In this critically acclaimed and sensual fairy tale, can a woman sacrificed to a snake god learn to love her non-human husband?
For five hundred years, a giant snake god has lived in the ancient mountain. Miyo, an unlucky woman from the nearby village, is offered as tribute to the great snake. Miyo fears that she will be devoured, but the snake treats her like a wife rather than a meal: his flicking tongue vibrates through gentle words as his giant slithering body wraps around hers in an embrace. What does it truly mean to be the bride of a beast?
“Born in solitude and fated to die in that same solitude.” This is what people say about snakes. Solitude never bothered Lord Daija, but his son Tokitarou is half human. He may look cold-blooded, but it’s his human-looking sister who can brush off the other children’s looks. As he’s grown into his teens, Tokitarou has thrown himself into his art and claims that’s all he needs. But when a newcomer visits the mountain with tales of the ocean, it reawakens Tokitarou’s desire for companionship…
Daija and Miyo have overcome the barriers of their interspecies relationship, but the hurdle of becoming interspecies parents is the newest challenge! Their twins are both a different mixture of human and snake. They need to learn the ways of both worlds as they grow. And while no one minds the more human-looking Ina hunting and climbing trees, the more snake-like Tokitarou isn’t very welcome at writing lessons in the village. When other children are so cruel, will Daija and Miyo find a safe, humane way to solve their problems? Or will they need a snake-like solution?
Miyo is content with her quiet life under the protection of Daija. She does wonder if it’s possible for her and Daija to have a child together, but she doesn’t have to wait long for an answer. Her belly starts to swell and with it so do thoughts of her own parents. Can she raise a child when her own childhood was so fraught with tragedy?
Miyo and Daija have slowly grown closer as their unconventional relationship deepens. Now they feel ready to try and deepen their physical connection as well. But both bear scars from the past. Miyo shares her family’s sad history and the source of her pain—before a mysterious monk hunting for Daija brings his own history to light. The gulf between species is a vast one, and dark clouds loom on the horizon, threatening what seemed so recently like a blissful relationship.
Miyo and Daija have slowly grown closer as their unconventional relationship deepens. Now they feel ready to try and deepen their physical connection as well. But both bear scars from the past. Miyo shares her family’s sad history and the source of her pain–before a mysterious monk hunting for Daija brings his own history to light. The gulf between species is a vast one, and dark clouds loom on the horizon, threatening what seemed so recently like a blissful relationship.