Page 63 of King Foretold
“Fuck my life.” I slam my fist against the pillar that swallowed Duna, the wood splintering from the impact. I inhale slowly through my nose to suppress the bloodlust.
“That’s what he said.” Captain Seo pushes Keeper Choe toward the pagoda. He stumbles precariously, his arms trapped at his sides by invisible binds. It takes me a second to realize the captain meant what she said literally.
The keeper’s long hair is a disheveled mess, and his robe is slashed and torn, with blood staining the silver fabric. He’s a far cry from the fairy-tale seonnam who stood beneath the pagoda moments ago. And his sullen frown makes me wonder why I ever thought he was pretty.
“Did you grant Shim Duna passage to the Kingdom of Mountains, Keeper Choe?” Captain Seo demands, surmising the situation. Other than a faint bruise along her jawline, she looks no worse for wear. She gives the keeper another shove in the back. “That’s twice you’ve broken your cardinal duty.”
“Duna?” The corners of his mouth turn down in distaste, causing the split in his lip to reopen, and he hisses in pain. “What has she got to do with any of this?”
“Oh, that’s right. He thought he was helping Hana all along.” I stomp down the steps of the pagoda. “I hate to break it to you, buddy. But you’ve been dallying with the evil twin.”
“I didn’t give you permission to speak to me, gumiho.” Even defeated and bound, he sweeps a repulsed gaze up and down my body.
“Howdareyou speak to her that way?” The captain’s voice is soft and terrifying.
“It’s okay. I know his type.” I step into his personal space and say to his face, “You’re just a privileged, entitled male, who is outraged at having to answer for your actions. It’s calledconsequence, asshole.”
“Do you know who my father is?” he says shrilly.
“Nope.” I shake my head. “And I don’t care to find out. All that matters is that you helped Shim Duna, a murderer and a spy, escape to the Kingdom of Mountains.”
“Why do you keep saying Duna? Why would I help that surly bitch?” he yells, panic entering his voice. “I helpedHanabecause I’m in love with her. She would never harm anyone.”
“Well, Duna—the one you’ve been opening the portal for—framed Hana for being a spy from the Kingdom of Mountains. Hana isdeadbecause of her.” I almost feel sorry for the keeper when his face crumples. “If you really loved Hana—if you reallyknewher—you never would’ve confused Duna for her.”
“Oh gods. Hana is ... dead?” Keeper Choe pales, finally grasping the gravity of the situation. “What have I done?”
“I’ll tell you exactly what you’ve done on our walk to the Suhoshin headquarters.” Captain Seo tugs on the invisible binds, and the keeper stumbles after her.
I walk next to the captain, wiping a weary hand down my face. We can deal with Shim Duna later. I won’t let her get away with framingHana, but we have bigger problems on our hands. I have to get to Ethan and Jihun as soon as possible.
I become my gumiho, and ignoring Keeper Choe’s high-pitched scream, I speak telepathically to the captain. “Shim Duna revealed something during her unhinged monologue. A few days ago, a ‘powerful friend’ informed the king that Ethan was in the Kingdom of Sky. That explains why the assassination attempts started when they did.”
Captain Seo shoots a questioning gaze my way. She can’t speak freely with the keeper blubbering on her other side.
“But ... something else happened a few days ago.” I nod when her eyes widen. “Daeseong came out of hiding. The timeline fits too well for it to be a coincidence. And if the dark mudang is indeed the ‘powerful friend,’ then it means the King of Mountains has aligned himself with the Amheuk.”
“That fool,” the captain growls. “What are you going to do?”
“We need to stop the King of Mountains before he puts the entire realm in peril. I hope Ethan and Jihun already have a plan in the works to infiltrate the Shinsi Palace.”
“In case I don’t see you before you leave”—Captain Seo smiles wryly—“good luck, Sunny. Don’t forget to think.”
With an amused huff and a quick nod, I leave the captain with her captive and sprint toward Jihun’s estate. More likespirit toward it. I don’t want to deal with the screaming shinbiins in the streets, so I run fast enough to be a white blur to them. They seemed to tolerate that better last time.
I’m miles away from Jihun’s estate when I spot a shimmering silver-and-green dome over the eastern wing. Ethan’s magic. Are they under attack? I have to get to them. Wind rushes in my ears as I pick up even more speed, and I reach the main gate in two heartbeats. I don’t bother knocking. I leap over the high walls and run lightly across the tiled roof, jumping from structure to structure.
I drop to the ground in my human form right outside of the eastern wing—next to Jihun, who stands with his hands clasped behind hisback. He doesn’t even start at my abrupt appearance. The male has nerves of steel.
“What the hell is going on?” I wheeze, out of breath and sweaty.
“The prince is training. The only real solution to the assassination attempts is to stop the King of Mountains.” His gaze takes in my pink cheeks and heaving chest. “What hap—”
“That’straining?” I point toward the dome, forgetting that Jihun can’t see it. “He put a protective dome over the entire eastern wing.”
“You can see that?” His eyebrows rise close to his hairline. “That will take some getting used to. At any rate, I didn’t realize that’s what he had done. I assumed he’d widened his parameters since I got pushed all the way out here, but I had no way of knowing exactly how much his shield encompassed. Did you say the shield is shaped like a dome?”
“Yeah, it’s a silver-and-green dome.” I reach toward it. “It’s beautiful.”
