One thousand years ago, the great Kami Dragon was summoned to grant a single terrible wish—and the land of Iwagoto was plunged into an age of darkness and chaos.
Now, for whoever holds the Scroll of a Thousand Prayers, a new wish will be granted. A new age is about to dawn.
Raised by monks in the isolated Silent Winds temple, Yumeko has trained all her life to hide her yokai nature. Half kitsune, half human, her skill with illusion is matched only by her penchant for mischief. Until the day her home is burned to the ground, her adoptive family is brutally slain and she is forced to flee for her life with the temple’s greatest treasure—one part of the ancient scroll.
There are many who would claim the dragon’s wish for their own. Kage Tatsumi, a mysterious samurai of the Shadow Clan, is one such hunter, under orders to retrieve the scroll…at any cost. Fate brings Kage and Yumeko together. With a promise to lead him to the scroll, an uneasy alliance is formed, offering Yumeko her best hope for survival. But he seeks what she has hidden away, and her deception could ultimately tear them both apart.
With an army of demons at her heels and the unlikeliest of allies at her side, Yumeko’s secrets are more than a matter of life or death. They are the key to the fate of the world itself.
Opening line:
"It was raining the day Suki came to the Palace of the Sun, and it was raining the night that she died."
That's a fantastic beginning though I didn't know or appreciate it when I started reading. As a matter of fact, I almost quit reading because I could not figure out what or who or why this book was happening.
I'm glad I stuck it out.
Yumeko was raised with monks, hidden away from the world. The book opens with the day her life changed. Demons broke in and killed everyone inside...except Yumeko who escaped. She is tasked with an almost impossible task: take a piece of a scared scroll to a hidden temple.
Tatsumi is a samurai tasked with bringing a piece of the scroll back to his masters, no matter the cost. he meets Yumeko as she's leaving and somehow she convinces him to be a protector on the journey to the temple.
They meet all sorts of demons (did you know there were thousands??) and interesting characters along their journey.
Yumeko is a naive young woman who has a secret she can't reveal. But she is also tough and kind and humble. She has a knack with bringing people to her side. In the end, there are four on the journey who have the skills needed to help Yumeko.
Tatsumi totally reminded me of Samurai Jack! LOL He was strong and fast and quiet and driven. It was intriguing to read the conflict between being human and being machine with Tatsumi.
I WILL read the next book to see what happens to our little clan.
For the sensitive reader: there are about 20 swear words, lots of fighting and killing and maiming.
Thanks to netgalley for the early read!!
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