Page 65 of King Foretold
“Youcannotrisk your life—” Ethan tries anyway.
“You’re our only hope against—” Jihun has the same idea.
“Shut up. Both of you. We literally havenotime to waste.” I glare at them. “Daeseong was telling the truth at Heaven Lake. The King of Mountains has aligned with the Amheuk.”
“No,” Ethan rasps.
“How do you know this?” Jihun looks grim but not surprised.
“Shim Duna said a ‘powerful friend’ told the King of Mountains that Ethan was hiding in the Kingdom of Sky.” I wave my hand impatiently. “Long story short, everything lines up. Daeseong has to be the king’s ‘powerful friend.’ The assassination attempts started as soon as the dark mudang came out of hiding.”
“If Daeseong and the king are on friendly terms,” Ethan says, “it doesn’t bode well for the rest of us.”
“The king must have bartered for the information on the prince.” Jihun shakes his head. “Who knows what the dark mudang asked for in exchange.”
“Whatever it is, we have to stop the king from fulfilling that bargain before it’s too late.” I struggle to swallow. We are well and truly out of time. And we don’t even have the sword of light yet. I clench my fists as panic flutters in my throat. “We don’t have a moment to waste.”
“Gods, this is sooner than I’d hoped.” Ethan wipes a hand down his face, then barks a harsh laugh. “But when has the Amheuk ever waited for our convenience?”
I’m not the only one who must soon face an impossible foe. I can’t begin to imagine the conflict Ethan feels at having to overthrow his father from the throne. He might have increased his odds of defeating the tyrant with his training, but I’m afraid his kind heart will make him falter.
“You are ready to face the King of Mountains, my prince.” Jihun nods solemnly at him.
“Ethan.” I grip his forearm. “Shim Duna said something else important. Invincibility is a power the Kingdom of Mountains bestows on its chosen king. I think your father lost that power when you gained it. He can bleed.Thatis his illness.”
“Even if that’s true, the King of Mountains still has immeasurable powers.” A conflicted frown settles over Ethan’s face. “Even if hecanbleed, I don’t know ifIcan make him bleed.”
“Youhave immeasurable power,” Jihun reminds him. “Just moments ago, you enclosed the entire eastern wing in a dome of gi. You’ve mastered your magic.”
“The magic we know of,” Ethan corrects him. “There are powers I haven’t even discovered yet. I know in my gut that I have more.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there. For now, remember that you have more than enough magic to defeat the tyrant king. Do not second-guess yourself. I have every faith in you, my prince.” Jihun claps Ethan on the shoulder, then rises to his feet. “I’ll make preparations for tonight.”
“Will you be able to reach our spy in time?” Ethan asks, standing up as well.
“I can only hope.” Jihun offers him a ghost of a smile. “We have everything in place. We’re just moving things a little ahead of schedule.”
So theydohave a plan. I sag with relief.Thank gods.I can get the details later. For now, I’m just glad we aren’t winging the whole damn thing. With a good plan, we might even not die. But I shouldn’t get ahead of myself.
“Thank you.” Ethan returns his smile. “I truly appreciate your guidance, Captain.”
“I gave Ben my word—” Jihun’s eyes widen with something as close to panic as I’ve ever seen from him.
“Ben?” I jump to my feet and close in on him. “Benjamin Lee?”
“Did you know my brother?” Ethan stumbles back a step.
“I’m sorry.” Jihun holds up a hand. “Now isn’t the time—”
“Like hell it isn’t,” I growl. “We’re about to leave on a suicide mission. There might notbea better time.”
“Very well.” Jihun pauses to glance at our faces, worry marking twin grooves between his brows. “Benjamin Lee was ... my bonded brother.”
Ethan’s breath stutters next to me, and I demand, “What does that mean?”
“It means that we were bound together by a blood oath, the most powerful kind of spell in existence.” Jihun’s eyes stay on Ethan. “Ben and I shared a bond that allowed us to speak to each other through our minds, even from two different realms. We exchanged knowledge freely, sometimes unconsciously.
“And we were able to sense each other’s emotions in a rudimentary way, where bursts of simple but intense emotions passed involuntarily through our connection. In many ways, we lived our own lives but lived through each other as well.”
