Jihun still holds me tightly against him. I would never admit it, but his strength and warmth are reassuring after the ordeal with thegray water. Or was it the clouds that threatened to drown me? I’m not eager to find out.
I gaze around me. There is a clarity to everything I see, like someone outlined the world with a black Sharpie. The very air around us hums with gi—like a gong was struck in the distance and the air is shimmering with the reverberation. Brilliant stars as sharp as diamonds spill from the inky sky. And the crescent moon illuminates the night, leaving no room for darkness. And the clouds at our feet stretch on and on ...
The clouds ... at our ... feet.I look down. Jihun is floating so close to the clouds that his feet seem planted on top of them. But I don’t hear the rustle of his wings over his shoulders. No, he’s not floating—he’sstandingon the clouds.
My eyes dart to his face, and he meets my gaze with steady calm. Without breaking eye contact, he gently sets me downon the cloudsand takes a few steps back, like he’s trying to give me space.
“Welcome to the Kingdom of Sky.” Jihun bows his head with solemn formality.
Dread shivers down my spine, jolting through my shoulders and arms.Wait.I can move them. The binds. They’re gone.
“It is one of four kingdoms in this realm,” he explains.
What is he? A fucking tour guide? I don’t care where I am or what he has to say. I just know he has taken me far away from Ethan ... somewhere I know I can’t reach him.
“It’s where—”
My fist connects with his jaw, and he widens his stance to keep his balance. But he’s ready for my jab to his kidney, and his hand wraps around my wrist. My other fist flies at his face again but meets only air. Then his hand closes around my fist and forces my arm down. I jerk my arms, trying to free myself, and draw my leg back to knee him. He twists me in his grip and yanks me until my back presses flush against his front.
“This has been diverting, but we don’t have time for—” He grunts and stumbles back two steps, unable to hold on to me any longer ... the other me.
I spin to face him and growl low in my chest, my hackles rising like daggers ready to fly. I shift low onto my haunches, preparing to launch myself at him. I force myself to face my rage—to feel the pulse of violence in my veins. I will fight for the people I care about. And I will fight for myself. My nine tails swish back and forth in anticipation. I intend to lay him out on his back, with my claws at his throat, before he so much as raises his hand to bind me again. I charge toward him in a blur and leap into the air.
I crash to the ground hard enough to make my head ring. Who knew clouds were as hard as cement? I shift to stand, but something forces me back down. Twelve seonnam soldiers surround me in a circle, tightening a silvery net over me. The soldiers are outfitted in traditional Korean armor but in a dark-blue material with pinpricks of light shimmering across it—it looks eerily like they are wearing the midnight sky.
Confused—no, terrified—I snarl, baring my sharp teeth at the seraphim soldiers, my eyes burning green. Their wings of wind rustle as they shift nervously on their feet, but they don’t loosen their grips on the net.
“Captain,” a deep, booming voice calls out in Korean. While the male only appears to be in his early thirties, the commanding tone alone marks him as someone powerful. But his towering stature and the way he wears his midnight armor like a second skin make him undeniably formidable. Only a fool would want him as a foe. “What is the meaning of this? Why did you bring this creature of Mountains into the Kingdom of Sky? Trespassing in the realm is punishable by death.”
Creature?The slur raises shame and rage inside me, and I very much want to be the fool that calls this male my foe. I shift into my human form, and the soldiers startle enough to slacken the net. I sit up with my legs crossed in front of me, my hands lying loose and open on my knees. I cock my head to the side and stare at the powerful male until he meets my eyes. I hope the smile I offer him truly creeps him out.
“General, she seeks amnesty pursuant to the Code of the Realm.” Jihun steps in before I can open my big mouth. It’s the first time I hear him speak Korean. He sounds even more stern and formal. I’mannoyed that it works for him. But what the hell is he talking about?I’mseekingwhat?
“Amnesty?” The general’s eyebrows rise. “Is that why she was trying to rip your throat out? To seekamnesty?”
“That was a matter of private dispute.” Jihun coughs into his fist, hiding a ghost of a smile. My eyes narrow on him. Did he find ourprivate disputeamusing? “Pursuant to the code, any and all beings of the Shingae may petition to join the Order of the Suhoshin.”
“And they may seek amnesty in any kingdom of the realm for the duration of their training and participation in the trial,” the other male finishes. “You do not need to instruct me on the code, Captain.”
“Of course not, General. My apologies.” Jihun stands with his hands clasped behind his back in due deference, but there is steel in his voice. “May I present to you the Suhoshin’s newest recruit, Cho Mihwa.”
THE SEONNYEO AND THE PRINCE
Long ago in the days of old, a lovely seonnyeo—an angel of the heavens—and a handsome prince lived in the Realm of Four Kingdoms.
The seonnyeo was full of laughter and spirit, sometimes too much for her poor widowed father to bear. She loved her home with the sun and the moon, the clouds and the stars, all within hands’ reach. But the beauty of the Kingdom of Sky was fleeting—slipping through her fingers every time she reached for it. She couldn’t help but long for the majestic nature of the Kingdom of Mountains. She wanted to feel the green, vibrant life of the mirrored lakes and soaring mountains against her skin, visceral and real.
The Prince of Mountains didn’t appreciate the lakes and the mountains of his home. He took the bounty of the Kingdom of Mountains and the privileges of his birth for granted. No, he did not cherish all that he had, only lamented what he lacked. Nothing was ever enough. He wished for greater wealth. He wished for untold power. He wished for a beautiful wife who could give him both. But no maiden in the Kingdom of Mountains could live up to his ideals. And with the feud between the four kingdoms, the prince could not find a wife in any other kingdom.
One day, an enchanted deer running for its life asked the prince for refuge, promising to grant him one wish in exchange. Eager with greed, the prince hid the deer from the hunter, saving its life and sealing the bargain. He then told the grateful deer that he wished to wed the daughter of the most powerful seonnam in the Kingdom of Sky.
Too late, the deer saw the endless hunger in the prince’s heart, but there was no undoing the bargain. It told the prince that on the night of the fullest moon, a seonnyeo would visit the Kingdom of Mountains. She would bathe in the lake at the peak of the highest mountain. And if the prince did exactly as the deer instructed, he could claim his heart’s desire.
So on the night of the fullest moon, the prince hid among the woods at the highest mountain and waited impatiently for his unwilling bride. As he grew weary of the passing hours, he vowed to hunt down the deer if its promise proved false. But deep in the night, an ethereal seonnyeo descended from the Kingdom of Sky, her wings of wind caressing the surface of the mirrored lake.
After a furtive glance around the lake, the seonnyeo quickly disrobed and entered the lake, until only her milky shoulders remained above the water. With her back to the woods, she washed herself, humming a haunting song echoed by the wind and the leaves.
Beguiled by the seonnyeo and her song, the prince watched and listened with tears raining down his cheeks. Maybe winning the seonnyeo’s heart would be ... enough. But his gnawing hunger for more shattered his fragile dream of happiness. He would never be content with her love alone. The prince wanted her family’s wealth and power to bolster his own. With an angry swipe of his arm, he dried his tears and remembered what had to be done.
