Page 34 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

I jump down from the main hall, my heart pounding in my throat, and rush toward Jaeseok. Heat radiates from the rune on my back, and I barely stop myself from shaking him by the shoulders. “Is Ethan okay? Where is he? Tell me.”

Captain Seo takes a firm grip on my arm and maneuvers me out of the dokkaebi’s face. “Let’s give him a little room, shall we?”

“The prince will be okay.” Jaeseok rubs a hand down his face. “He took a dagger to his back, but it didn’t hit any major organs. And he started healing as soon as they pulled out the dagger.”

“How the hell did this happen?” I roar, fiery bloodlust wrapping around me. “Weren’t you and Draco supposed to make him a protective vest?”

“They haven’t had much time,” the captain says steadily. “Sunny, remember your lesson. Think. Don’t let the word of power control you.”

I take a shuddering breath and draw my mind away from the pulsating heat of the rune. Jaeseok and Draco have had less than twelve hours to work on the vest. More importantly, Ethan is okay. We have time to figure everything else out. That means I need to calm the fuck down.

“Jihun was guarding the prince because the vest wasn’t ready.” Jaeseok sounds exhausted. He must’ve stayed up all night, working on the protective armor. “If he wasn’t there, it would’ve been a lot worse.”

“Sorry, Jaeseok.” A shiver runs through me as the heat dissipates from my back. “Where is Ethan now?”

“General Bak made a big stink over it, but Jihun thought it best to bring him here.” He shrugs. “I mean, the assassin got to the prince at the general’s estate. It makes sense for us to move him where we can guard him better.”

“Did they catch the assassin?” I ask over my shoulder, already walking toward the east wing. It’s the securest place on the estate.

“Yeah, they caught him.” Jaeseok hisses a frustrated sigh, matching his stride to mine. “But this one unfortunately killed himself as well.”

“Come on,” the captain says from my other side. “Captain Song will have more information.”

We find Ethan and Jihun in the newly rebuilt study. Ethan is wearing his hanbok with the jeogori open at the front. I see the white cloth bandage wrapped around his chest and nearly lose my shit again. Think, Sunny. He’s sitting up, and his coloring doesn’t look too bad.

“What? You haven’t healed yet?” I quirk an eyebrow at him to hide my relief.

“Nearly.” Ethan waves a dismissive hand at the bandage. “I just didn’t want to get blood on another shirt. It probably stopped bleeding already.”

“Don’t get cocky now.” I sit down next to him at the conference table. “You were sloppy enough to get hurt in the first place.”

“An assassin threw a dagger at my back ,” Ethan protests. “I don’t have a rearview mirror mounted on my forehead.”

“Not a dagger.” Jihun holds up three fingers from across the table, and I belatedly notice the bandage around his biceps. “He threw three daggers at you.”

Ethan glares at him. “You’re not helping.”

“So you flung yourself in front of the other two daggers?” I squawk at Jihun, then turn to Ethan. “Did he fling himself in front of the other two daggers?”

“Yes.” Ethan sighs. “He leapt into their trajectory, swinging his sword to block them. But the daggers were already too close, and one sliced him in the arm.”

“Now that is sloppy.” I glare at Jihun, both grateful that he protected Ethan and pissed that he got himself hurt.

“The assassin was fast,” Jihun mumbles sheepishly, then a shadow crosses his face. “Gods, he was just a kid.”

“A ... kid?” Captain Seo looks stricken.

“Yes, even younger than Draco,” he says, anger sparking in his eyes. “The Suhoshin have a file on him. He’s a street urchin turned pickpocket. The kid had the fastest hands in the Kingdom of Sky. We’re lucky his aim wasn’t as good.”

“That poor kid,” Ethan whispers. “He looked so scared.”

“He takes care of his grandmother, who isn’t doing well, and his younger sister.” Jihun’s hand fists on the table. “The Suhoshin tried to help him, but he was too proud to accept our help. We should have tried harder.”

“The King of Mountains and his underlings are recruiting desperate commoners—poor folks who need to provide for their families.” I grit my teeth, fighting my anger and grief. This problem needs cold logic, not bloodlust. “But why the suicides?”

“I don’t know.” Ethan wipes a hand down his mouth, his fingers digging into the sides of his face.

“The kid ... he said he didn’t want to die, but before I could tell him he didn’t have to .

.. he swallowed something, some kind of lethal poison.

He was gone too quickly for us to even try to help him. ”

Ethan is hurting. Ben died in his arms before he could do anything to save him. I have to stop myself from reaching out for him, tightening every muscle in my body.

“The king must be threatening these people with their families. They have to either succeed or die. If they come back alive, the king will make their families suffer,” Captain Seo says with clipped anger. “They are forcing the assassins to kill themselves so we won’t be able to question them.”

“But they made some mistakes this time around.” I cross my arms over my chest. “The assassin was recruited in the Kingdom of Sky, which confirms the spy is nearby. And I presume the daggers had the same trace elements as the arrowhead?”

Jihun nods. “Minju is analyzing the daggers to be sure, but there’s no other explanation for how the dagger pierced the prince.”

“And whatever poison the kid ...” My voice breaks, and I dig my fingers into my upper arms. “The poison must have left traces in his body. If we find the source of that poison, it might lead us to the spy.”

“And there’s the person who can get to the bottom of that.” Jaeseok tilts his chin toward the sliding doors as Minju and Hailey rush into the study.

The historian bows distractedly at Ethan before taking a seat at the table, with Hailey at her side. She blinks owlishly as all heads turn toward her. “What?”

“We would like to hear what you found out,” Ethan answers patiently. Even a few weeks ago the Prince of Mountains would’ve demanded the information, but my Ethan’s warmth and kindness seem to have smoothed the ragged peaks of the prince’s pain and anger. “About the daggers and the poison.”

“Of course.” Minju straightens in her seat. “As expected, I found traces of what we presume is Dangun’s tombstone in the daggers. But my findings on the poison are not as straightforward.”

“How so?” Jihun rests his forearms on the table. “Is it a common poison that anyone can acquire?”

“No.” Minju shakes her head. “The opposite. It is only used for a singular purpose, and it is almost impossible to acquire.”

Jaeseok purses his lips. “What kind of poison only has one specific purpose?”

“Sayak,” the historian says.

“ Sayak? ” I draw back in shock. “You mean the poisonous elixir used during the Joseon Dynasty? The Kingdom of Sky still has capital punishment?”

“Unfortunately, yes. It’s the only kingdom in the realm that hasn’t repealed the antiquated law.

The old guard apparently make progress virtually impossible in the Kingdom of Sky.

” Hailey continues more gently at my horrified expression.

“For what it’s worth, the elixir is prepared with an analgesic and sedatives in addition to the lethal poison, so it’s supposed to be quick and painless. ”

“Well, the assassin only took the lethal-poison part of the sayak, so it was quick but not painless,” Minju corrects, earning a death glare from Hailey.

“Was it arsenic?” I ask, the arcane rune pulsing on my back.

“No, that’s what the humans used. It takes something stronger to kill the Shinbiin.

” Minju taps her chin with a finger, clueless that my bloodlust is dangerously close to surfacing.

“It’s the root of a rare plant even deadlier than doksacho.

Only the royal physicians know where to harvest it and how to process it. ”

“Sunny, I know this is upsetting, but the Kingdom of Sky isn’t utterly hopeless.” Hailey sends me a worried glance. “There haven’t been any executions for over a hundred years.”

“Exactly.” Minju slams her palms down on the table, and Jaeseok jumps.

“Even a royal physician wouldn’t have ready access to the poison because it’s been so long since sayak was used.

Any poison from a hundred years ago would have lost its potency.

And processing the poisonous root is a long and arduous process.

It can’t easily be hidden, especially if you’re a royal physician residing in the Celestial Palace. ”

“But if anyone could have gotten their hands on the poison, it is the royal physicians,” Captain Seo murmurs.

“It doesn’t make sense, though.” Jihun rubs his temples. “Why would the spy use a poison that might expose them?”

“It’s guaranteed to kill and kill fast.” Minju confirms my suspicion.

“The spy wanted to make sure the boy died before he could talk. They’re becoming reckless because they’re afraid of being discovered.” I exhale slowly, fighting my fury, and force myself to think. “Besides, the spy might not be a royal physician at all ...”

“Just someone close to one,” Ethan says, finishing my thought. “Their connection to the physician must be tenuous enough for them to risk using that poison.”

“Even so, they might try to tie up loose ends—” Captain Seo gasps and pushes to her feet. “They’re going to kill the royal physician who provided the poison. We need to find them before it’s too late. Lieutenants?”

Hailey and Jaeseok are right behind her as the captain heads out of the study. I’m torn between chasing after them and staying close to Ethan.

“He’ll be safe here,” Jihun assures me.

“Are you sure about that?” I ask archly. His eyes narrow into intimidating slits, and I cock an eyebrow at him in challenge. “Both of you are bleeding.”

“She has a point.” Ethan grins wryly at Jihun and turns to me. “We’ll be extra careful. We wouldn’t want to risk your wrath.”

“No, you wouldn’t.” I glare at both of them to show I’m dead serious. “Look out for each other.”

I run out of the study and catch up with the suhoshins heading for the Celestial Palace. I tighten the belt around my dobok and put both males firmly out of my mind.

It’s time to kick some spy ass.