“With you in my arms ...” He trails off with a blush I can see even in the dark. “That might be more distraction than I can handle while wielding powers I don’t fully understand.”
That makes me smile even as the serpents fall in torrents from the sky. “Well, we’re going to have to make a run for it then. If we can get to the lake, we can moon shift out of here.”
“But the dragon scales . . .”
“Will be of no use to us if we’re dead,” I finish for him.
“What’s all this talk of death? A bit morbid, don’t you think?” Jaeseok says, levitating above our protective dome, bursts of fire streaking from his palms. “I would never let a beautiful female die on my watch.”
“I think her point was she doesn’t plan on dying.” Hailey walks out of the woods, whipping open a folding fan in each hand. The snakes freeze in her wake as she waves her arms in graceful arcs, sending blasts of ice from her fans.
“Save the bickering forafterwe rid ourselves of these slimy reptiles,” Jihun orders, his long sword flashing.
Yellow screeches and writhes against the tree as if the sword, fire, and ice are slicing throughhisbody. My eyes widen as I step up to the edge of the shield. The slithering minions are extensions of the assassin. That’s why he passed out when he summoned the snakes. He’s sending his consciousness into them. He feels what they feel.
“Jihun,” I shout. “We kill the snakes, we kill him.”
“With pleasure.” Lips pulling back in disgust, Jihun thrusts his palms out, and gusts of wind slam the scorched and frozen serpents into tree trunks, shattering them into black smoke.
As their captain obliterates the snakes into smoke, Hailey and Jaeseok redouble their fire and ice attacks. The trees sway from the gusts of wind Jihun summons, scattering even the black smoke into nothing. Soon, the rippling yellow mass on the ground disappears without a trace.
With the snakes disposed of, Jihun, Hailey, and Jaeseok run toward us. Ethan drops his arms, withdrawing the shield. I feel him sway, but he catches himself before I reach out. As the suhoshins reach us, he stands tall as if projecting the shield hasn’t drained him.
“Are you okay?” Holding me by the shoulders, Ethan scans me from head to toe, fear and fury warring in his eyes. When he tries to turn me around to check for hidden injuries, I shake his hands off.
“I’m fine.” I bite my tongue to stop myself from asking if he’s okay. But I scanhimfrom head to toe from beneath my lashes.
The assassin’s bloodcurdling shrieks steal our attention. We turn to him and watch with grim satisfaction as he disintegrates into yellow dust at the base of the tree. Ethan stretches his hand out, and the silver axe rips from the tree trunk and flies into his hand.
With a collective gasp, the suhoshins each drop to one knee and bow their heads to Ethan. “Your Highness.”
Ethan’s gaze flies to me as I stagger back from the group. Before I can respond to the plea in his eyes, he turns back to the bowed heads of the guardians. He fists his hands at his sides and swallows. “You may rise.”
Of course.Of course.This is what I’ve been hiding from. This incontrovertible proof that Ethan and I can never be. The Kingdom of Mountains isn’t a fairy tale. It exists in the Realm of Four Kingdoms—as real as the Kingdom of Sky, where I spent nearly half of a moon cycle. The golden axe and the silver axe are real, meaning the crown of gold twines and jade leaves is real too. And Ethan can wield the legendary axes, which means he is destined to wear the crown. He is destined to rule the Kingdom of Mountains.
“Sunny.” He looks at me with his familiar brown eyes—the silver-and-green fire extinguished. The undisguised yearning in them threatens to take my breath away. “Please.”
“You knew who he was.” I address Jihun, not ready to face Ethan. The suhoshin captain never lied to me. He already told me it wasn’t his story to tell. But still, I feel betrayed. “You all knew.”
“Yes,” Jihun says simply. Hailey offers me a wavering smile, and Jaeseok scratches the back of his head.
“You weren’t helpingme.” My words catch in my throat. The truth stings like a bitch. “You were helpinghim.”
“That’s not true. We—” Hailey protests.
“I don’t want to hear it.” I slice my hand through the air, fighting back my tears. I hardly knew them, but I foolishly let them in because it felt good to have someone on my side for once. I likedbelonging... and look where it got me. Aloneandbetrayed.
Not caring about anyone, forming no emotional attachments, was never just about protecting others, was it? It was about protecting myself too. And for good reason. People let you down. That’s what they do.Unless you get them killed first.I don’t know who I’m angrier with—them, me, or Ethan.
Lost in my thoughts, I don’t see Ethan approach until he’s standing in front of me. He raises his hand as if to touch me but thinks better of it. Smart move. I pointedly turn my head away.
“When’s the last time you’ve eaten?” he asks softly. “Let’s go back to Vegas. I’ll take you to Roxy’s.”
“You want to take me to Roxy’s? Right now?” My gaze whips back to him. “You can’t be serious.”
“We can order steak and eggs.” He ducks his head to catch my eyes. My traitor of a heart flutters. And my stomach growls. No, roars. A smile touches his lips. “And a liter of strong coffee.”
I ... bolt for the lake. It’s too much. If I listen to him, I might want to forgive him—I already understand why he didn’t tell me—and that won’t lead to anything good. He’s the ... What is he? The Prince of Mountains? And he’s destined to become the King of Mountains. In the Realm of Four Kingdoms. Where my mereexistenceis an insult to the Shinbiin’s sensibilities—tohispeople’s sensibilities. I can never be enough for him.
