Page 10 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

“Will you stop wiggling?” Hailey laughs.

“I’m not wiggling,” I say through gritted teeth, contorting my torso in an attempt to stop wiggling.

“Oh my gods.” She chortles harder. “You’re ticklish, aren’t you?”

“Don’t be absurd.” I am ticklish as hell. “Why is Minju making you draw all this shit on me anyway?”

“How would I know? She never tells me anything. Minju is so secretive about your lessons. She just said in a really serious voice that I had to memorize all these symbols and paint them on your back.” Hailey puts a firm hand on my bare shoulder to hold me still.

“But I have a theory. I think these symbols are arcane words of power. Depending on what they mean—I obviously can’t read them—they can either amplify or suppress your powers. Or do something else entirely.”

“Wow. That is so illuminating,” I deadpan.

“Don’t be a jerk,” Hailey admonishes mildly. “This is high, high magic. It’s way above my pay grade. Besides, Minju will explain everything to you tonight.”

The suhoshin cadets get one measly day off a month, and I’m spending it shirtless in Jihun’s study, getting weird-ass symbols painted on my back with cold ink and a brush made for torture.

I twist my torso in slow motion, trying not to squeak or giggle.

I will not giggle. I make a guttural, clicking noise in the back of my throat instead. Well, that’s new.

“If you don’t stop squirming, I’m going to have to redo this whole damn thing.” Hailey sounds dead serious.

“I’m not squirming.” My voice rises to a high-pitched yelp. “Get on with it.”

“I don’t know who is worse. Draco or Jaeseok,” Jihun mutters, sliding open the door to his study. “They don’t have a speck of common sen—”

Hailey stops the torture for one blessed second, and I glance toward the door. Jihun stands frozen with one foot in the study and the other raised midstep, just outside the door. He could be mistaken for a statue if not for his eyes, which roam over me.

I look down at myself. It’s not like I’m indecent.

I’m holding my black tank top against my naked chest. And I’m facing the side wall, so all Jihun can see is the outer curve of my left boob and some of my back.

I roll my eyes hard enough to see the top of my skull.

Guys. These shinbiin males are no different from the men in the Mortal Realm.

Their dicks are like idiot switches. When you turn them on, their brains shut down.

“Captain, do you mind closing the door?” Hailey says drily. “Some of us are half-naked in here.”

With an odd choking noise, Jihun spins away from us and slides the door shut.

A red flush creeps up the back of his neck above his fitted gray T-shirt, which accentuates his broad shoulders and narrow waist. My eyes drop to his dark jeans, but I snatch my gaze away before I notice how well they fit.

Who’s being an idiot now? I shouldn’t be too hard on myself, though.

The seraphim are renowned for their beauty.

It’s hard not to notice his otherworldly good looks.

Hang on. He’s wearing mortal clothes. He either picked out his outfit on a whim—I snort at the preposterous thought of Jihun having a whim, much less acting on it—or he plans to go to the Mortal Realm on official Suhoshin business.

I consider badgering him to take me with him—I haven’t been back since Las Vegas—but I quickly dismiss the idea.

I don’t have the bandwidth to endure the Gray Void.

But panic grips me by the throat as a different thought occurs to me. Is Jihun going to the Mortal Realm to track down Daeseong? Maybe the Suhoshin have already found the dark mudang. My heart pounds against my rib cage and echoes in my ears. Gods. I can’t do this. I’m not ready.

Then in my mind’s eye, I see Ethan standing under the silvery moon, determination in every line of his beloved face.

We have to defeat Daeseong. I fill my lungs on a slow inhale.

I can do this. Even if I’m scared, I can protect Ethan and my friends.

Even if I can’t master the powers of the Yeoiju, I will protect them.

“What are you ...,” Jihun sputters, still facing the sliding doors, and I jerk out of my grim thoughts. “Why is she ...”

“Half-naked?” Hailey finishes his question for him, then answers, “Minju gave us homework. This was the securest place to do it.”

“She can ...” Jihun clears his throat. “Sunny, you can use your old quarters at the Sunset Pavilion anytime you wish.”

“Good to know,” I croak huskily, touched by his generosity, but I quickly arrange my face in a grumpy frown. “Anyway, we have to finish what we started here. I’m not putting on my tank top before the ink dries. I’ll bash this table into little toothpicks if I have to do this all over again.”

“I’m with Sunny on this one.” Hailey groans. “We’ve been at this for almost an hour. I do not want to start over. My hand is cramping up.”

“Jihun?” I begin in an attempt to be both brave, to face my fears about Daeseong, and cowardly, to stall the tickle torture. “Are you going to the Mortal Realm today?”

He whips his head around in surprise, then turns back toward the door just as fast. “Why do you ask?”

That’s the shiftiest answer I’ve ever gotten from him. “Unlike Hailey and Jaeseok, you don’t wear mortal clothes for fun when we’re in this realm. Also, why are you stalling?”

“Minju asked us not to distract you until we have concrete news.” Jihun sighs.

My hands clench the tank top I’m holding against my chest, but I keep my voice nonchalant. “About Daeseong’s whereabouts?”

“Yes.” He doesn’t elaborate.

I’m getting tired of his evasion, and I refuse to talk to his back a moment longer. “Will you please turn around?”

“I’m comfortable as I am,” he says stiffly.

“For the love of gods.” I look up at the ceiling, praying for patience. “Do you or do you not know where Daeseong is?”

“I do not.” Then he finally relents and says, “But I am going to the Mortal Realm to follow a potential lead.”

What am I going to do if Jihun finds the dark mudang today? I take a shuddering breath. Whatever these symbols are on my back, they better fucking work. I need the power of the Yeoiju.

“It’ll probably be another dead end,” Hailey reassures me, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “We’ve had several leads sputter out already.”

I reach over and pat her hand in silent thanks. But there is no denying that I’m running out of time. Instead of worrying about things beyond my control, I need to focus on what I can do.

“Come on, Hailey.” I grit my teeth and steel myself. “Let’s get on with this.”

When she resumes her drawing, I squeak high and loud. I forgot how cold and tickly the brush was in my brief reprieve. And Jihun twists around in alarm, his longsword materializing in his hands.

“Easy, Captain,” Hailey says in a singsong voice. “There’s no danger. Sunny is just ticklish. Isn’t she adorable?”

“I’m going to kill you,” I whisper scream at her, embarrassment flooding my cheeks. Jihun withdraws his sword, his lips quirking in amusement. I narrow my eyes at him, and he wisely presses his lips into a flat line.

Then I remember I have to kill him as well for asking Captain Seo to train me one on one.

On the not-entirely-horrible side, the private training sessions have been honing my skills to a lethal sharpness.

Maybe I’ll let Jihun live another day. Besides, I get why he did it.

He wanted to prepare me for my death match with Daeseong. Why is my life like this?

“I’m a jeoseungsaja, remember?” Hailey teases. “Making death threats to a grim reaper is a bit precious, don’t you think?”

“Then I’ll settle for hurting you real bad,” I grumble affectionately.

But she should be scared of death threats. She has the power to escort the dead to the other side, but that doesn’t mean she can’t end up there herself. Grim reapers aren’t any more immortal than your run-of-the-mill shinbiin. They heal fast, but they can be killed.

“Will you be much longer?” Jihun takes a seat at the end of the conference table, as far away from us as possible. Then he angles his chair slightly so he’s not looking straight at us.

“That depends on Wiggly here. I’ll never finish if she won’t stay still.” When I inadvertently whimper, Hailey relents. “I just have two more symbols to paint. It’ll only be a few more minutes.”

I exhale in relief but immediately cringe and arch my back away from the cold tip of her brush. She growls, her fingers digging into my shoulder.

“Sorry. I’ll be still,” I say meekly. “Just finish already.”

“I think Sunny can use some distraction.” Hailey swirls the brush against my back.

Is she fucking with me? What arcane symbol requires swirling ? I’m tempted to use my tank top as a bit, but I don’t want to flash Jihun. I settle for sinking my teeth into my bottom lip till tears spring to my eyes.

“Why were you so worked up about Draco and Jaeseok earlier?” Hailey continues.

“You can ask them yourself.” Jihun wipes a hand down his face. “They’ll be here soon ... Shit .”

The suhoshin captain shoots up to his feet and rushes out of the study, closing the doors firmly behind him. I give Hailey a bewildered glance over my shoulder. She has a hand clapped over her mouth, and the one holding the brush wobbles precariously.

“Hey, careful with that.” I lean away from her so she doesn’t smudge ink all over my newly illustrated back. “What is up with Jihun?”

“I think he went out to guard the door.” Hailey snorts. “It might actually be a good idea. Jaeseok will probably pull up a chair to watch if he walks in on us.”

“And Draco will be traumatized.” I grimace. “Do you know how many times they told me that I’m really old ? To my face?”

“What? They’re seventeen,” Hailey protests with real indignation. Even though I don’t want friends, I’m going to have to keep this one. “You only look a year older than them.”

“They said my eyes look ancient,” I say glumly.