Her soft, warm hand smooths my hair, and she hums a pretty tune she used to sing to coax me to sleep. But there are tears in her voice. Why is Mother crying?
As I fall asleep, I realize she didn’t answer my question.
CHAPTER THIRTY
“Sunny.”
My eyes feel like they’re weighed down by bags of sand. My human eyes. I must’ve shifted back at some point. It’s for the best. My gumiho needs her rest.
“Sunny.”
Even in my sleep, I hear the urgency in his voice.Ethan’s voice.I strain to open my eyes and manage to flutter my lashes.
“Thank gods,” Ethan cries and crushes me against him. “I’m here, Sunny. Come back to me.”
“Is she awake?” Jihun asks, his voice solemn.
“Not yet.” Ethan rocks me back and forth in his arms. “But she tried to open her eyes. She just needs time. She’s going to be okay.”
“Of course she’ll be okay.” Hailey sounds like she’s holding back tears, with mixed results. “Do you think she can handle a journey to the Kingdom of Sky?”
“I have chocolate,” Jaeseok volunteers.
“The gi of the realm might help her heal faster,” Jihun adds.
“No, she’s not strong enough to endure the Gray Void,” Ethan says, to my great relief.
I donotwant a dunk in the gray gunk right this moment. Or any moment for that matter.Wait.How does Ethan know about the Gray Void? Has he been to the Realm of Four Kingdoms? Or is it from his mother’s memory? Either way, the man has a shit ton of explaining todo. But I’m beginning to understand that he might not know all the answers.Oh, Ethan.I try to open my eyes again. I manage a twitch this time.
“Why is her face all twitchy?”Therethey are. Our teen dragon.
“It’s a good thing.” Ethan brushes his lips against my temple. The corner of my mouth twitches this time. I swear I’m not imagining those lips against mine. “Every movement means she’s fighting to come back to us.”
“We can’t stay here for long,” Jihun says even more sternly than usual. What’s up with him? “It’s not safe.”
“Do you think she killed Daeseong?” Hailey sounds nasally. She must’ve lost her battle against tears.
Good question. I wait for someone to answer. To my great surprise, it’s the dragon that speaks.
“Nah. Heaven Lake is legit deep. If you go deep enough, no amount of light will reach it. I bet he dove for the bottom when the really old fox lady—”
“Sunny,” Hailey interrupts.
Thank you.And that is why she’s my friend. Wait, I have a friend? That’sright. I have friends now.
“Yeah, okay. Whatever. WhenSunnyunleashed that light thing, that creepy old dude dove to the bottom of the lake.” Superpowered teenage sarcasm drips from their words. “So it’s an L for you guys.”
“And it’s a W for you?” Jaeseok laughs. “Like it or not, you’re with us, kid. If it’s a loss for us, it’s a loss for you.”
“Bruh.” There is so much to unpack in that single word.
“Gods, you’re going to be fun to have around, aren’t you?” Hailey gripes.
Sounds like the dragon spirit is sticking around. Well, that’s good. It’s not healthy for a teenage dragon to live all alone in a deep, dark lake. Especially with a demented dark shaman waiting to room with them. And it’ll make asking for a couple of their scales less awkward if we’re friends. There I go again. How many friends am I going to make?
“I’m just glad I won’t be the most annoying one in the group anymore,” Jaeseok says with a contented sigh.
“So youdoknow you’re annoying,” Hailey teases.
