The Bride Who Read the Contract novel · Chapter 18 of 24
Chapter 18: Chains
Fumika heard the stairs squeak behind her.
Ibuki came down through the dark shop, ducking under the beams, in his black haori.
It was still damp. He had tied his hair back. He looked as calm as if he had come down for breakfast.
"Don't," she said.
"They're at the door, Fumika."
"There's a back way. Through the yard. Kaede knows it."
"And then what? I run up the mountain with the Watch behind me, and they follow me to my people."
He touched her cheek. "Three days. Let them have me for three days."
He walked out past her into the street.
The whole street had stopped.
Booksellers stood frozen with armfuls of books. A boy on a bicycle had put his feet down in a puddle.
The officer with the chains swallowed hard and stepped forward.
He was young, and his hands were shaking.
He had been told an oni could tear a man in half. He had probably been told it since he was a child.
Ibuki held out his wrists.
The officer looked at them.
"Go on," Ibuki said. "I'll hold still."
The chains went round his wrists. Then his ankles.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of The Bride Who Read the Contract are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
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