Page 58 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

“It’s not terrible ,” she says. “Captain Ha managed to gather the rest of the generals and enlisted many of the high officials to back Ethan, with more and more joining his side as we speak. It’s hard for anyone to deny that he’s the rightful King of Mountains when he’s forcing back a small army, wielding the legendary axes like they’re part of his limbs. ”

“Hailey.” I place a hand on her arm to get her attention. She looks down at me from two steps above. “I need to leave.”

“Yes, we have to get to the royal audience hall. That’s our rendezvous point.” She starts to turn away from me to resume climbing the stairs, when I gently squeeze her arm to hold her attention.

“No, Hailey. I have to leave the Kingdom of Mountains,” I tell her, my chest constricting. And never come back. “I have to get to the Mortal Realm. I know where Daeseong is, and I need to stop him before it’s too late.”

“We’ll tell Jihun, then you and I—”

“No.” I slice my hand through the air. “You can’t tell anyone. You and Jihun are Ethan’s royal guards. Stay here and do your sworn duty. Protect him .”

“I can’t let you go alone.” She presses her lips into a stubborn line.

I take a steadying breath and summon the light of the Yeoiju onto my palm. Hailey falls on her butt with a gasp and crab crawls up the stairs before she catches herself. I offer her a small smile. She knows she’s in no danger from me. I am her friend.

“Is that ...?” She gingerly gets back onto her feet.

“Yes.” That much is true. The next part is the lie. “I figured out how to wield the power of the Yeoiju. I can stop Daeseong on my own. I’m the only one who can.”

“Wh ... what do you need me to do?” Hailey asks, two grooves appearing between her brows.

“We need to divide and conquer. I’ll go kick the dark mudang’s ass into the abyss, and you stay here and get Ethan securely on the throne.” I shrug. Easy peasy. “I doubt that stray general will give you much trouble. He won’t have the conviction to truly risk his neck.”

I extinguish the light on my palm and hide my trembling hand behind my back. I might never see Ethan again. I might never see my friends again.

“Just help me find the gateway to the Mortal Realm in this kingdom,” I say casually. “I need to find the Gray Void.”

“Oh gods. How could I have forgotten?” Hailey takes me by the shoulders. “Sunny, you can’t go to the Mortal Realm. Minju never got a chance to erase the word of power from your back. The Gray Void will destroy you.”

“The rune has gone ... quiet.” I realize I’m not lying.

“I’ve gone through some intense shit since I got to the Kingdom of Mountains, but I haven’t felt the word of power flare once.

Maybe it has something to do with my ability to wield the Yeoiju.

” But I don’t believe the rune is gone, so I tell another lie.

“Maybe the dark power couldn’t survive alongside the gift of the Cheon’gwang. ”

“You can’t risk your life on a maybe .” Hailey shakes me a little.

“It’s better odds than impossible .” I pry her hands off my shoulders and grip them in mine. “I have to do this. I ... no ... we have no other choice. Please, Hailey.”

“The Gray Void sits outside the walls of the capital in every kingdom,” Hailey says in a sad, resigned voice. “I can take you there.”

“Thank you.” I give her a tight hug. “We need to go now.”

“Ethan and Jihun probably made good progress toward the audience hall already.” She climbs arduously up the stairs, as though her legs are weighed down with sandbags. “Hopefully, we’ll be able to sneak out of the dungeon without notice.”

It’s a cute sentiment, but a short-lived one. Because as soon as we step outside the hanok, we come face to face with the royal guard who guided us here in the first place. And a dozen soldiers stand behind him.

“They’re with the usurper,” he shouts, pointing at us. “Seize them.”

“Like hell you will, traitor,” I shout, summoning my hwando, hilt-side down.

“You sneaky little rodent,” Hailey yells at the same time, her crossbow materializing in her hands.

The traitorous guard stands back while the foot soldiers rush us.

Hailey shoots three arrows in the blink of an eye, felling three soldiers.

I spin away from a spear thrust at my chest—damn, they’re going for the kill—and sink into a low crouch, slashing the soldier behind his knee.

I drop another soldier with a shallow leg wound on my way up.

We lay out the dozen soldiers on the ground before the royal guard even has a chance to lower his arm, and the finger pointed at us crooks into a sad hook as he gapes at us. He tries to turn tail and run, but Hailey twists her wrist, binding and gagging him.

I grab him by the scruff of his neck and throw him into the dark hallway of the dungeon, closing the doors behind him. Even if he had the guts, he would never be able to find the tyrant, much less free him.

“Let’s go.” Hailey takes off in a sprint, and I follow close behind her. We edge along the palace walls until we come to an unmanned side gate. “The guards must’ve been called away. Hopefully, they were sent to assist the rightful king.”

Once we’re outside the palace grounds, she guides me through side streets and alleyways until we come to the main gates of the walled capital. A confused mob of people stands near the gates, with several grim-faced guards blocking their way.

“There will be no entering or leaving the capital until we receive further orders from the palace.” One of the guards raises his voice to be heard. “I repeat, no one enters or leaves the capital until further notice. Anyone who tries shall receive no mercy. Now leave. Go on.”

As we watch from the sidelines, Hailey’s lips pinch in annoyance. “All I want is one easy thing. Just one. Is that too much to ask?”

“Yes,” I deadpan, and my friend snorts.

“Okay.” She raises her eyebrows. “Do you want to do this? Or shall I?”

“You got so dehydrated from your last bout.” I purse my lips. “I’ll take the lead.”

“Aww.” She presses a hand to her chest. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” With a smile, I become my gumiho.

Hailey clamps her hands around my neck with zero hesitation, and I make a beeline for the closed gates.

With earsplitting screams, the people part like the proverbial Red Sea.

The guards bravely stand their ground for a few seconds before diving out of our way with alarmed shouts.

I rear up on my hind legs and ram open the giant, wooden doors with my front legs.

Then I take us outside the capital and run until Hailey pats my head.

“Okay, you can put me down.” She straightens and looks at me with a bemused expression when I stand before her in my human form. “I still can’t get over how quickly you shift between your two forms. Do you just say shift in your head? And boom, you shift?”

“It’s more like a sense of being .” I do my best to explain. “When I am my gumiho, I become her. It’s not so much a shifting of forms, but a shifting of consciousness.”

“So you . . . shift?”

“All right, smart-ass.” I laugh. “How far are we?”

“It’s just around the bend and over that hill.” Hailey hesitates. “I don’t like this one bit, Sunny. I don’t want to lose you.”

“I don’t want to lose you either.” I taste salt in the back of my throat. “That’s why I have to go. Because I don’t want to lose any of you.”

“I ... I can’t watch you go into the Gray Void.” Her tears fall freely.

“That’s okay.” I sniff and rub my nose. “I want you to go back to Ethan anyway. Tell him I’ll kick his ass if he gets mad at you for bringing me here. I would’ve come with or without your help. You just saved me some precious time and energy.”

“Be careful, Sunny.” Hailey hugs me, and I hold her tight. “Don’t die.”

“Ditto.” I pull away from her and spin on my heels, because I can’t keep my tears at bay. “Tell Ethan ... tell him ... I’ll see him soon.”

I become my gumiho and run toward the Gray Void, tears soaking the white fur of my face.