The Dragon Saga Box Set

by Nicolette Andrews

  "The empress bribed a servant to put poison in my food. As a result, my labor pains came too soon. I labored for over a day, making no progress. I began to bleed and they feared I would die." She took a shuddering breath. "I can still see it all when I close my eyes." She closed her eyes as she said this. "And then as I lay dying, Ryuu came to me. My beloved. He had a stone in his hand which glowed with spiritual energy.

  "'If I give this to you, it will save your life, but you may lose the child,' he'd said. I refused. I'd rather die that you should live." Her voice rose with dramatic emphasis and a false motherly affection. Suzume couldn't meet her gaze and turned away from her. She wasn't going to fall for her lies. Never again. "But he insisted that if I did not take it we both would die. He forced me to swallow the stone, it fused with my body and I was on fire. I was a living inferno, blazing with heat." She clutched at her chest, reliving those phantom pains before them all. Then her hand slowly fell to her side, and her eyes were closed. "But as quick as it had come, the fire passed through me and in a few more moments you were brought into the world. Screaming and kicking, full of passion." She reached out to brush Suzume's hair behind her ear. Suzume moved out of her reach and Izume's hand fell to her side once more.

  "For the first year of your life everything was wonderful. The empress had a second son, but it did not matter to me. I had my beautiful girl and I was happy. But around the time of your first birthday, things took a turn. The true nature of the stone revealed itself." She turned her head to the sky. "One night, I woke to the smell of smoke. The palace was on fire. I tried to reach you but the flames were too high. I was forced out into the night and watched as the fire burned. I wept, thinking I had lost you." She placed her head in her hands as if she were reliving the memories.

  It wasn't until Ryuu came out with you in his arms that I realized he was not human, and you were different as well." She met Suzume's gaze. "That was when Ryuu told me that the flame stone he had used to save our lives had fused with your soul and unless we bound your power, you would continue to destroy unchecked. I feared for your life, so what else could I do? I let him bind you. And from there on out, you were as a normal child should be. At times I forgot that you were any different."

  There was a hush that fell over everyone as Izume finished her story.

  Suzume clenched her hands into fists. "And you never thought to tell me any of this before?"

  "What difference would it have made?" she asked, her voice rising with accusation.

  "All the difference. At least I would have known why I am this way! Is that why you sent me away, because you couldn't stand the sight of me anymore?"

  Izume shook her head. "It's not like that. Things were changing at the palace. I had to protect you."

  "Protect me how?"

  Anger blazed on her beautiful face. The priestesses were whispering to one another. Her illusion of a loving mother shattered. "You are as ungrateful as ever. I gave up everything to keep you safe."

  "You never cared for me at all. That entire story was to paint you as a loving mother. But all you wanted was your own happiness. I know you traded me to Akio to win the emperor's heart."

  Izume froze, caught in her lie. "I did, but I would never have given you to him."

  She shook her head. "Why was Ryuu there? The night of the fire?"

  Izume's face lost some of its color.

  "You were together, weren't you?"

  "I hardly see how that matters."

  Suzume's flames erupted from her body. "It matters because your affair ruined my life. And have you once apologized for it?"

  "Please, you have to understand. I love Ryuu."

  She shook her head. "I don't need your excuses."

  Suzume turned and ran away from her mother. Everything that had happened to her was because of her mother's own selfishness. She'd known it all along but it didn't hurt any less.

  37

  The temple was an interconnected series of buildings. There were barracks where the priestesses lived, meeting rooms where they congregated to meditate, and a place where they cooked and ate their meals. There were also gardens where they grew their own food. And at the center of the temple, a shrine. She was so distracted by being angry at her mother, she'd almost forgotten why she'd come there at all. And if her mother's melodramatic tale was any indication, she would likely not be leaving willingly. Instead Suzume walked around, hoping her temper would cool enough that she could reason with her mother. Eventually she found herself standing outside the shrine. The entire place vibrated with power, and being this close to the center of the shrine, and the heart of power here, Suzume found herself drawn to it. Kazue, as always, was seeking more power.

  As a general rule, she stayed away from temples or shrines. She had too many unpleasant experiences at any place of power. Suzume turned to leave, but as she did, she felt like something was calling out to her, leading her into the temple. Curious, she walked up the steps to the shrine.

  The outer-most room was empty but for a young girl who was bent over polishing the floor. When Suzume entered she stopped her cleaning. The girl appeared to be close to Suzume's own age, maybe a bit younger. But there was something in her gaze; her eyes were ancient and powerful. Perhaps it was a trick of the shrine, or the lingering power of the gods who dwelled here, but Suzume found herself drawn to the girl.

  "Have you come to pay your respects to the kami?" she asked.

  From her time at the mountain shrine, she knew how seriously priestesses took their worship of deities. If she refused she'd insult her. I guess it couldn't hurt to at least pretend to pray.

  "Uh—sure."

  The girl set aside her rag and stepped aside so Suzume could approach the inner sanctum. The inner sanctum was separated by doors which folded back. Unlike most other shrines Suzume had visited there were eight effigies depicted. Eight paintings on the wall. It seemed strange that there would be a shrine dedicated to so many kami.

  "Who do you worship at this temple?" Suzume asked.

  The girl gazed lovingly at the eight portraits of the gods on the wall. "The Eight."

  "I thought the gods were jealous of one another. I've never heard of them sharing a shrine before."

  The girl laughed, and it was a sweet sound. "Perhaps if they knew they would not be pleased."

  Suzume raised her eyebrows in question. At the mountain shrine where Suzume had briefly served, the priestesses there were devout believers that the god of the mountain dwelled in their shrine. Suzume, though not necessarily a religious person, assumed all priestesses thought the kami to be present in their shrines.

  "What do you mean they don't know?"

  The girl turned to Suzume. "The Eight were defeated by our founder, Fujikawa Kazue. They no longer walk this earth but we pay our respects to them here."

  The paintings depicted the first eight gods. They were the most powerful and those that Kazue had captured in her quest to become immortal.

  "We believe she will return to us someday, and lead our people once more." The girl pressed her hands together and bowed her head in prayer toward the kami.

  Suzume scoffed. If only Kazue could come back and clean up this mess.

  Her face was so young but when she looked at Suzume it was if she could see more than the surface of things.

  "Sorry. I have something in my throat," Suzume lied. There was something about this young priestess that put her ill at ease.

  She seemed appeased and walked up to a small pedestal beneath a painting of an imposing man. She'd seen him depicted before, the Lord of the Sea, Kaito's creator and Ai's father. Waves burst from the ocean beneath his feet, and his expression was fierce and thunderous. The girl filled the basin beneath his painting with a pitcher of water that had been set down on the ground.

  "You do not believe and yet you are touched by the divine," the girl said as she filled the basin.

  The painting in front of Suzume had caught her attention. Though she had never seen her f
ace before, she knew who it was meant to be straight away. The kami depicted in the painting was serene yet powerful, flames burst from her hands, and her bright crimson hair seemed to burn. The Lady of Flame, the goddess whom Kazue had bound the flame of her soul with. Her power was within Suzume, along with Kazue's soul.

  The girl lit a stick of incense beneath the painting.

  "It's not that I don't believe. I just wonder what she would do if she came back," Suzume replied.

  The girl continued to fill the different bowls with offerings like fruit and meat. The final painting depicted a dark figure. Almost his entire face was obscured in shadows and only his eyes were visible as two glowing orbs. The priestess placed bones in his basin. The darkness of that painting made her think of Hisato. A cold chill ran down her spine. She knew she shouldn't have come into this shrine.

  The girl finished placing her offerings and then bowed her head, her hands pressed together. Even though Suzume knew the gods were no longer among them, she still felt a touch of power in this place. Perhaps Kazue had imbued it with her power before she left, because Suzume felt her body crying out for it.

  "I think she would want to heal the world," the girl said after she finished her prayer.

  Suzume scoffed again.

  "You doubt that as well."

  She shouldn't destroy this woman's beliefs. It wasn't her place. But she was feeling bitter about her situation lately and she said, "Kazue only craved power. If she were to return, I am certain she would continue on her quest to become immortal."

  "There are many facets to every person. What you see is only one side of the story from your own perspective."

  Suzume rolled her eyes. She was being lectured by a child. "Sure."

  "You should give your mother a chance. She does not show it but her heart aches over what she has done to you."

  Suzume stood up. "Thanks for your advice, but you don't know anything about me and my mother."

  "I may not know Izume well, but I am gifted at seeing people's hearts. And I can tell both you and she carry many wounds that together you could heal."

  Suzume crossed her arms over her chest as if she could stop the girl from peering into her soul by doing so. "Any wounds I have she inflicted upon me! You want me to feel sorry for her?" She forced a laugh. "You're insane."

  "And so her father did to her. The expectations of our parents can weigh heavy on the child."

  "Did my mother put you up to this?"

  The girl shook her head slowly. "I saw your heart was hurting and I wanted to help you heal."

  "You can't heal me. I'm too broken to fix." The ugly truth spilled from her mouth without her meaning to. This went beyond her mother's selfishness, that was only a part of it. She was terrified of the power inside her that she could not be freed from and the fate she couldn't escape.

  There was a long silence, and then the priestess said with a sigh, "Humans are flawed. It is what makes them beautiful. Once you see that your mother and you are more alike than you think, you will understand. She has lost much as well."

  "I won't ever see her as anything other than a selfish monster."

  "You don't mean that."

  "I do." Suzume stamped her foot and flames erupted. But before her fire could catch flame, spiritual energy poured out of the girl, both calming and familiar. It wrapped around Suzume like an embrace, extinguishing both her flame and her anger. She was left staring at the singed floor. There was a momentary confusion in her expression. But she shook it off quickly.

  "I'm sorry. The Head Priestess tells me I shouldn't use my power in that way, but I-"

  Suzume shook her head. "No, I'm glad you did it." If she hadn't Suzume would have lost control entirely.

  "I should go." She turned to walk away, but it turned into a run. She didn't want to face what the girl had said, or the truths about herself she had uncovered. As she fled the temple, however, she found Izume where she had left her, sitting under a large tree with her head tilted up watching the leaves fall gently downward. It would be easier to walk away and ignore what the priestess had said but she needed Izume to leave with her.

  She marched up to her mother, who tore her gaze away from the tree. There were tears along her lashes and she turned away to discreetly wipe them.

  "Ah, Suzume, I was coming to find you."

  "Spare me the theatrics. I came here to bring you back to the White Palace, so let’s go."

  She shook her head. "I cannot go back there."

  "Why not?"

  Izume faced the river, which was burbling just on the far end of the garden. "Your grandfather is trying to make your brother emperor. He'll kill the emperor to have his way. If I go back he'll use me to find your brother and carry out his plans. Hiding was the only way to stop him."

  Ryuu had said that her grandfather was ambitious, and she knew he'd made the deal with the yokai and likely Hisato. Maybe it was due to what the priestess had said, but she wanted to believe her this time.

  "What about the rumors about your affair, are they true?"

  "Don't be crude."

  "That's the least you could do for me after everything that's happened."

  "Yes." She wouldn't meet Suzume's gaze.

  "Is the emperor even my father?"

  Izume stood up and smacked her hard against the face. Suzume reeled backward from the blow.

  "What do you think I am?" Izume's face was flushed with anger as she balled her hand into a fist at her side. As her mother glared at her, Suzume saw her own anger reflected back at her. She'd always thought her cold and detached, but she realized now that had not been the case. It was all a mask behind which she hid her true feelings. Maybe the priestess was right and they were not so different.

  Suzume scowled at her. "What else can I think?"

  There was a flush on Izume’s pale skin. "It is not possible. He is sterile."

  It gave her some small relief. At least the emperor really was her father. But it didn't change the fact that her mother had lied to her her entire life.

  "Then what you said before, it's true?"

  Some of the color had left Izume's cheeks as she nodded her head. "It is."

  "Why didn't you ever tell me?"

  "How could I? The fewer people that knew, the better. If you grandfather had known what power you had he would have used you as well. I was trying to spare you." Her voice rose.

  "Why didn't you take me with you?" She hated how hurt and upset she sounded. It had never been about the lies. The least her mother could have done was kept the family together.

  A leaf fell down from the tree and landed on Izume's shoulder. She plucked it off her clothes and rolled it between her thumb and forefinger.

  "Does it matter what my reasons were?"

  "How could it not? I thought my father didn't love me and I had been exiled. I was left feeling completely abandoned."

  Izume reached for Suzume, but stopped when Suzume stepped out of reach.

  "I would rather you told me the truth. I wanted to be with you."

  Izume's hand fell to her side. "I wish I had been better to you."

  They held each other’s gazes for a moment. Scars remained, and it would take time to heal. But for the first time since she'd left the White Palace she felt she could understand her mother.

  "Then do better. What is it he's done? Who is he working with?"

  Izume shook her head. "I can't. If he finds me-"

  "He won't. If you can help me, I'll find a way to protect you from my grandfather."

  "How could you possibly?"

  "I have the emperor's seal. I'll beg him for your protection." Suzume removed the seal from where she'd kept it hidden in her pocket.

  "You're not a child anymore, are you?" This time when Izume reached to cup Suzume's cheek she let her and she took comfort from the gesture. For so long she'd been deprived of her mother's love. But now that everything was out in the open, she felt as if they could move forward together.

  "Righ
t before we left the palace, your grandfather was approached by a strange man. He asked for you." Izume looked at her daughter. "In exchange for you, he would help your brother become emperor. That's all your grandfather wanted."

  "Hisato." Suzume clenched her hand into a fist.

  Izume nodded her head. "That was the man, but how did you know?"

  It was all coming into place now. Her grandfather had been working with Hisato all along. Which meant her father was in danger. She had to get back and stop him.

  38

  Yokai were arriving at the palace by droves. Each day it felt more and more like the palace of his memories. But despite that, Kaito felt as if there was an empty void inside him. One that no matter what he did, he could not quite fill it. The yokai were drawn here, not only by his command, but the promise of a wedding. His marriage to Ai was to be the symbol of the new age. It would not only bind Ai, the daughter of one of the eight, with Kaito, the chosen leader appointed by the eight, but also signify Kaito's devotion to yokai.

  The rumors had been floating around the palace, and everyone knew the story. The once great dragon brought low by his love for a human woman. If he wanted to take control of his kingdom then he would have to marry a yokai, and someone as powerful as Ai would only lend strength to his own image. Though he did not delight in marrying Ai, his rise in power should have been some comfort. His newly repaired barracks were swelling with willing soldiers. The halls were restored to their previous splendor and everywhere there was music and laughter. At times it felt as if no time had passed at all. Those centuries trapped in stone were nothing but a nightmare.

  But instead of glorying in the return of his previous position, Kaito most often skulked around the palace, avoiding the groveling attention of the courtiers, and more often dodging Ai as she tried to drag him into wedding plans.

  There remained only a small part of the palace which had not been repaired. And it was here he escaped. The ocean had reclaimed most of it. The walls crumbled into the sea, and crabs and barnacles clung to the rocks beneath his feet. Kaito stared out to the horizon, watching the white tips crash against the far distant shore. From here he could see the human village. He'd tried going to the town and found he could reach it with ease. Suzume was gone. And perhaps it was the best. Caring about her, even thinking about her, was dangerous. She was his blood, even considering it was an abomination.