Series: Youkai Bloodlines #1
Released on: September 29, 2020
Genre: LGBTQIA Dark Historical Paranormal Romance
Publisher: City Owl Press
Blurb:
Kanjin hardly view their servants as human. Even less so when they are different.
Asagi is different. Both a man and a woman.
In the wake of his failure to protect a boy he saw as a son from their abusive master, Asagi is sold into the house of a young nobleman, Mahiro, who is the opposite of everything Asagi has ever known—gentle, kind, and generous.
Mahiro bonds with Asagi and their friendship blooms into a deep and profound love. But when Asagi is poisoned out of jealousy, Mahiro reveals himself to be youkai, a demon who feeds on blood, and he has no choice but to turn Asagi to save his life.
Asagi awakes reborn, strong, and eternally youthful. But the price for Asagi’s new life is high.
The blood of the innocent.
Just as Asagi’s trust in Mahiro falters, the boy he failed to protect, now a man, reappears.
New master, same threat.
With both a literal and proverbial monster at the door, Asagi must decide what it means to be human to protect what he loves most.
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“Asagi!” He threw up his arms, sending a spray of water in every direction before launching himself at me. I staggered backward as he latched onto my waist.
“Easy, boy. You’re soaking wet.”
“You look so pretty!” he said.
I melted a little. “And you look a mess.” I went down on my knees and swept my hand through his wet hair. “What have you been up to?”
“Bathing. Like a man.” He planted his fists on his hips and puffed out his chest. “Hey, what happened to your nose?”
I flinched and brought my hand up to my face. “Oh. Nothing. Just what happens when you wander around in the dark in a strange place.”
His face pinched, and before I could stop him, he grasped my face in his hands and planted a kiss on the bridge of my nose.
“What was that for?” I asked, blinking.
“My mom used to do that,” he said, his eyes going far away. “She said love makes everything hurt less.”
My throat constricted, and my heart did a little flip. “Smart lady, your mom.”
“Yeah. I miss her.” He sniffed and wiped his nose with the back of his hand. “But you’re pretty good too.”
Warmth exploded through my chest. My eyes burned. He was right. It did hurt less. But it hurt more too. The injustice, the unfairness of it all. He’d lost his mother and his home, been tossed into unsafe waters with an unfit replacement, yet he still found a way to smile. A heart like his was rare, and the world seemed determined to stomp it out.
The back doors of the house slid open, and my soft mood soured as the master stepped onto the engawa. Yutaka followed close behind, expression stoic as usual. His gaze stopped on me for the smallest of moments before jerking away, and something about it made my stomach ache. The master’s gaze stopped too, only his lingered. First on me, then on Tsukito, and heated in a way that sent a painful fire through my veins.
Hands shaking, I tugged Tsukito’s yukata back up over his shoulders. “Let’s get you dressed—”
“Asagi.”
My stomach sank as the master called my name. I stood and turned to face him, tucking Tsukito behind my back before bowing low. Even with my eyes on the ground, I felt his stare burning into me.
“I trust you slept well.”
“Yes, Goshujin-sama.”
“And your boy?” He rocked back and forth on his heels and thrust his big belly out like a walrus. “How is he adjusting?”
“Fine, Goshujin-sama.”
A long, dense silence fell between us, punctuated by that awful sucking of his teeth. He leaned forward, stretching as close to us as he could without stepping off the engawa.
“It seems someone has bled all over the floor of the ofuro. Clean it up.”
“Yes, Goshujin-sama.”
I didn’t lift my head until the door snapped closed behind him. Panting as if I’d just run a lap around the manor, I took Tsukito by the shoulders and pushed him back toward the servants’ quarters. He obeyed with surprisingly few complaints, and as I helped him into his kimono, I noticed a hardness to his posture that wasn’t there before.
“He hurts people sometimes,” he said in a small voice.
I struggled to keep my tone light, though my heart was in my throat. “Where did you hear that?”
“The others.” He dug his toes into the tatami and tugged on the edge of his obi.
“Don’t be afraid. He won’t hurt you. As long as you work hard and do as you’re told—”
“Did he hurt you?”
Tears leaped to my eyes. I turned my face away to hide them. I didn’t want to lie, but I also wanted to protect him from that ugliness, to let him stay that happy little boy for as long as possible.
“I’ll protect you.” His hands balled into little fists, and his face twisted into a determined scowl. “If he hurts you, I’ll hurt him back.”
My mouth went dry. I grasped him firmly by the shoulders. “No, Tsukito.”
“Why?”
“Because I said no.”
“But I’m strong.” He raised his fists, and I wrapped my hands around them.
“I know you are. You’re the strongest little boy I’ve ever met, but it’s my job to protect you, understand?”
He lowered his hands, his scowl devolving into a pout. He vibrated with anger and frustration. It scared me. I knew the helplessness he felt, knew it so deeply it had fused with my bones.
“Don’t worry. He can’t hurt me,” I said, pinching his nose. “I’m magic, remember?”
Courtney Maguire is a University of Texas graduate from Corpus Christi, Texas. Drawn to Austin by a voracious appetite for music, she spent most of her young adult life in dark, divey venues nursing a love for the sublimely weird. A self-proclaimed fangirl with a press pass, she combined her love of music and writing as the primary contributor for Japanese music and culture blog, Project: Lixx, interviewing Japanese rock and roll icons and providing live event coverage for appearances across the country.
Website: https://www.courtneymaguirewrites.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CourtneyMaguireWrites/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/PretentiousAho
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/courtneymaguirewrites/
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Courtney-Maguire/e/B082S34S7W
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Very nice cover.
Love!
This sounds quite interesting. Thanks for sharing!
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