Description

The thrilling conclusion to Seasons of the Sword!

An easy mission promises to be Risuko’s last

Kano Murasaki (called Risuko), Emi, and Toumi are on accompanying a spoiled young noblewoman to her wedding. What should be a simple assignment—get the bride to the wedding, make sure she’s properly dressed—is anything but.

Because someone wants the lady dead.

And because Risuko and her friends aren’t just lady’s maids. They are kunoichi.

Trained spies, assassins… and in this case, bodyguards.

The wedding—which Risuko herself negotiated at sword-point—has the potential to unite the most powerful clans in Japan under a single banner, ending over a century of bloodshed. And so Risuko must do everything that she can to keep the brat of a princess safe and deliver her to her groom. Failure would mean death not only for the bride and her bodyguards. It might mean another hundred years of destruction for the whole empire.

Along the way, Risuko and her friends must confront hidden enemies and uncover who is behind the plot. She must confront the ghosts of her past to become, finally, herself.

Can she survive?

Can she kill?

What the Critics Say:

“The story combines stealth missions with the everyday moments in Risuko and the other girls’ lives. The kunoichi are not just fighters; they joke, argue, share food, and try to make sense of what they are being trained to become…. I’m particularly fond of the thoughtful conversations surrounding topics like revenge, faith, and whether choosing the lesser of two evils still leaves scars. They really draw you into the storyline more. Fans of historical adventure stories with strong young heroines and ninja intrigue will enjoy reading David Kudler’s Murasaki.” — Robert Collier III, Readers’ Choice

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