Seven Times A Woman by Sara M. Harvey

Author:Sara M. Harvey [Harvey, Sara M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
Publisher: Sara Harvey
Published: 2011-12-31T23:50:10+00:00

She did not have long to wait; it was only a few nights until Kage came to call under the guise of Sha Tano. And true to their agreement, Reigi waited in Yuriko’s room with her back to the door. Kage was escorted to the room by one of the other girls while Yuriko waited impatiently in her sister’s room, listening.

Reigi breathed in deep, measured breaths as she heard the footsteps in the corridor. She did not turn until she heard the screen slide open and shut again. And even then she merely glanced back over her shoulder.

“Hello, Kage.”

Whatever measure of pompous confidence he had carried vanished and his step faltered.

“I see your eyes have been opened, little one.”

She toyed with the embroidered edge of her long, trailing kimono sleeve. “There are things I know, and things I do not know, yet.”

“Ah, and I suppose you expect me to tell you, then?” Arrogance swelled once again in his words.

“Expect? Yes. You want to tell me. More than anything. I can hear it between every syllable you utter.”

“Is that so?” He stood behind her, but uncertainty still hovered and he did not touch her nor did he come any closer.

Finally, she turned and smiled at him. “It is so.” She patted the cushion beside her and waited patiently until he deigned to sit. Kage wavered, glancing around the room. Reigi laughed. “Your brother is not here.”

“And you expect me to believe that? I know who you are and I know what you are. Do not tell me that you would not take the advantage?” But he sat beside her all the same.

She tilted her head. “You seem to know an awful lot about me, Kage-san.”

“You don’t know what you are, do you? He has not told you.” Kage’s laugh was a harsh, dry bark. He ran his long fingers through his thick golden hair and Reigi could see the dimpled and ragged scars across his face. Catching her gaze, Kage grabbed her hand. Before she could recoil, he had drawn her fingertips along his cheek. “See these scars? My brother is not the peacemaker he claims to be, little one. Don’t believe everything he tells you. Your bring him a dowry of much power and no matter how much he tells you he loves you, never forget what collateral you are to him.”

She pulled her hand from his face, too sharply. She watched his eyes and made the effort to lay her hand on his thigh instead. Fear hummed in her veins. “Tell me your story, Kage. You are the misunderstood one, aren’t you?”

He studied her for a long moment, as if divining her sincerity. Half of a smile pulled up the corner of his mouth and he began to speak. “It is true that your beloved and I are twins. We were born of one life, one soul, split into equal halves: dark and light, Kage and Akari. One is no greater than the other, but humanity has such a bias towards the light, don’t you think? Without darkness, there can be no light.

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