Page 52 of The Last Tiger

Eunji

I’m falling.

An eternity passes as I plummet through the whistling air. I don’t even scream.

For a moment, it’s only me and that infinite sky overhead.

Time slows. A memory comes to me. It’s the day Captain Nari brought our training cohort out to Mount Ito, the highest point in the area surrounding Adachi.

We were told it would be a standard hiking drill—but once we arrived, we found ourselves at a cliff overlooking the sparkling vastness of the Eastern Seas.

One by one, Nari lined us up at the edge of the bluff…and had us jump off.

My classmates said it was the most thrilling, terrifying experience of their lives. They learned to conquer their fears that day. They saw their pasts flashing before their eyes. They thought again of family members, friends, or lovers, and of what it meant to be alive.

As for me?

All I saw that day was the brilliant sky. It was filled with seagulls soaring overhead and all around me. I remember spreading my arms, feeling that I was as careless and free as they were, as I tumbled through the air, hurtling toward the sea.

Here, there is no empire. No Mother or Father. No tiger. No Seung, no Kenzo.

No decisions to be made. No regrets to be had, no duties to fulfill.

There’s only me and the sky.

Then I crash—

At first, I think, This is it , right before the water, centuries-untouched, slams into my body as hard as a sheet of ice. And then I’m submerged, and everything goes quiet.

In the dreamlike darkness, I hear soft voices, alien, inhuman, inexplicably beautiful. The sound reverberates all around me.

Is this death? I wonder. Mount Tangun is nearly twice the height of Mount Ito; no one could possibly survive such a fall, not even someone with Dragon ki.

A sudden brightness pierces through the dark.

I open my eyes to see the slack forms of Seung, Kenzo, and Jin floating in the sea.

Around us, the water itself glows a numbingly incandescent blue.

Little bubbles escape their slightly parted mouths.

Not too far off, I can see the tiger thrashing its paws about in the water, a silent roar escaping its jaws.

It all seems so far away. It seems almost…peaceful.

I don’t move a muscle. I just absorb the silence of the water, the cold sinking into my skin, the suspension of weight and time.

Enormous brilliant, sparkling ribbons flow around us, twirling and spinning through the sea like—

Like Dragon spirits.

They’re sea dragons, native to our area, distant cousins of the red dragon that gave me my powers in the empire. These creatures are three times the size of the ones that I once encountered in training at the Eastern Seas, and their color is more subtle and subdued.

As they circle us, the light begins to shine brighter; their song, louder. One of them turns to me, its massive head swiveling through the water. I marvel at its luminous scales, my mouth falling open.

The sea rushes in, and I begin to choke.

Then the dragon rejoins its siblings, whipping its tail into a frenzy, and I find myself being propelled by some force toward the surface of the water.

I break through, spluttering and coughing up salt and bile.

The scene comes into view—we’re in a massive ravine between the two sides of the split mountain, which has created two towering, jagged bluffs lining either side of the water.

Sunlight pours through one side, where the river opens out into the sea.

Seconds later, Seung’s head emerges from below the surface, followed by Kenzo, the two of them gasping wildly for air as they tread.

Jin flails her body wildly as she comes up. I realize instantly: She can’t swim.

As she slips below the surface of the water, Moonhee’s face flashes before my eyes.

Before I can stop myself, I swim rapidly toward Jin, grabbing her by the torso and pulling her up to the surface.

She whips toward me, staring at me with blazing eyes—

As we hear the deafening roar of the ships.

The four of us turn just in time to see dozens of Dragon battleships speeding directly toward us upriver from the sea, through the opening in the ravine.

“Spirits,” Seung gasps.

I blanch. At the helm of the first boat, I can just barely make out a towering figure standing staunchly. Suddenly I’m shivering, and not just because of the icy water that I’m submerged in.

“Where’s the tiger?” Jin demands, her head whirling left and right, wet hair clinging to her neck and across her face.

BOOM.

An ear-splitting explosion rings out. I hear the net soaring through the air before I see it.

“NO!” Jin screams as the net immediately closes around her. “No—”

The ships shoot forward and surround us.

Two enormous hands reach into the sea and grab me by the shoulders, plucking me out of the water and tossing me onto the wooden deck of a boat.

I swing my head to see Seung, only a few meters from me, on the same ship, facing a legion of soldiers alone. His soaking hair and clothes spread water to the deck, creating a puddle around his feet. Directly behind him, the tiger roars, ensnared in another net, as the soldiers haul her on board.

Seung grits his teeth. The soldiers step forward, surrounding him…

He raises his arms…

I watch in awe and disbelief as the soldiers—dozens of them—stop in their tracks, a shadow passing over their faces. They lower their weapons; tears wring themselves from their cheeks…

Seung is controlling them.

Him alone against a full battalion.

He raises his hands into the air as the wailing Dragon soldiers sink to their knees—

And then I see them—

The spears, tearing through the air from another ship—

“Seung, look out !” I hear myself scream.

I don’t know why I’m warning him. Just minutes ago, he was the one holding me captive.

But he’s still Seung .

Springing upward, I dash across the vessel toward him, colliding directly into his side just as a spear stabs into the deck where Seung stood only seconds before. The battleship rocks wildly, sending my stomach lurching as we tumble to the deck.

Roughly we scramble to our feet—

As countless soldiers crowd around us, weapons raised.

I peer desperately behind us, but there’s nowhere else to go. Four more ships have circled around our boat. Soldiers bristle at us from all directions.

And Jin and Kenzo are nowhere to be seen.

For now, it’s just me, Seung, and the tiger.

A hand squeezes my wrist—it’s Seung’s. His soaked hair is covered in salt. His cheeks are pallid, his lips pressed together. As we lock eyes, he nods.

I recognize that look on his face.

He’s getting ready to fight.

I freeze. I make no moves, toward or away from him. I silently plead with him to give it up—Seung’s ki may be strong, but he’d be a fool to think that he can take down the governor-general’s troops…We’re dead if he tries…

The soldiers move forward cautiously. Seung looks away from me. I glance back at him one more time as the soldiers advance toward us.

Spirits below. You know what my problem is? I just can’t seem to heed my own words.

I can argue with Seung till the sun burns out that he’s an idiot to try fighting against the empire…but at the end of the day, when it’s his and my lives on the line…

I can’t just watch him die.

I raise my fists—

And turn to face the Dragon Army.

What am I doing ? I’m making a terrible decision.

I’m giving up everything that I’ve worked for—

I’m—

I’m overthinking it.

It could be the sound of the wind, or perhaps more spears screaming through the air, but I almost think that I hear Seung cheer.

As the soldiers close in on us, our standoff quickly and abruptly descends into chaos.

Suddenly weapons and fists pummel us from everywhere.

I spring in front of Seung, letting instinct take over as I’ve been taught.

Behind me, I feel Seung’s palm against my back, and suddenly I’m hit with a blast of confidence.

A golden, hopeful feeling suffuses my body.

I can do this.

“Thanks,” I shout as I parry a soldier’s blow and push him back.

“That’s for saving me from being skewered,” Seung shouts back, over his shoulder.

“Just trying to keep your stupid face from being smashed in,” I yell. I deliver a sweeping kick to a soldier’s knees, tripping him.

“Got it,” Seung says, unconvinced. “Hey—behind you!”

Seung raises an arm, and a soldier beside me seizes up, holding his stomach, dropping his sword to the deck. Without another word, the two of us seamlessly swap sides. I pick up the fallen soldier’s sword and brandish it in front of me, forcing the other soldiers to step back.

I have to say, this might be the stupidest thing I’ve ever done, but we do make a pretty good team.

The soldiers pause in front of us, uncertain, as I continue to sweep the sword back and forth.

“Eunji,” Seung says beside me.

“Yes? Kinda busy here…”

“If we die right now—”

“We’re not gonna die right now,” I say. I hope it’s true.

Somewhere in the distance, a horn sounds. I don’t have the luxury to glance behind us, but I know that means more ships on the way.

The soldiers advance toward us cautiously.

BANG!

My chest pangs—just as a net descends directly upon us from above.

As the mesh begins to spark, I curse, gnashing my teeth.

The net weaving has been laced with an electric current; my vision flashes, exploding with stars, every bone in my body rattling with the force of the shock.

My screams mix in the air with Seung’s. I’m dimly aware of the tiger bellowing nearby, somewhere on the boat.

I lose sense of myself. I don’t know which is the deck and which is the sky.

I desperately try to tear at the material, but touching the wire only worsens the pain.

Finally, after an eternity, the net relents. I fall still, limp.

Seung is unmoving at my side.

It’s quiet on the deck.

My head pounds. I taste salt and metal as blood runs down the corners of my lips. There’s a singed smell in the air. Something small and cold hits my face. A drop of rain. My vision blurs as I stare loosely at the dozens of uniformed boots standing around me.

There are so many of them. Too many.

Then—in the corner of my vision, a hand appears on the edge of the boat.

Followed by a second one. I nearly cry out in relief as Kenzo hauls himself over the hull, his clothes dripping with salt water, his face pale with exhaustion.

Shakily he rises to his feet as the army closes in on us.

In the midst of the chaos and their hunger for the tiger, they don’t see the boy standing behind them.

Kenzo searches through the crowd, then stiffens when he sees me captive beside Seung and the tiger.

We’re surrounded and hopeless. Our eyes lock just as the soldiers close in.

“Help,” I barely manage to croak.

Kenzo looks about in panic. A strange, conflicted look passes over his face. His jaw twitches.

I’m sorry, Kenzo mouths. And then something else. Is it I can’t ?

THUMP. THUMP.

Two heavy feet plant themselves onto the soaking deck beside us. The soldiers’ boots shuffle quickly to rearrange themselves, making way for someone. An impossibly tall, fearsome figure strides forward, the soldiers parting around him.

“Show me their faces. I want to see who we’re dealing with.”

I wince in pain as a soldier’s thumb and finger seize my chin, twisting my face up toward the figure.

It’s Governor-General Isao. Spirits.

Isao leans down, appearing above us with a disapproving grimace on his face.

More Dragon soldiers march after him down the plank from a neighboring boat, tossing a barely conscious Jin onto the deck beside us.

She’s still entangled in her own net, her skin ashy, the tips of her hair singed. She groans, then falls quiet.

Isao moves his gaze down toward me, mild surprise flashing over his face as he recognizes me.

“Is that who I think it is?” he muses.

He pauses.

“The youngest Yamamoto daughter. It is you.”

The general looks dumbfounded.

A thought occurs to me.

I could still save myself. I could tell Isao how I traveled across the country to capture the tiger for him, for the empire. How I tracked down Seung and Jin and thwarted them at the moment of truth. I could still save my family. Save my honor. Become a Tiger Slayer.

I swallow, the saltwater taste burning my throat as it goes down.

The image of those soaring seagulls passes through my mind. That day, as I fell down from Mount Ito, I had nothing resting on my shoulders. I was as free as those birds.

True power comes from making your own choices, I hear Nari saying.

“How did you get here?” The governor-general prods the edge of my sleeve with his salt-crusted boot. He’s puzzled.

I press my lips together, defiant.

Just behind the crowd of soldiers, I manage to make out Kenzo’s form, unmoving. Watching.

General Isao looks around, takes in the tiger, me—the fugitive. I can see the twinkle in his eyes. How convenient.

Then the general turns, finally noticing Kenzo behind us.

At that, Kenzo’s shoes scrape across the battleship deck toward us. I can hear his teeth chattering.

My chest fills with an impossible hope. I beg him silently: Please, do something . Anything to get us out of here.

Kenzo turns. He raises his hand to his forehead in a salute.

Then he falls to one knee. I lose sight of his face.

But I can hear his words, clear as anything.

“Sir, you came just in time. I tracked these fugitives through the colonies. They have been trying to keep the tiger away from you. I followed them here and ambushed them. I made sure to stop them before they could accomplish their mission and do harm to the empire.”

Kenzo bows his head before General Isao.

“I found the tiger, sir,” Kenzo declares, his voice steady.

Isao raises an eyebrow.

“My name is Kenzo Kobayashi, sir. And I’m your loyal servant. I swear on my life.”

Isao’s eyes narrow. He turns back to look at me.

I groan, the injury to my body from the electric net beginning to take its full course. My eyes roll back in my head, and the light around me seems to fade as the ship glides on through the water.