Page 34 of The Darkest Night

Ye-Seul came inside the room and closed the door. She walked over to the bed. Mae and Ryu shuffled aside to create space for her.

She sat between them and indicated the stone bowl she held.

“Do you know what this is?”

Mae’s stomach clenched as she studied the pile of gray ash filling the vessel. “No.”

“It’s the remains of the stupa I brought over from our family shrine when we left South Korea.”

Ryu bit her lip. “But—we already have a family stupa. It’s on the altar in the hallway.”

“That one’s a fake,” Ye-Seul said.

Mae sucked in air. Ryu’s eyes bulged.

“What’s a stupa?” Miles said blankly.

“It’s an item found in temples of various faiths related to Buddhism,” Ryu replied, her voice quavering. “It represents the remains of a religious relic. Many places of worship were built in its form, some dating as far back as over two millennia ago.”

“All family shrines in South Korea have a version of the stupa,” Mae added. “Many are several hundred years old.” She chewed the inside of her cheek as she observed Ye-Seul. “Did you overhear what I said to Ryu? About what happened the night of the attack?”

“Yes.”

Mae’s pulse stuttered. She hadn’t wanted Yoo-Mi and Ye-Seul to know the truth yet, if ever.

Ryu groaned. “You shouldn’t eavesdrop, Grandma.”

“I had no choice, since my granddaughter is intent on keeping secrets from me,” Ye-Seul retorted, unrepentant.

Mae hunched her shoulders. “I’m sorry. I just—”

She lapsed into a guilty silence.

“You didn’t think this old lady could handle the facts?” Ye-Seul said quietly.

Mae’s mouth pressed to a thin line. She dipped her chin.

Ye-Seul watched her steadily. “You’d be surprised at what I’ve seen and experienced in my life, child. Now, I want you to pay close attention to what I’m about to tell you. Both of you, but especially you, Mae.” She cast a shrewd stare at Violet and Miles. “I suspect the two of you know some of this story already.”

The pair traded a puzzled look.

Mae’s gaze strayed from Ye-Seul’s resolute face to the stone bowl. She had a feeling she didn’t really want to hear what her grandmother intended to reveal to them.

“What does this have to do with our bloodline and magic?” she asked reluctantly.

Ye-Seul was silent for a while.

“What I am about to tell you is a secret passed down the generations of the Hwangs, since time immemorial,” she finally said, her tone grave.

Mae blinked slowly. “What?”

“The Hwangs are related to the Jee family. And the Jees possessed magic in their souls.”

Ryu flinched. “Wait. You’re not talking about—?”

“The Jee family?” Mae said hoarsely, her chest tight. “As in the nobles who united the Three Kingdoms and gave rise to the most powerful emperors of the Goryeo and Joseon Dynasties?!”

“Yes.”

---