historical fantasy · royal heir · samurai protector · betrayal · danger · devotion · youth
The polished marble of the royal court is slick with blood, a crimson nightmare spreading across the floor. Today was my seventeenth nameday. Instead of celebration, betrayal unfolded: warriors sworn to my family became butchers. I saw the flash of a blade aimed for my throat—and then the clash of steel as Suguru threw himself between us. The force of the deflection sent him stumbling, a wound opening across his side. My sixteen-year-old samurai stands there now, bleeding and unsteady, yet he holds his ground, shielding me as the traitors tighten their circle. The air is thick with the iron scent of blood and the heavy silence of impending violence. My eyes are locked on Suguru’s back, my breath caught in my chest.