of a phoenix and a dragon loomed over the assembly, a voice rose into the air. Stern, female and instantly familiar. A small group of people clustered beneath the statues; I could see a ripple of long white hair, a small figure in red hakama, a lean form with a bow strapped over his back.
I gasped and rushed forward. “Minna!” I called, waving my arm. “Daisuke, Reika, Okame-san, you made it!”
They whirled, their faces registering disbelief and shock. “Yumeko,” Reika cried, and hurried forward to throw her arms around me in a brief embrace. I returned it, but almost immediately, the shrine maiden pulled back to look me in the eye, her expression stern once more. “Are you all right?” she demanded, slender fingers digging into my arms. “What happened after the ship went down? Where...?” Her gaze flicked to Tatsumi, standing silently at my back, and a slender brow arched. “Kage-san?”
I didn’t see Tatsumi, but he must’ve nodded, for she relaxed and turned back as Daisuke and Okame stepped forward, as well. “Yumeko-chan.” Okame grinned, shaking his head. “So, you made it. I tried to tell these two not to worry, that you have the luck of Tamafuku himself. Even after we got separated, I knew you and Kage-san would turn up in the most unexpected place possible.”
“Is that so?” Reika said flatly. “And who was drinking himself into a stupor that first night because he was sure they were both eaten by the umibozu?”
“That was because I nearly drowned.” Okame raised a hand toward the ceiling. “And I’m not too proud to say that watching a fifty-foot shadow man rise out of the ocean and smash a ship to kindling is slightly traumatic. Frankly, I don’t understand how you don’t drink every night.”
Daisuke smiled. “It is good to see you, Yumeko-san,” he said, not bothering to hide the relief in his voice. “You and Kage-san both. I feared the sea had claimed you when the monster destroyed the ship. But you made it back to us, after all, thank the kami.”
“What happened to the three of you?” I asked, gazing at each of them. “After the ship was destroyed, how did you end up here?”
“We managed to float into Heishi harbor,” Okame said. “After the locals fished us out of the water, we told them our reason for coming, and they sent us here to speak to the daimyo.”
“We only just arrived,” Reika added. She looked troubled now, watching me with shadowed eyes. Something in her gaze was a warning, though I didn’t understand from what. “Kiyomi-sama was kind enough to grant us an audience, but...”
“But she was unaware that two others would also be coming to her city,” said a voice behind Reika. “And that they were also looking to prevent the Summoning of the Dragon.”
I looked up as Daisuke, Reika and Okame moved aside, revealing a woman standing between them. And suddenly, I couldn’t move, feeling my shock rise to clash with the rest of the room’s. I understood now the strange looks and glances of the nobles, the disbelief in the eyes of the court. Apparently, they weren’t reacting to seeing a kitsune at all.
The daimyo of the Moon Clan stood before me, small and slender, with long, straight hair and a firm, no-nonsense mouth. Her billowing robes were silver gray with the silhouettes of bamboo and dragonflies staining the fabric like ink. Her dark eyes stared into mine, mirroring my own stunned expression. She was undoubtedly older—faint lines radiated from the corners of her eyes and mouth, and a few silvery strands were threaded in her hair, but the similarities were unmistakable.
Me. The woman staring wide-eyed, like she, too, had seen a ghost...was me.
11
Longings of Yurei
Suki
She’s here.
Hovering invisible near the rafters of the main hall, Suki watched the fox girl enter the room and felt an immediate swell of relief. For two days, she had drifted around the Moon Clan Palace, watching nobles, servants and samurai go about their daily lives. She had been surprised to learn that she was not the only spirit hovering around the Tsuki palace; in the gardens, she had glimpsed a pale, glowing woman standing wistfully at the