As Kaede wearily withdrew, Kagome felt fatigued herself. It was the force of the old woman’s simple, stubborn faith that had worn her down, as standing too long in the wake of a slow-moving current would. Even as Kaede’s figure faded from view, Kagome felt the ebb of her convictions still. She regretted that she’d

Returning to the fortress grounds, Kagome arrived to find that the consecration of the new main hall had been completed in her stead. Through the open doors, gilded Buddhas and silvery shrine stones gleamed, artfully arranged around the spring-fed pool that glimmered brightly from within. As she mounted the wide, short stair, Miroku and a

In Kagome’s mind, there was not a minute to lose. Having set Miroku to task, she turned her attention to other matters—settling disputes, listening to petitions, overseeing expansions both militaristic and civilian. Ren was almost always at her side, ready to offer counsel or take responsibilities into his own hands, but ever since his overreach

Who? Light, pale and thin, burst from Kagome’s skin. In a flash she was free of the claws that held her. And in that same flash she beheld—blood and anguish. Dread and dark waters and bleak confusion. Scenes of violence whirred past her, spinning like the frames in a movie reel gone off the tracks.

The smell of smoke was in her hair, in her clothes. Rank and heavy, it polluted her lungs. It grimed her skin to the point that even after she’d stripped down and shaken off the ash, she felt it clinging to her still. It was unshakeable—tireless and singular in its oppression. It had plagued her

Kagome frowned, glancing away. “You and I are different in many ways,” Hirokin stated frankly, “yet what we want is the same.” “No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think so.” There was the faintest ripple in the water around her. Lapping her just below the hip, it raised gooseflesh on her skin even

Hirokin left. In his absence, Kagome seemed to shrink in upon herself. Half in a daze that even demonic sake couldn’t be blamed for, she started home at last. The house was empty, for the moment. As her eyes scanned dismally over the dark, cluttered space, a new neat pile drew her attention. Checking herself

The words had barely left her mouth when Sesshoumaru appeared, already unarmored and unshod—as if the sight of him standing there in his full forbidding attire wouldn’t have been an affront enough to her, on this day of all days. The cup clattered to the floor as Kagome leapt to her feet and balled her