“Is your father well?” The words tumble out of her. “Is my son ... well?”
“Yes, he’s well.” I smile. “My father is kind, strong, and loving. He reminds me of you.”
“And you remind me of him.” She returns my smile. “Dangun has always been a good son.”
“I think ... I think he is a good father as well.”
“I am glad.” She sighs. “Very well. I am ready to leave you now. I long to see Hwanung.”
I nod, my throat working to swallow. I take a deep breath and call on the Yeoiju. Calm spreads through me, and my chest glows white. My grandmother places her pale hand against it. Then we close our eyes, our hearts aligned.
The four divine life forces flow into me like a gentle stream. There is no hesitation, no conflict. Only harmony. I absorb the last of my grandmother’sgiand fall to my knees.
“Goodbye, Granddaughter.”
I open my eyes in time to see her fade away. “Goodbye, Grandmother.”
The greengiof Mountains, the silvergiof Sky, the redgiof Underworld, and the bluegiof Water coalesce inside me until the whitegiof the Cheon’gwang flows through my veins and pulses around me. And it is done.
I am the goddess of Light.
Chapter Fifty-Three
Sunny
With a groan, I rise to my feet and look around the Donggul. The darkness is gone, but death still lingers in the graveyard of bones and skulls. The stranded souls have already been freed from the Gray Void, but their remains also deserve proper respect.
I float out of the Donggul to avoid stepping on the dead, then I set the entire structure on fire with a flick of my hand. Unease threads through me, even though I contained the white fire to the Donggul.
I shake off my worry. The fire will burn off once the remains are gone.
But as I turn away from the burninghanok, I sense Ethan’s life force rise with the force of a tsunami.
“What in the . . .”
Then, with a sonic boom, a protective dome closes around an enormous perimeter, including the Suhoshin headquarters—includingme.
Shit.
Something must have happened to put his protective instinct into overdrive. He’s in danger. They all are.
Ethan will die if he keeps the shield up for much longer—and the stubborn malewillkeep it up until I am at his side. I take off in adead run, searching for the epicenter of his magic. Once I locate him in my mind’s eye, I command time and space to do my bidding and take me to him.
I feel a slight tug, and I am there.
Ethan, the Sentinels, and the other three monarchs have retreated further into the Kingdom of Sky, and they stand just outside the walls of the capital. I quickly appraise the situation as I hover high above them.
The hands of Amheuk, along with the rest of its monstrous, humanoid form, have broken past the boundaries of the Kingdom of Sky. Its head is half-hidden beyond the clouds, but its vast body spans the horizon. The surface of its shadowy form churns and whips, coiled with serpentine strands of darkness.
Our friends surround Ethan in a semicircle, pouring their life forces into him. His protective dome—powered by thegiof all four life sources—is the only thing standing between the Amheuk and what remains of the Kingdom of Sky.
“I’m here, Ethan.” Love infuses the whispered words, carried to him by the winds. “You can rest now.”
He doesn’t look up—he can’t—but his shoulders sag with relief. He heard me. He knows I am safe.
“Taper off your life forces,” I say to the rest of my friends. And with a thought, I stand before them. “I’ll take it from here.”
Our friends withdraw their gi, one by one, but my stubborn husband maintains his shield.
