Page 58 of King Foretold
“What is it?” Captain Seo asks, crouching down next to me.
“The handkerchief ...” I pull myself together and say quietly, “My roommate, Shim Hana, uses the same one.”
She takes the handkerchief from my limp hand and peers at the lilacs. “Does she have this embroidery on hers as well?”
“Yes, lilacs,” I croak. “It’s her favorite flower.”
“Such intricate embroidery on a handkerchief is not at all common.” Captain Seo hands the handkerchief back with a concerned glance at me. “Are you close to Cadet Shim?”
I shrug stiffly. As a general rule, I don’t let many people get close to me. But I can’t deny that Hana, my sweet, guileless roommate, and Haesan, the marshmallow masquerading as a mountainous merman, have gotten under my skin.Damn it all to hell.They’re my friends. Hana is my friend.
How can she be the spy? Even with her handkerchief in my hand, I can’t believe that my roommate is capable of blackmailing a kid with his family to ... to force him to end his own life. And I can’t believe that Hana would kill an innocent uinyeo to cover her tracks. It’d be easier to believe that the sun rises in the west.
Hailey leans down to squeeze my shoulder. I don’t have the heart to shake her hand off. I actually have to fight the urge to cover her hand with my own and take the comfort she offers. In the end, I compromise by giving her hand a swift pat, then shoving it off my shoulder.
“The cadets should be at the training courtyard, right?” Jaeseok asks quietly.
“Right.” Captain Seo rises to her feet. “But they’ll break for lunch soon.”
“We better find Hana before those gluttons clog up the hallway, stampeding to the mess hall,” I mutter as I stand, pocketing Hana’s handkerchief.
I head for the doors without meeting anyone’s eyes and keep walking even though the rest of my group stops to speak with the officers waiting in the courtyard. The suhoshins know the way to their headquarters and cadet training yard. And I need a moment to myself.
The evidence points straight at Hana, but my instincts scream against it. Am I letting sentimentality get the best of me? Am I gettingsoft? Through my confusion and frustration, cold fear snakes up the back of my head. This is exactly why I don’t let people get close. I can’t let my roommate off the hook because it hurts to think about her betrayal. I can’t let our friendship—if it’s even real—cloud my judgment.
I use my preternatural speed to get to the Suhoshin headquarters ahead of my companions, but I slow down at the entrance in case going superfast counts as using magic. I can’t afford to openly break the no-magic rule and risk Jihun being punished in my stead. So I settle for speed walking to the cadet training yard.
I crack open the back door to the courtyard and search for Hana, but she isn’t there. I can’t even find her twin sister, Duna, to ask about her whereabouts. With a frown tugging at my brows, I head inside the cadet barracks. She has to be here somewhere. I hurry down the hallway and turn the corner, but I skid to a halt and double back, then plaster myself against the wall. My heart pounding in my chest, I peek around the corner.
“Don’t—” Hana stretches her hand toward the other end of the hall, but I only catch the barest glimpse of a retreating shadow. She shifts as though to follow the shadow—maybe a would-be assassin she tried recruiting—but I step out from behind my corner.
“Hana, stop.” I hold out my hands. “I need to talk to you.”
“Hi, Sunny,” she says distractedly, glancing down the opposite end of the hallway. “Now isn’t a good time. Can we chat later?”
“No.” I take a careful step toward her, and she takes a skittish step back.Damn it.I don’t want her to bolt. “Hana, it has to be now.”
“But—” Hana’s eyes widen when Captain Seo, Hailey, and Jaeseok round the corner.
“Cadet Shim, we have some questions ...” the captain begins in her least threatening tone, but it’s enough to send Hana running down the hallway.
“Hana, stop.” I chase after her, with the suhoshins close behind me. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
I realize I mean it. Hana can’t be the killer. I know this in my gut. She’s involved somehow, but I’m going to protect her—as soon as she stops running. But she kicks out a latticed window and leaps through it.
“Forfuck’ssake.” I groan. “That’s it.”
I don’t hold back. I jump headfirst through the window, roll onto my feet, and chase after Hana in a burst of exhilarating speed. Captain Seo will just have to vouch for me so Jihun isn’t punished. It is a justifiable infraction due to extenuating circumstances. I watched a lot ofLaw & Order. Either way, I have to catch Hana before she lands herself in more trouble.
“Will youstoprunning?” I pursue my roommate past the cadet barracks and across the training yard. The other cadets have cleared out. Must be lunchtime.
Hana clears the walls enclosing the courtyard in a running leap. I launch myself into the air to follow her and barely make it over, my toes nicking the top of the wall.Damn tiny human body.Captain Seo and Hailey take to the air to continue their pursuit, and Jaeseok vaults over the wall, planting his hands at the top, then gracefully swinging his legs over.
“She’s heading for the Donggul,” I shout at him over my shoulder.
“Why the hell would she go there?” The dokkaebi makes a face even as he runs flat out to keep up with me.
I don’t bother answering his rhetorical question and focus on closing the distance between Hana and me. She runs straight forthe shadowy hanok and spins around to face us with her back to the entrance. Jaeseok skids to a stop beside me, and Captain Seo and Hailey land on my other side.
