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The Empress of All Seasons by Emiko Jean

Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete--all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA...

Scarecrow by Alyssa Wong

Tor.com is honored to reprint “Scarecrow,” a horror short story by Alyssa Wong. Originally published in Black Static 42 (September 2014), “Scarecrow” has never before been available to read online. Please enjoy this horrific tale of tragic love and corvid loss. This story contains scenes that some readers may find upsetting.

TITLE: Scarecrow
AUTHOR: Alyssa Wong
PUBLISHER: Originally published in Black Static 42, reprinted by Tor.com
YEAR: 2014
LENGTH: 32 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Horror
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Queer Rep Summary: Gay/Achillean Main Character(s).

Full of terror and longing, SCARECROW is a short story about boys at and after a funeral, slowly twisted by their guilt.

CW for homophobia, cursing, vomit, excrement, sexual content, body horror, suicide (backstory), suicide attempt, murder (backstory), death (backstory).

Link to Full Text (free online)

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A crow perched on a thin branch, viewed from below against a white background.


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