Page 10 of King Foretold
Daeseong had lured me to Heaven Lake to steal the Yeoiju from me. Even though Ethan, Jihun, Hailey, Jaeseok, and Draco fought at my side, the dark mudang was too strong for us. His nightmare monsters ripped us to shreds.
But in the end, it was the darkness that nearly destroyed us. The darkness that stole our hope ... our will to live. In my desperation, I somehow harnessed the powers of the Yeoiju. I forced Daeseong to retreat to the dark depths of Heaven Lake, but I almost died in the process.
I thought I had more time. As long as he stayed in the lake, it meant he was too weak to carry out his plans. It also meant I didn’t have to go after him since no one can dive that deep without imploding. But if he left Heaven Lake, all bets are off. I have no choice but to face him, whether or not I’m ready. I lock my jaws to keep my teeth from chattering.
“Suhoshin sentries have been watching the lake around the clock,” Minju explains. “But the dark mudang somehow got past them.”
“Wh ... where is he?” I force out.
“We don’t know. He’s gone into hiding again, which means he hasn’t fully recovered. But our time is running out, Sunny.” The historian takes a deep breath and attempts a reassuring smile. “So it is averygood thing that your connection to the Yeoiju is growing stronger. It means you are one step closer to commanding its power.”
“Oh goody,” I say weakly, glomming on to the fact that Daeseong went into hiding again.
I don’t have much time, but I might have enough to master the powers of the Yeoiju. It’s too soon to give up hope. I haven’t failed everyone. At least, not yet.
A Sea Of Broken Promises
The Queen of Mountains was kind and generous to her core. She never stopped hoping that her husband would become the king their people deserved. He promised to do better. He promised he would try. Even as she drowned in a sea of broken promises, she looked past his shortcomings and saw glimpses of the good in him.
One day, when the queen was newly with child—so new that even she was not certain—she foresaw that she would give birth to the one destined to unify the Realm of Four Kingdoms. The one destined to unite all beings of Sky, Mountains, Water, and Underworld.
Shaken by the enormity of the revelation, she told her husband about her vision. She needed to share the weight of responsibility. She wanted to share the joy. For their son was hope. But the King of Mountains did not want an heir, much less an heir foretold to be the greatest king the realm had ever known.
Too late, the queen understood that the good she had seen in the King of Mountains was an illusion, a mere reflection of the hope she had placed in him. Too late, she saw in the mad glint of his eyes that the king believed her to be his possession, to keep and to break, but their son was a threat he had to end.
Fate had never been kind to diviners. Those with the gift saw both too much and too little. The Queen of Mountains had not seen that herhusband would strive to kill her son to preserve his power. But it was not too late for her to save her son. That she knew. He would endure much pain and loss in his journey, but the King Foretold would rise triumphant.
For she had foreseen it.
Chapter Four
It’s well past midnight, and my trek to General Bak’s estate takes longer than I’d like. But I’m exhausted, and my legs refuse to carry me any faster. I look longingly at the moon and sigh. I can’t risk moon shifting because my magic might be traced to Ethan.
The night we returned to the Kingdom of Sky, the formidable general crumbled before our eyes when he saw Ethan for the first time. In the general’s endless tears, I glimpsed a brokenhearted father who had lost his beloved daughter, only to be reunited with his grandson twenty-four years later. And in the embrace of his grandfather, Ethan found his family again.
The moving reunion, however, was short lived. As soon as General Bak pulled himself together, he began to plan for a war to place his grandson on the throne of the Kingdom of Mountains. In the meantime, the general made Ethan promise to hide his true identity and keep a low profile because there might be spies in the kingdom. He said if the King of Mountains found out that his son was in the Realm of Four Kingdoms, Ethan’s life would be in danger.
When I finally reach the outskirts of the general’s estate, I stop and take cover in the shadow of a tree. I have no idea which wing Ethan occupies, much less which room. I obviously didn’t think this through.
But after everything Minju told me, I couldn’t find the willpower to stay away from him. Just a glimpse of his face will remind me whyI have to be strong—why I have to fight—even if I feel more alone than ever.
Everything I knew about my spirit eyes was wrong. No one else can perceive the gi around us. No one else can see the beauty of the worlds saturated in the colors of life. I thought it was a power I shared with every being of the Shingae, something that connected all of us. It always made me feel like I was a part of something bigger, like I wasn’t a loner adrift in the worlds. But none of it was true.
I’m the only one. It is my power alone. I’m always alone.
I shake myself from head to toe like I’m covered in ants. I’m not only a poet but amopeypoet. This is bad, like zombie-apocalypse bad. If there is anything more pathetic than feeling sorry for yourself, it’s feeling sorry for yourself in subtle, lyrical verses. Can I fall any lower?
I come to an abrupt stop on the road.Oh gods.Ihavefallen lower. I was feeling sorry for myself in haiku form. I fucking composed a fucking haiku. Who even am I? I squeeze my eyes shut, willing myself to cease existing this instant. But it doesn’t work. I guess you can’t actually die from shame.
And I’ve come to visit the reason behind my unfortunate poetic episodes. I shouldn’t have come. This was a mistake.
As I turn to leave, I hear a low, urgent voice whispering my name even though there’s no one close enough to whisper in my ear. I glance back, and a dark figure leaps over the outer wall of General Bak’s estate, landing effortlessly on their feet.
Did I doubt for a moment who whispered my name? Did I need the silvery moonlight to know that it was Ethan walking toward me?No.I felt him in my soul before any of my senses could detect him.
“Sunny.” He stops a few feet away from me, devouring me with his eyes.
I take a shuddering breath, my pulse fluttering in my throat. I remember the feel of his calloused hands on my body, both rough and reverent, and the heat of his mouth as he claimed mine. I remember theidyllic days we spent at my childhood home, pretending we were alone in the worlds ... pretending there was hope for us.
