The Empress of Time by Kylie Lee Baker

Author:Kylie Lee Baker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Published: 2022-07-27T20:17:58+00:00

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

We rested under a blanket of darkness beneath the redwood trees in the Shimazu clan’s garden. It was the largest area in Kagoshima without humans—acres of perfectly curved rivers and carefully sculpted trees and polished stone walkways. Beneath my blanket of darkness, no guards or groundskeepers would see us until morning. At first, we’d searched for a hotel, but after finding that two of them had burned down, we decided not to spend more time wandering through crowded areas where Reapers might still be lurking. Besides, nightfall had washed away the scorching temperatures of the afternoon, leaving the city pleasantly cool. I climbed one of the garden’s tallest trees and sat on a high branch, arms crossed as I stared out across the shore.

Neven had tried to settle as far away from me as possible, but Tamamo No Mae had shifted into her fox form and curled up at the base of the tree, forcing Neven to grumble and shuffle closer. Tsukuyomi had taken up the other side of the tree, telling me to wake him up to keep watch when I grew too tired.

I looked across the water in the direction of Yakushima, twirling Hiro’s ring on the chain around my neck. When I’d thought my mother was alive, I’d wanted so badly to see the place where she had collected souls, the place that could have been my home. But now it felt like a dream ripped away from me, a cruel taste of what would never be mine. I half hoped that we’d arrive at a small and ugly island of dead trees and filthy water, just so I wouldn’t feel like I’d lost anything by growing up in London. But Hiro said Yakushima was beautiful, and while he’d lied about many things, he had no reason to lie about this.

As much as I didn’t want to, it seemed that we had to go there—Tsukuyomi had said human towns kept archives of family records that we could use to trace Ikki’s lineage. Now that Obon was over and I couldn’t call on souls at will, that seemed to be our only option.

I leaned back against the branches, closing my eyes. The deep night and spattering of stars above the volcano only reminded me that another day had passed without finding the sword. Somewhere out at sea beyond the islands, Ivy was drawing closer.

As a child, she reveled in holding me down and pulling my teeth out with pliers to see how fast they grew back. She liked the sound my knuckles made when my fingers popped out of their sockets and the color of my blood on new snow. But bones always realigned and skin stitched itself back up. The worst part about Ivy was never what she had already done, but wondering what she might do one day.

One night in London, I’d been waiting for Neven after his classes, standing in a dark alcove of the catacombs so the other Reapers would pass by me as if I didn’t exist.

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