Bent low over Jiro’s back, Kagome clung to his neck as much as his reins, her lungs striving for air against the crushing weight of her anguish. Her eyes bleared, blood trickling down from her raw, busted knuckles and sealing her clenched fingers shut. The road before her obscured as Jiro raced on at her

Kagome reeled, scarcely managing to reach the river’s edge before a torrent of scalding bile ripped up through her throat. Her nose seared. Her eyes streamed as she retched out the dregs of her empty stomach into the muddy current below. Frigid brown water soaked through the knees of her hakama, her quaking arms straining

It was well past dawn when Kagome awoke, her eyes crusted and body aching from the cramped position she’d passed out in last night. Lying partway on her stomach, she dragged her pruny fingers out from the sticky seam of her thighs, a grimace pulling at her lips at the sensation. With a groan, she

Kagome tore through the forest in blind desperation, sheer adrenaline fueling her as she crashed through the brush and branches that attempted to ensnare her. Her yukata snagged and ripped, her hair and skin as well. As the night wind lashed against her, she raced back toward the castle as fast as her tripping feet

The bow slipped from Kagome’s fingers, her strung arrow clattering to the floor. She should have known her spell wouldn’t be strong enough to throw Sesshoumaru off her trail. Maybe he hadn’t been in close enough range until now, or hadn’t been paying close enough attention. Maybe she’d let the enchantment slip during her sleep,