Page 9 of King Foretold (Realm of Four Kingdoms #2)

“Ow.” I shove his hand away, tucking my chin into my chest to hide my smile.

“When I’m not busy twiddling my thumbs”—Ethan ducks his head to catch my eyes—“Jihun and I are figuring out a way to bring the King of Mountains to justice before General Bak wages his war.”

“Oh thank gods.” I sag with relief. I have no idea if that’s even possible, but I’m glad they’re trying. We have to stop the king and the war. For Ethan’s sake. For everyone’s sake. “Any luck?”

“Nothing concrete, but we have a spy in the Shinsi Palace, where the king resides.” He lowers his voice even though there is no one else around. “Her latest message said the tyrant was ill.”

“Ill?” I try to remember the last time I was sick, and I can’t. I’m like the Shinbiin. I don’t get sick. “How can he be ill? Maybe she meant he was hurt ... Can he be hurt? Or is he invincible like you?”

“We don’t know the details yet.” His brows furrow. “We’ll find out more soon. But if the king really is sick, then we might have a fighting chance of overpowering him.”

My stomach drops. I’ve been so preoccupied with the Yeoiju and Daeseong that I didn’t fully grasp what lies ahead for Ethan.

Maybe I deliberately looked the other way because it hurt to think about him at all.

Worrying about him and his future, so soon after Heaven Lake, would have wrecked me, but there is no avoiding it now.

To fulfill his destiny of becoming the King Foretold without an all-out war, Ethan has to defeat the King of Mountains face to face and overthrow him from the throne.

How? With his magic unbound, Ethan is more powerful than I could ever have imagined.

But until he masters his powers, he has no chance of defeating his father.

How will he be ready before General Bak wages war against the Kingdom of Mountains?

I’m not going to burden him with my worries. I have to trust he has this since I can’t both push him away and be there for him. My heart clenches. That’s the hardest part—not being able to comfort him and lend him my strength.

“Okay. Keep me posted,” I say brusquely, but the next words slip past my lips before I can stop them. “And don’t do anything stupid without me.”

“But I can do stupid things with you?” He presses his hand on the small of my back and leads me to the nearby tree. Then he tugs me down next to him, and we sit with our backs against the trunk. “How’s your cadet training going?”

“Let’s just say I miss my shitty job at the casino.” I let him turn the subject away from his murderous father. “But this dobok is a step up from that tiny sparkly dress I used to wear.”

“I don’t know ...” His gaze lingers on my body. “I kind of liked that dress.”

“Perv,” I tease, hoping the night hides my blush.

“Hey, that’s not fair.” His wounded expression is fairly convincing. “It’s not my fault you look fetching in everything.”

“Did you seriously use the word fetching ?” I crinkle my nose at him even as I blush harder.

“What? Not a fan?” Ethan shrugs his broad shoulders. “I thought it more polite than hot as fuck .”

“We’ve never been polite to each other.” I shift in my seat, heat spreading through my body. “I see no point in starting now.”

“Agreed.” He laughs softly, and my heart mimics a baby bird attempting to take flight. “And how’s your ... other training coming along?”

“Other than my magic gi goggles?” My shoulders droop. “Absolutely nothing. But Minju thinks my connection to the Yeoiju is growing stronger. Whatever that means.”

“Give yourself some grace.” He nudges his knee against my calf. Where we sit side by side on the ground, his legs stretch on way longer than my puny ones. “Not everyone can claim to have magic gi goggles.”

“Actually, no one can,” I mutter morosely. “Extra special, remember?”

“How can I forget?” Ethan tugs my head onto his shoulder. “You’ll figure it out. You always do.”

I want to lean on him and let him tell me everything will be okay. But what good has that ever done?

“I better get going.” I hop to my feet before I change my mind and swat dirt off my ass, but I don’t step away.

Turn around, Sunny. Leave.

“I’ll walk you back.” Ethan scrambles up next to me.

“Why would a fancy emissary escort a humble cadet back to the barracks?” I cock my eyebrow, even though I would give anything to spend more time with him. “Besides, how do you know I’m not moon shifting back?”

“I doubt they have bowls of water outside the barracks to make sneaking in and out easier for the cadets.” A muscle jumps in his jaw. “But if I’m wrong and you can moon shift back, I won’t be able to accompany you.”

“Why not?” I frown at his obvious frustration.

“Grand—” He curses under his breath. “General Bak is adamant that I don’t use my magic.”

“What?” I breathe. Ethan’s magic is much too powerful to leave untrained. He needs to master his powers for his safety, as well as the safety of others. And ... oh gods ... if he can’t master his magic, we have no hope of stopping the King of Mountains without a war. “Why the fuck not?”

“He’s worried my magic trace will reveal that I come from two life sources,” Ethan says with a heavy sigh.

How can anyone discern Ethan’s two life sources if I’m the only one with gi goggles? The traces left behind by beings of the Shingae are more like fingerprints than DNA samples. They allow you to identify a person, not analyze their genetic makeup. Something doesn’t seem right.

But I nod as though I’m convinced. “He doesn’t want your cover blown.”

“Yeah,” Ethan mutters.

I let my gaze trace the lines of his features.

I can’t imagine what he must be going through.

If he can’t defeat his father—if he can’t stop the war—Ethan will blame himself for every life lost. He must be drowning in helpless anger and frustration.

But his relationship with his grandfather is so new, so precious, even I wouldn’t want him to endanger that by opposing the general outright.

“Hey.” I tap the tip of my shoe against the tip of his. “Did you know you were a miracle?”

“A miracle?” He side-eyes me.

“Yup,” I chirp in an awkward attempt to cheer him up. “Apparently, it’s basically impossible for beings of two different life sources to have a child together.”

“Ah that.” He shrugs with a bittersweet smile. “ Basically impossible isn’t the same as impossible.”

“Wait.” My brows draw together as I come to a belated realization. Shinbiins from different kingdoms are forbidden from marrying each other. “How did your parents ...”

“My father trapped my mother into marriage.” Ethan grits his teeth. “And no one dared to stop the King of Mountains.”

I clap a hand over my eyes. “Why can’t I say the right thing for once?”

“I love everything you say.” He tugs down my hand, the corners of his eyes crinkling. “I would give anything to spend a day with you, listening to the things that come out of your mouth.”

“You’re such an idiot.” I give him a tremulous smile, and his gaze drops to my lips. The heat and yearning in his eyes make my breath hitch in my chest. Before I do something very foolish, I squint up at the sky. “It’ll be dawn in a few hours. Wh ... what are you doing up so late anyway?”

“Shit.” He cringes. “I promised Draco I’d stop by tonight, but I wanted to make sure everyone was asleep before I left.”

“Why? Have you not told General Bak about our lovable dragon shifter?” I cock my head to the side. “Don’t you trust your grandfather?”

“I trust him with my life,” Ethan answers without hesitation. “But I’m not taking any chances with yours.”

“Mine?” I draw back in surprise.

“No one outside our core group can know about the Yeoiju. You’re already in danger from the Jaenanpa in the Mortal Realm.

” He shakes his head wearily. “If someone here finds out, it’ll only be a matter of time before every power-hungry shinbiin in the Realm of Four Kingdoms will be after you too. I can’t risk that happening.”

“And we can’t explain Draco’s presence without explaining that we need to meld their dragon scales with the sacred ashes in order to forge the sword of light,” I murmur, thinking out loud.

Then we would have to explain why the Seonangshin entrusted me with the sacred ashes—why I have to be the one to defeat Daeseong.

“You’re right. We can’t risk more people finding out about the Yeoiju.

Not until I figure out how to wield its powers without killing myself. ”

“Exactly.” Ethan’s lips press into a grim line. “Even the Council of the Suhoshin doesn’t know the full extent of our mission against the dark mudang.”

“But shouldn’t they know that Daeseong plans to unleash the Amheuk from its prison beyond the abyss?” I glimpsed into the dark mudang’s tortured mind at Heaven Lake. I saw what he intended to do. “Darkness will devour the worlds if he succeeds.”

“The council can’t help us. No one can.” The moonlight casts harsh shadows across his somber face. “ We have to defeat Daeseong.”

I struggle to swallow, fear rearing its head again. “He escaped from Heaven Lake.”

“I know.” Ethan squeezes my arm. “But he went into hiding again. It means we still have time.”

“Sure.” I fist my hands to stop them from shaking. “We just have to unlock the mysteries of the Yeoiju and figure out how to forge the sword of light before the dark mudang gets bored playing hide-and-seek.”

“That about sums it up.” Ethan lightly chucks my chin. “No pressure, right?”

My laugh turns into a sob. “I hate this.”

“I know.” He pulls me into his arms and plants a kiss on the top of my head. “But in all fairness, you hate everything.”

“Dingus.” What happened to keeping my distance? I bring my hands up to his chest to push him away, but I ... don’t.

“Aww, my favorite term of endearment.” He chuckles, holding me closer.

Despite my best intentions, I melt against him with a helpless sigh.

And just like that, the air around us grows taut with electric tension.

Slowly, his hands smooth across my back, then run down my sides, his thumbs grazing the curve of my breasts.

My breath hitches as fire spreads across my skin.

But when his hand dips under my shirt and his fingers dig into the soft flesh of my waist, I come to my senses and stumble back from him.

“You know I was kidding about you asking for a tour, right?” I make a face, going into damage control mode. “I’ll be busy with my training, and you’ll be busy twiddling your thumbs. We don’t have time for distractions.”

“Don’t worry.” His smile holds both devastation and understanding. “I won’t bother you.”

“Cool.” Gods, I hate myself. “I’ll see you around.”

This time, Ethan doesn’t stop me when I run off into the night.