had brought me here from the moment I’d fled the Silent Winds temple with the scroll—the danger, the friendship and the love—and several times, I found myself smiling through my tears.
And that was how Kiyomi-sama found me, several hours later.
* * *
“Yumeko.”
I turned, looking over my shoulder. A figure stood several paces away, long hair unbound, sleeves fluttering softly in the wind. She looked exhausted, her robes tattered, dirt and blood spattered across her hands and face. But she stood there, steady and solid and real, gazing down at me in relief.
I blinked as my own relief crashed over me like a wave. “Kiyomi-sama,” I whispered as the stubborn, persistent tears crowded forward again. “You’re alive.”
“Yes.” The Moon Clan daimyo gave a pained smile. “We took heavy losses, and were forced to fall back several times, but the line held. The demons did not reach any of the villages, and when the Harbinger first appeared, we took advantage of the chaos and panic it caused to push them back. Still, the losses were severe. Without the aid of the Shadow Clan, none of us would have survived the night.”
I shivered, remembering a wizened, twisted creature shouting at the Dragon, demanding it correct what it had done two thousand years ago. “Lady Hanshou...” I began.
“I know,” Kiyomi-sama said quietly. “I was there when she transformed. She flew into the clouds after the Harbinger and did not return. Long has it been rumored that the Shadow daimyo has slowly been going mad. I hope that, wherever she is, her spirit has finally found peace.”
“What will happen to the Kage now?” I wondered.
Kiyomi-sama shook her head. “I do not know,” she said solemnly. “I do not believe Hanshou had any heirs. Her adviser, Kage Masao, has taken over in her absence. He appears to have the situation in hand. Beyond that, I do not know what will happen to the Shadow Clan, nor is it my place to ask. The Kage must take care of their own. And I must do the same.”
The Tsuki daimyo hesitated, then took two steps forward, watching me with dark eyes that were both conflicted and sympathetic. “Daughter,” she began, sounding uncertain for perhaps the first time I had known her. “I am...pleased that you survived. I know you suffered greatly this night, and as your friends are not here with you, I can only assume...” She trailed off, her smooth brow furrowing, as if unsure of how to proceed. I bit my lip, feeling twin tears slide down my cheeks, as the Moon Clan daimyo paused to collect herself.
“But you are here,” Kiyomi-sama went on. “The night of the Wish is over, and the empire still stands. Genno is gone, the gate to Jigoku sealed, and the demons have returned to the abyss. I don’t know what happened, or what caused the Harbinger to go momentarily mad, but it appears that, against all odds, you have emerged victorious. I can only hope this means that the Tsuki islands are safe, that it is finally over.”
I nodded. “We won,” I whispered, hardly able to believe it myself. “It’s over, but...” I trailed off, closing my eyes as memories crowded forward, bright and painful. “My friends,” I said, my voice shaking. “I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for them. They were the true heroes tonight.”
“They will be remembered,” Kiyomi-sama said solemnly. “In memory and song, in verse and play, their legacy will not be forgotten.” She raised her head, gazing at the sky as the sunlight washed over her face. “We will mourn those we lost, and commit them to legend, but tonight, we will celebrate with those still standing.”
She looked at me, and in that dark gaze, I saw the terrible, always present sorrow finally begin to fade, vanishing like mist in the sun. “Sixteen years ago, I lost a daughter,” the daimyo said. “Last night, I thought I would lose her a second time. But by fate, the Kami’s mercy, or her own incredible luck, she stands before me now. We have been given another chance, Yumeko,” Kiyomi-sama continued and, incredibly, she smiled. It was faint and rusty, as if it hadn’t been used in a long time, but it lit up her face