The silver light of the Mitama-shirabe didn't just blind me; it completely swallowed me whole.
The moment the pillar of magic locked into place, the sprawling Yokai pavilion, the smirking Clan Elders, and my terrified, towering Warlord husband entirely vanished.
The air turned freezing cold. It smelled like damp earth, rotting wood, and old blood.
I blinked against the sudden darkness. I wasn't wearing my heavy, expensive crimson silk anymore. I was back in the thin, ragged gray tunic from my childhood. My bare feet were standing on the freezing, cracked dirt floor of Uncle Kenji's basement.
"You really thought you could escape?" a cruel, familiar voice echoed from the shadows.
A figure stepped into the dim light. It was Uncle Kenji, holding the heavy wooden cane he used to beat me with when I couldn't balance his stolen ledgers fast enough. Right behind him stood the Emperor's assassins, their blades dripping with fresh blood.
