Page 49

Chapter 49

Yoshi

T he road stretched long and unbroken before us, winding through valleys and rolling hills, cutting through dense forests and skirting along the edges of towering cliffs. It would take weeks to reach Hinode, the southernmost town of the island. From there, we would board a ship bound for the mainland where I would begin my training at Temple Suwa.

The weight of that knowledge settled in my chest. It wasn’t only that I was leaving home behind, but that I was leaving it with a truth that had shaken my understanding to its core. The visit to Katano Shrine hadn’t simply taught me lessons; it had changed something deep within me.

I had known the Emperor was powerful. I had known he ruled because he was chosen by the gods. But now, I understood—he was far more than a ruler.

He was the tether, the only thing keeping magic from spilling freely into the world.

And if that tether ever broke . . .

Moreover, the Emperor’s dragon, Nawa, continued whispering in my mind, telling me I was chosen or called or whatever dragons told unsuspecting boys who had no clue what they were talking about.

Gods, to say I was confused and tormented was . . . another understatement.

I exhaled, gripping the reins of my horse as we rode through the narrow mountain pass. These were thoughts too dangerous to dwell on, but they were also things I couldn’t ignore.

Takeo did not believe in rest. If we weren’t traveling, we were training. If we weren’t training, he was finding new ways to make me suffer.

“Sword. Now.”

I barely had time to dismount before he threw a bokken at my chest. I caught it—barely.

He smirked. “Good. You’re getting better at that.”

I sighed, rolling my shoulders. “And what fresh hell do you have for me today, Uncle?”

Takeo tapped his own bokken against his shoulder. “Reflex training.”

I raised a brow. “And what does that mean?”

He grinned. It was more leer than grin. Still, there were teeth and then . . .

He swung at my head.

I yelped, barely raising my sword in time to block. The force of the impact sent vibrations up my arms, but I held my stance.

Takeo stepped back, nodding. “Better, but you hesitated. If that had been a real blade, you would be dead.”

I exhaled sharply. “If that had been a real blade, you wouldn’t be swinging at my head for no reason.”

He chuckled. “You do not get to decide when a fight begins, Yoshi. That is the lesson.”

And then he attacked again.

I blocked the first strike. Barely dodged the second. Fell flat on my back by the third.

Takeo grinned down at me. “You lasted longer than yesterday. Progress.”

“Progress feels a lot like bruises.”

“Then you’re learning correctly.”

The days blurred together.

Travel.

Training.

Exhaustion.

Repeat.

At night, I collapsed onto my bedroll, my muscles screaming, my limbs aching in ways I hadn’t thought possible, but I didn’t complain. Not anymore. Because, despite everything—despite the pain, despite Takeo’s merciless instruction—I was improving. I wasn’t just swinging wildly anymore. I wasn’t just reacting. I was learning.

It wasn’t perfect.

But it was progress, and progress was enough. For now.

Plus, Uncle’s incessant torture kept me so perpetually exhausted that my mind had no time to dwell on the past or future. It barely had time to think on the present before Uncle attacked again, changing even that.

There was an odd peace that came at the blunt end of a wooden sword. I won’t say I loved it, but I came to respect it. By the time we reached Hinode, pain had become a familiar companion. It was no longer something I feared. It was something I endured.

The town itself was smaller than I had expected, little more than a fishing village tucked against the southern cliffs of the island, its buildings clinging to the coastline like barnacles on a hull.

But it wasn’t the town I cared about. It was the docks. The ships. Our pathway to the mainland. I stared at the masts rising above the water, the way the wind filled the sails, the way the ocean stretched endlessly beyond them.

This was it.

Once I stepped onto that ship, there was no turning back. I had known this moment was coming, but knowing and staring one’s fate in the eyes were two very different things.

Takeo and I sat by a small fire near the docks. I stared at the ocean beyond the harbor, my mind tangled with everything and nothing at once. Takeo, for one blessed moment, said nothing.

And then, after a while—

“Are you ready?”

I exhaled, shaking my head. “No. But I’m going anyway.”

He smirked. “That is the right answer.”

I looked at him. “What if I fail?”

Takeo leaned back, resting his weight on his palms. “Then you will get back up. And you will keep getting up until you no longer fail.”

I huffed a small laugh. “That simple, huh?”

He grinned. “Life usually is. We are the ones who make it complicated.”

I let his words sink in.

“You’re leaving me there, aren’t you?”

Takeo’s head cocked.

“You were sent to escort me to the temple, but you weren’t ordered to remain, only to see me properly instructed. You’re traveling home while I stay and train, aren’t you?”

Takeo didn’t answer right away.

“Will I ever see you again?” My voice sounded small in my own ears.

Uncle began to speak, but hesitation tugged at his throat. Finally, he said simply, “If the gods will it.”

I nodded, knowing it was the best answer I could have hoped for.