Page 35 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

I’ve said it once, and I’ll say it again.

The Celestial Palace is creepy. Something about the life force shimmering inside it feels off .

And now that I know about my unique affinity for perceiving gi, it’s not as easy to wave it aside as paranoia.

Even my gold-medalist avoidance muscles aren’t up for the task.

“Where are we going?” I catch up to Jaeseok, who trails a few steps behind Captain Seo and Hailey.

“The royal apothecary,” he says. “I doubt we’ll find our physician conveniently hanging out at the apothecary, but there are plenty of lower-ranking personnel who might point us in the right direction.”

My stomach drops when we arrive at the apothecary to find it surrounded by a horde of palace guards. Captain Seo holds out a glowing white emblem to the guards at the entrance, and they immediately come to attention.

“Have you come to investigate the murder, Captain?” one of the guards asks. “I wasn’t aware the Suhoshin had been notified.”

“Of course they have. A murder in the Celestial Palace is a serious matter,” Captain Seo says smoothly, without outright lying.

The Suhoshin had to have been notified of the palace murder, even though the captain didn’t come in response to it.

She arches her eyebrow with enough disdain to make the guard pale.

“Do you plan on letting me through to do my job?”

“My apologies, Captain.” He and the other palace guard hurriedly step aside, and Captain Seo and the rest of us march in as though we own the place.

I can’t get over the opulence of the palace grounds. The hanok buildings in the apothecary stand under sloping tiled roofs and arching eaves that glow like the liquid gold of dawn. Even the wooden lattices of the doors and windows are stained in every shade of the sky.

We pass a large courtyard, where various apothecary personnel huddle nervously in corners while others sit in the main hall, staring blankly into space.

Then we walk into the regal pavilion housing the main apothecary.

The medicinal herbs hanging off the rafters, their musky scent infusing the air, send a wave of nostalgia through me.

My mother was a gifted healer, and much of my childhood revolved around gathering and drying herbs.

Several officers stand questioning a weeping group of uinyeos in apron overcoats and rectangular fabric headwear.

But what catches my attention is the body on the ground in a shadowy corner of the apothecary.

She is—was—also a nurse like the ones being interviewed.

She looks so young and small. I kneel down next to the body, and a scowling officer heads toward me.

But he halts and comes to attention when Captain Seo raises her identification emblem.

“Did you sweep the area?” she demands.

“Yes, Captain,” the officer answers crisply.

“Finish interviewing the witnesses in the courtyard,” Captain Seo orders. “My team and I need privacy to conduct our investigation.”

I don’t hear the rest of the conversation as my ears start ringing.

The uinyeo was poisoned by ... She still holds an intact jumeokbap in her fist, with one bite taken out of it.

The rice ball has crumbled pieces of roasted seaweed in it, and—I lean down to sniff it—it’s seasoned with toasted sesame oil.

Dread runs down my spine. I’m overreacting.

Jumeokbap is a popular on-the-go meal and snack.

Just because Hana brought me rice balls once doesn’t mean she has anything to do with this murder.

But my face goes numb with shock when I see the edge of a sage green fabric peeking out of the uinyeo’s apron pocket.

I slowly tug the handkerchief free and run my fingers over the embroidery in the corner. Lilacs. Hana’s favorite flower.

“No,” I breathe. “It can’t be her.”

“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 getting soft ? 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.

“For fuck’s sake.” 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 of Law & Order . Either way, I have to catch Hana before she lands herself in more trouble.

“Will you stop running?” 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 for the 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.

“What ... what do you want?” Hana is shaking hard enough for her teeth to chatter.

“Why did you run?” the captain asks instead of answering, but my roommate’s eyes stay glued to mine.