Even before Kagome’s eyes shot open, her bow was armed and in her hands. Rapidly she breathed through the lingering fog of her unconsciousness, her miko instincts firing at the foreign, near-undetectable youki feathering at the edges of her senses. Reiki flamed down the drawn shaft of her arrow, its light fit to blind as

Red light scorched behind her shuttered eyes. Kagome groaned, shifting in the softness that enveloped her. As her stiff limbs wakened, she curled her hands into the fine texture beneath her, something strange and alien in it startling her to full wakefulness. Her breath stilted, her fingers clenching. Exhaling forcefully, she pushed herself upright, coils

Kagome recoiled at the phrase, the Beast’s words haunting her through it. “You…” she said lowly, sweeping his fur clear of her as she backed away. “Don’t be so cheeky.” Heatedly, Sesshoumaru held her gaze. “Then compose yourself.” The miko grit her teeth. Her hands fisted at her sides as she glared. “If you didn’t

Hand-in-hand, she walked with him through the twilit woods. The air was an inky, brooding violet. A soft carpet of leaves blanketed the forest floor, whispering clandestinely at their approach. Skeins of mist chilled and wet the insides of her thighs, as though he had already kissed them there. Kagome moistened her lips in turn,

“NO!” Kagome screamed as she bolted upright. Surfacing from the nightmare, she gasped for air. Her blurred vision cleared, her eyes darting around in a panic to catalog her surroundings. It was still dark. But she was in her own home—in her own bed. Cold sweat trickled down her temple as she dug her fingers

As dawn broke, tinting the edges of Kagome’s vision red, she stirred as if from a heavy sleep. Blinking her scratchy, tired eyes, she sat up slowly, annoyed but unsurprised to see Kanako staring back. Wrapped up like a mummy beside the cold hearth, the girl regarded Kagome from just over the blanket’s knitted edge.

Kagome frowned. Countless times in her life, she had bathed with other women without a second thought. Her school friends from the Modern Era, Sango, Rin, Mayuri— The tub was certainly large enough to accommodate two people. Even she and Inuyasha had managed to squeeze into it on more than one occasion. But as Kagome’s

Grief closed its icy claws around Kagome’s heart. Dazed and disoriented, she strove against it. Railed against it—against the loneliness, the pain. Against the eviscerating torment of her disappointed hopes, and those she’d pinned them to. Inuyasha, Kohaku, Mayuri… Sesshoumaru. The last was the greatest—the most crushing, the hardest to bear. Everything—everything went back to

Back in Kaede’s hut, Rin flitted excitedly about the main room, pointing out the array of potions and charms she’d concocted over the months of Sesshoumaru’s absence. Taking down a softly glowing bottle of purplish-pink serum, she tossed another radiant smile to the demon lord. “This one is called ‘Widow’s Broth’. It soothes the souls