Soul of the Sword (Shadow of the Fox #2) - Julie Kagawa Page 0,85
stay. So I will offer this instead. I know why you linger, hitodama. Why you cannot move on.”
Suki jerked up, eyes widening. Thinking, of course, of Lady Satomi, and the death that had started everything. Seigetsu simply smiled.
“It has nothing to do with vengeance,” he continued, as if reading Suki’s thoughts. “Or justice, or any emotion regarding your own demise. Were that the case, you would have disappeared as soon as Lady Satomi left the world. The answer to why you linger can be found in the prophecy Taka gave you tonight.”
Frowning, Suki thought back, trying to remember. Truthfully, she had been so startled when Taka turned that blankeyed stare on her that she had barely heard the words he’d spoken. Something about chains and darkness, and a god staining the land in blood…
The flute snaps in the shadow of a god.
Everything inside her went very still. The swirling thoughts ceased, the flickering emotions calmed. One memory came to her, as clear and distinct as blood against the snow: the high, sweet sound of a flute, and the most beautiful, pale-haired man turning to smile at her.
The white-haired prince seeks a battle he cannot win.
“Yes,” Seigetsu murmured, his voice seeming to come from a great distance away. “Now you understand. Your tie to this world had nothing to do with vengeance, or anger, or justice. It is not revenge that keeps you here, but longing. Love.” He shook his head. “The most dangerous of human emotions.”
Suki was too dazed to even try to answer. Thinking back to that terrible night, she suddenly remembered that, right before the demon tore her apart, she had cried out to Daisuke-sama. Knowing he wouldn’t save her, that he was so far above her station she would never even have crossed his mind, she had called his name, his face the last thing she’d envisioned before she left the world of the living.
“I do not envy you, little hitodama.” Seigetsu stepped back, giving her a look of sympathy. “Vengeance is easily rectified. Unrequited love is far more difficult. Now we know why your destiny is tangled with his, with all of them. The half-fox and the demonslayer move ever closer to the end, and the fate of millions of souls follow in their wake. Including the Taiyo noble, who has sworn to protect the half-fox with his life. Though it appears that his destiny will catch up to him very soon.”
Suki raised her head, and Seigetsu smiled grimly. “Did you not hear what was foretold? He will break upon the demon’s sword, and his dog will follow him unto death.” His voice softened, unbearably gentle in its finality. “Taiyo Daisuke is fated to die in battle, Suki. When it happens is not certain, but the time is not far. Perhaps when he dies, you can finally move on, continue your journey to Meido or wherever it is your soul is destined.” He shrugged one lean, elegant shoulder. “Or perhaps you will linger in this realm for all time, a restless, wandering soul unable to find peace. As I said before, vengeance is easy. One can never be certain with an emotion as dangerous and unpredictable as love.”
“No.”
Seigetsu raised a brow at the strangled whisper that came from Suki’s mouth. She stared up at him, anguish a burning, twisting knife below her breast, forcing the words to spill from her lips. “Can…it be…changed?” she whispered. Her voice was breathy, broken with disuse, but she forced herself to continue. “Can we…warn him…somehow?”
Seigetsu gave her a long, level stare, making ghostly snakes writhe and coil in the pit of her stomach, before one corner of his mouth curled. “Fate is a fickle mistress,” he said again. His voice was soft, as if he feared Destiny itself might be listening. “It has a way of protecting itself, and the outcomes, of those caught in its stream. One must know just how far to push, how much to change, to divert the flow of the future. However, as I said before, I am too heavily invested in this game to make mistakes, and I would rather have all the pieces in my sight, rather than wandering the winds.” He held out a hand, and his smile was like the promise of the sun. “Fox, demon, dog, priestess, blade. If one falls now, the game is lost. Let us see if we cannot change the fate of your white-haired prince.”