hands and feet was gone, the wounds she’d taken healed.

You shouldn’t have come here.

He didn’t look at her as she spoke, instead turning his morose gaze out toward the horizon. But the black crystals spread out beneath him as he did so, making the top of the spire wide enough for both of them.

Taking a moment to collect herself after what had almost happened, Mei Li sank down onto her knees, back straight with her legs folded under her. It was the proper position for a wife to address her husband in when his posture was relaxed but a serious matter needed to be discussed, and while Mei Li knew that such formalities would have little bearing on the matter at hand, she found it soothing to follow those rules now.

Forgive me if I have made a nuisance of myself, she replied deferentially, turning her eyes in the same direction that he was looking. But when I felt that my husband was in such distress, I could not stop myself from wishing to be by his side.

Because the shackles I placed on you made my pain your own, leaving you with no alternative but to dance attendance on me.

The bitterness in his mental voice made her ears lie flat against her head, but it was the words themselves that made her wince inwardly.

Is that truly how you see the connection we share? Even though I have told you how much I treasure this bond, do you find no value in knowing that we will always have each other?

Saying that we have each other implies an equitable status that our relationship in no way possesses, replied Lex, his tone growing more caustic. I have you. You do not have me.

You are right to correct me, agreed Mei Li. Though I did not mean to imply that I was your equal, I was still wrong to do so. As your wife, I belong to my husband, as is proper-

That is not proper! As last, he looked at her directly, his expression furious. It is in no way proper! Love, true love, is a relationship of equals! It’s two people who mutually raise each other up, not one who keeps the other bound to himself! To do such a thing, to enjoy such a thing, is a twisted perversion of how things should be!

Clenching his jaw, he returned to glaring at the vista surrounding them.

But not without one last invective.

Someone who delights in subjugating the ones they care for...who can’t bring themselves to care for others unless they can subjugate them...should be scorned by everyone around him.

And just like that, Mei Li knew what was going on.

Somehow, something had made her husband recognize – not merely intellectually acknowledge, but viscerally comprehend – what it meant for his ki to be composed entirely of yang. That not only were his virtues so excessive as to become vices, but that there were other virtues which he lacked completely. That his imbalanced state inherently put him at odds with those who were not so accursed. That there was nothing he could do about any of it, because there was no remedy that could change one’s nature.

Whether he knew it or not, her husband was dealing with the realization that he would forever be denied the Mandate of Heaven.

It was a realization that every fox had to deal with, but for him it was worse. When the Celestial Bureaucracy and the Yaoyorozu had punished the vulpines for their apostasy, they had at least allowed them to retain some yang, even if only a meager amount. That was a small comfort, but it was still a comfort...one that he, who had no yin at all, would forever yearn for, and yet never know.

My husband, please...tell me what happened.

For a long moment, Lex didn’t say anything, simply staring out into the distance as though condemning all that his eyes beheld.

Then, at last, he spoke.

Solvei has gone to Kara’s realm...

It took him only a few minutes to explain what had transpired. That Elder Sister Solvei was to inherit the power of a great wolf named Fenrir. That Kara had offered to perform the ascension. That her methods of doing so were perverse and demeaning, unless it was done within her divine abode. That Lex had denied Solvei permission to go there. That she had gone anyway.

And that Kara was the one who had caused her husband’s distress when he had demanded that Solvei be returned.

But despite knowing who had brought the one she loved so much grief, Mei Li couldn’t bring herself to be angry at the goddess. While Kara’s actions had been petty and cruel, she was not the architect of what had happened. The onus of her husband’s pain, the one who deserved to shoulder the blame for what he was going through, belonged to one person and one person alone.

Solvei.

The anger that Mei Li felt toward her Elder Sister was enough that she had to do a quick breathing exercise, one that her Aunt Yuyan had taught her when she’d been young. Even then, it was only enough to let her keep the simmering outrage and righteous indignation at a bearable level.

A wife’s first duty was to make her household a peaceful one, starting with her husband. To so openly defy him like this, to put her own wishes and desires ahead of his, was nothing less than a betrayal of the worst kind. That level of selfishness, of disregard for the one whom she should have cherished above all else, had struck at the very foundation of what Solvei should have wanted more than anything to protect.

That wasn’t something that Mei Li could forgive.

But dealing with her treacherous Elder Sister would come later.

Right now, she had to fix what Solvei had broken.

My husband is cruel, she announced at last, folding her hands in her lap as she joined Lex in once again staring into the distance. And that cruelty has hurt me greatly.

Lex had no visible reaction to her statement, remaining as still as a statue. You’re right to condemn how I’ve treated you.

She shook her head, taking a few seconds to make sure her words were chosen with care. Forgive me for my disagreement, but I speak only of the cruelty with which my husband has treated himself, castigating himself for acting in keeping with his desires.

He snorted then, his derision palpable. That is the correct reaction for one who knows that their desires are repugnant.

And yet that reaction has wounded me, protested Mei Li. When my husband feels such pain, it causes me pain as well, as it does my husband’s other wives. If you are truly distressed at your treatment of us, is this to be the solution for it? To assail us with your regret such that we can do nothing but weep? Or will you close yourself off from us, leaving us alone no matter how much we wish to feel your presence?

This time, silence was her answer.

We are your wives, my husband. Our bond is our love for you, and it is enduring and everlasting, regardless of whether you believe you deserve it or not. It hurts us only when you are hurting.

For a moment Lex looked like he wanted to protest, front claws flexing as he scowled.

But a moment later, the endless waves of anguish began to recede from her mind, and the relief was enough to make her sway unsteadily, causing Lex to reach out and grasp her lightly to secure her.

Feeling suddenly bold, Mei Li placed her hand over his claw. Thank you, my husband.

This changes nothing, you realize. He turned his head to look at her once again, giving her a penetrating stare. Ours is still a relationship where I give orders and you obey them, regardless of how you feel about it. That my nature. I’m someone who wants to control the ones I love.

Then my husband should avail himself of my nature, she replied, smiling as she met his gaze. Because I am a vixen who wants to be controlled.

Mei Li...

Beneath them, the spire was receding, the black crystals withdrawing back into the ground. As it shrunk, light and sound returned to the world, the air growing brighter as a multitude of voices could be heard from below.

The loudest of which was Dima, standing near the base of the spire and waving her hand.

“Lex!” called the veela. “You’d better come take a look at this!”

The call was enough to make him frown, and Mei Li was glad that there was news of something else to occupy his thoughts.

But what Dima said next caught her by surprise.

“We’ve captured an intruder!”

Author's Note

Enraged by Solvei’s actions, Mei Li nevertheless manages to calm Lex down, only for Dima to report that they've caught someone who isn't supposed to be there!

Who is this intruder? And how will Mei Li treat Solvei when the latter returns from Kara’s realm?