It was strange to wander through the garden with him, especially since she knew it was a dream. She tried to focus on his face, but if she stared at him too long, his markings would blur around the edges, so she focused on the flowers instead.
The feel of his hand in hers was real enough to quell her fears—as much as they could be in a dream, anyway—the edge of his sleeve teasing her skin. Crimson plum blossoms were stitched inside hexagons on pale silk, a stark contrast with the armour on his shoulder.
He was a warrior, ready to sink his claws into her at any time, but the combination of his deadly aura and the sea of flowers wafting around them left Kagome dazed and confused.
"You have nothing to worry about here."
"Except you?"
His fingers tightened around hers before he brought them to his lips. "You should always fear me."
Kagome laughed, hoping the sound covered up the butterflies in her stomach. "But you haven't done anything scary."
He regarded her for a moment, his eyes slowly hardening to molten steel before he looked away. "Not to you. Never to you."
"Why?"
"Because you are mine." There was an underlying bitterness to his tone that she hadn't heard before, and the flowers swayed, withering into cobwebs before creeping up her legs. Darkness descended as his hand disappeared from hers, and a howl shook the landscape
Kagome was still covering her ears when she bolted up in bed.