“Unbind me, you self-righteous prick,” I snarl, thrashing against the binds.
With his jaw set, he lifts me off the ground as though I weigh nothing, his arms like iron bands across my upper back and beneath my thighs. When I buck against him, he tightens his grip on my body and holds me close to the wall of his chest.
“Stop struggling.” His tone is terse, as though he’s fast losing his patience. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
I go limp in his arms as fury overtakes logic and all my hesitation dissipates. Iwillfind Ethan. I close my eyes.I am gumiho.Blessed ornot, I can take the suhoshin in my spirit form if I move faster than he can bind me. I’ll knock him around a bit, then tiehimup—how would he likethat?—until he’s willing to take me to Ethan. But nothing happens. Panic flashes through me.I. Am. Gumiho.I glance down at my scrawny five-feet-tall human body. What the fuck? Why can’t I transform?
“What did you do to me?” I turn wide, frightened eyes on the suhoshin.
He gazes straight ahead as he marches us out of the cave. “I’ve restrained your magic as well as your body.”
“I willkillyou.” I have hidden my magic for over a century, but it has always been my choice. To have my magic suppressed against my will is a ... violation. “You have no right. I amnota fugitive.”
“No, you’re not. But you are under my protection.” He finally glances down at me. “And I will not let anyone—including you—interfere with carrying out my duty.”
“I don’t know what the fuck you’re talking a—” My words die on a sharp intake of breath as Jihun’s wings flare and we take off into the sky.
I fight against the instinct to squeeze my eyes shut as the ground grows farther and farther away. My arms remain tied to my sides, so I can’t even cling to the suhoshin’s neck. With no magic to help break the fall, I’m dead if he drops me. I’m at his mercy, and I hate it. I hatehim.
If only looks could kill. I glare at him until my eyeballs hurt, but he won’t even meet my eyes.Coward.Why is he doing this? Why is he suddenly obsessed with protecting me? Something flickers at the edges of my mind.
Ethan’s words ring in my head—solemn and commanding.Protect her.
Is that why Jihun risked his life to save me? Is that why he’s kidnapping me? Or, as he liked to call it, “taking me somewhere safe.” But why would he obey Ethan as though it were his ... duty? It can’t be ...Shut up, shut up, shut up.I don’t want to know. I just have to figure out a way to get away from the suhoshin and find Ethan on my own.
I take a fortifying breath and glance around me. We are very, very far off the ground. And Jihun seems to be headed toward the highest peak of a distant mountain. There’s something odd about the clouds surrounding the mountain. They shimmer and shift as though they’re glamoured to hide something. But no one is powerful enough to glamour an entire mountain. Not unless you’re a god.
But the air thrums with power as though the life force of thousands—no, tens of thousands—of beings of the Shingae are gathered in one place. Fear spreads like frost from the back of my skull to the base of my spine. Something isn’t right. There is something unnatural about this power.
“Are you taking me to the Suhoshin headquarters or something?” I quip to hide the nerves shuddering through me. “Do you guys all live together in one house, fighting over who gets to use the bathroom first? Oh, do you use your super-guardian skills to track down the roommate who ate your last strawberry yogurt?”
A huff of surprised laughter escapes his lips before he schools his features into cool indifference. “Breathe. Holding your breath makes it much worse.”
“Makes what wor—”
The suhoshin tips his body and plunges toward the mountain. My lips part on a silent scream as he descends fast enough to make my ears pop. My body reacts without my consent, and I end up with my face buried against his neck. And as far as I can tell, we’re still careening to our deaths.
My stomach shoves itself into my throat, and I hold my body tense, waiting for the impact. I only realize I’m holding my breath when my lungs start to burn. I force myself to breathe—with sharp little gulps at first, then I deepen my breathing with effort. But the asshole lied. It doesn’t make anything better.
I lift my head a bare inch but wish I hadn’t. Jihun is about to get us bashed against the cliff face. At the last possible second—my dangling feet skimming the mountainside and sending pebbles raining—hestraightens in the air and shoots toward the sky like a rocket blasting off into space.
The creepy clouds loom over us, and we head straight into them. At the speed we’re flying, I expect us to pop out into the open sky within seconds, but the clouds just close in on us, growing colder and denser.
“Jihun?”
My voice is swallowed up by the dense gray clouds. No, they’re more like gray water? Whatever it is, it’s cold, so cold, and it’s above us and under us—it surrounds us. There is no way out. The suhoshin still holds me close to his chest, but I know I’m drowning. My head spins in dizzying circles, and my eyes roll back.
“Breathe.” I feel Jihun’s warm breath against my ear. How is that possible? We’re underwater. “Breathe, damn it.”
I have to hold my breath. I’ll die if I breathe. My chest lurches, and my shoulders draw back as my body convulses—like invisible defibrillators are pumping electric currents through my body. But I’m not dead. My eyes fly open against the cold burn of the gray water. I listen for my heartbeat.
“Breathe, Sunny.” I feel strong arms tighten around me.
Then I hear it.Thu-thump.My heartbeat.Thu-thump.My blood pulses in my ears. I’m alive. But not for long. Not if I don’t breathe. I’m terrified to open my mouth. I don’t want to let the water rush into my body.Fuck it.I suck in a full breath ... and sweet, sweet air fills my lungs. I take great, heaving breaths.
“There you go.” I hear the relief in Jihun’s words. “Just keep breathing.”
The chilling lap of water recedes from my skin, and a warm breeze brushes against me. I sigh as the aching cold seeps out of my bones. I can finally breathe without effort, and my body feels like mine again. As my head clears, I realize we’re out of the clouds.
