The Oni King’s Human Bride

The manor smelled of wet wool and old smoke, like the roof had been leaking for years and no one bothered to fix it. Torchlight shook in the hallway. Aiko stood with her traveling veil pinned crooked by one cracked silver clasp, and she tried to breathe slow, like she could control the air in her chest.

Her mother’s voice came from behind the door. Soft. Careful. The kind of tone people used when they wanted you to accept a blade without flinching. “Bring her in,” the voice said.

The servants moved fast for a house that was dying. Two guards held the door open, their hands on spear shafts as if Aiko might bolt. She stepped through anyway. Her father sat at the table like he was waiting for a guest, not delivering a person.