Page 39 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

I spin around the empty pagoda, blinking away the halo left behind by the beam of light.

I rush to the railing and scan the woods on the off chance that Shim Duna is hiding behind a thick shrub.

No such luck. She’s really gone. I can’t believe I let her get away. The word of power flares on my back.

“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.

“How dare you 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 called consequence , 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 helped Hana because 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 is dead because of her.” I almost feel sorry for the keeper when his face crumples. “If you really loved Hana—if you really knew her—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 framing Hana, 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 like spirit 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 his back. 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’s training ?” 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.”

“Don’t touch ...,” Jihun says, but it’s too late. I’ve already laid my hand against it. It beats like a heart against my palm. “Are you ... touching it?”

“Yes,” I whisper, my eyes wide with wonder.

I press harder, testing its resistance, but there isn’t any.

My hand sinks through. The shield of gi is as thick as my forearm and slightly hotter than comfortable.

But the air my hand touches on the other side is cooler than the dome.

It’s warm, familiar—my heart clenches—and so fucking dear. I feel Ethan.

“What’s happening?” Jihun gingerly stretches one finger toward the dome, invisible to him. I gasp when he’s thrown back more than a yard before he catches himself by digging his longsword into the ground. The barest tip of his finger had touched the shield. “Sunny?”

“I don’t ... know.” I blink when the dome suddenly disappears. “It’s gone. The shield is down.”

Jihun runs into the eastern wing, and I follow close. We skid to a stop in front of the study to find Ethan bent over at the waist, with his hands planted on his thighs. His entire back is contracting and expanding as he fights to get air into his lungs.

“Ethan.” I rush to his side. “Are you okay?”

He holds out a wobbly thumbs-up even though he can’t lift his head yet.

“You might have overextended your powers, too soon after your injury,” Jihun says, concern drawing his brows together. “We should conclude your training for today.”

Ethan manages to tilt his head up and rasp, “I’m okay.”

“Like hell you are.” I throw his arm over my shoulders and bodily lift him upright. Then I drag him to the main hall and gently lower him onto the raised floor, propping his back against the wall.

“Sunny, I’m fine.” This time he manages to sound more convincing, his breathing quickly evening out. “Tell us what happened.”

I flop down next to Ethan, and Jihun climbs up the steps to sit across from us.

I can’t speak right away as everything that happened rushes back to me.

My sinuses burn, and I taste salt at the back of my throat.

Hana is dead. She was my friend. I watched her die a senseless death, then let the real spy get away.

“Take your time.” Ethan wraps his arm around me and pulls me close to his side.

I bury my face against his neck to hide my tears, and I let myself stay there for a fleeting second, no longer. I pull away and clear my throat. “There is no time.”

I take a shuddering breath and relay everything that happened at the royal apothecary and the Suhoshin headquarters in a detached, clinical voice.

I can’t let my emotions surface. If I do, I might awaken the word of power with the guilt and grief roiling inside me.

I don’t have time to wrestle with my bloodlust.

“I’m so sorry.” Ethan squeezes my hand, but I snatch it away, afraid of breaking down.

“Shim Duna seduced Keeper Choe, pretending to be Hana. She used him to open the portal for the hunter. And she used him to escape to the Kingdom of Mountains today.” I bang the back of my head against the wall.

“We caught up with her at the portal, but I had no idea how it worked. I don’t know how anything works in this fucking realm.

She opened the portal right in front of me and went through it before I could even figure out what was happening. ”

When I throw my head back toward the wall again, Ethan’s hand takes the brunt of the impact. I glower at him, but the tender concern in his eyes threatens to undo me. I hastily turn my head, only to meet Jihun’s understanding gaze.

“Fuck.” I strike my fist against the floor.

“This isn’t your fault, Sunny,” Ethan says.