“I think it’d be best if we all sat down for this.” Hailey hurriedly sets out seat cushions in a circle.
“Thank you,” the Judge of Tenth Hell murmurs to her in that dark, sexy baritone of his.
I can’t make out his expression behind those black sunglasses, but color floods Hailey’s cheeks before she spins away from him.
Ethan and I sit down, and he slides my seat cushion—with me on it—so close that I might as well be sitting on his lap. I roll my eyes but press up against him. He brushes his lips against my cheek with a low chuckle, and I get hot all over.
Gods, it doesn’t take much, does it?
While I lust after my husband over a peck on the cheek, everyone takes a seat in the circle. Jihun sits to Ethan’s left and nods at the two of us, and my chest constricts. I was so drunk on happiness I didn’t once think about how Jihun must feel. He seems ... fine, but this can’t be easy on him. He just has his poker face mastered.
I don’t know what to do—how to make him hurt less—so I offer him a sorry excuse of a smile. And he awards my awkward olive branch with a fleeting quirk of his lips. I swallow, tasting salt in the back of my throat. He is such a good friend.
“I believe we’re as ready as we will ever be.” Ethan nods at Minju, who sits across from us, with Jaeseok and the Queen of Sky on either side of her. “Tell us. How do we defeat the Amheuk?”
“With the Cheon’gwang.” Minju stares down at her rumpled skirt.
“Which is impossible.” Ethan frowns. “It sacrificed itself to stop the Amheuk during the Endless War.”
“The Yeoiju is a remnant of the Cheon’gwang ...” Minju’s soft voice dwindles into silence.
“Exactly.” I have no idea where this is headed, but I don’t like it. “The Yeoiju isonlya remnant of it.”
“A remnant”—the historian aims an apologetic grimace at me—“with the potential to becometheCheon’gwang, the true force of light powerful enough to subdue the Amheuk.”
“Become the true force of light?” Ethan asks, his voice dangerously soft. “Have you forgotten that Sunny and the Yeoiju are inseparable?”
“Of ... of course not,” Minju stutters.
“Your Majesty.” Jihun puts a hand on Ethan’s arm. “Please allow her to explain.”
From their expressions, everyone in the circle, except me and Ethan, already knows what she has to say, and none of them likes it. Dread creeps down my spine, and Ethan plants a protective hand on my back.
“I ...” Minju wrings her hands until they turn bright pink.
“It’s okay.” Jaeseok covers them with his own. “Take your time.”
She nods and takes a big breath. “In Santorini, Sunny defeated the darkmudangby absorbing the life force of nature.”
“But th-that doesn’t work in this realm,” I protest, interrupting her again. “I could barely draw anygifrom the Kingdom of Water. The Kingdom of Mountains was a little better, but nature’s life force in this realm does not compare to that of the Mortal Realm.”
“There’s a reason for that, Sunny.” The King of Underworld rubs his forehead. “It’s because nature’s life force has been sucked dry in the Realm of Four Kingdoms.”
“Taeyoung,” Bora gasps.
“We are asking her to risk everything to save this realm,” he persists. “She has a right to know the truth.”
“I agree. We must tell her.” The Queen of Sky holds Bora’s gaze until the younger female nods haltingly. “Magic is the foundation of the Realm of Four Kingdoms, and we need moregithan we can produce to fuel our magic. For generations, we have been siphoning nature’s life force for our own consumption.”
My blood pounds in my ears, and I barely register Ethan stiffening next to me.
“That can’t be true. The Kingdom of Mountains would not have stood for it.” Ethan shakes his head slowly. “We respect nature. Nurturing it is the only way to foster life forallbeings.”
“The Kingdom of Mountains capitulated when your father took the throne.” The Queen of Sky sighs. “He wanted more power, and he was a male used to taking whatever he wanted. That is why Dangun, the god of Mountains, abandoned the Realm of Four Kingdoms.”
My breath comes in short pants. First, the Gray Void, and now,this? Is there anything not tainted in this fucking realm?
“How could I not have known?” Ethan frowns down at his hands. “I would have seen this in my mother’s memories.”
