I rake my fingers through my hair, then grab a fistful in a punishing grip. We can’t seem to get a fucking break. We need to get back out there.
“I’m grateful for General Im’s efforts.” I release my hair from my fist and force myself to take a calming breath. I can’t afford to lose my shit right now. “How are our forces in the northwest and southeast quadrants doing?”
“They are faring better than the northeastern division, but not by far,” Hailey reports. “They don’t have the numbers to overpower the enemy from behind. The best they can do is buy the capital some time.”
“I will not sacrifice them to buy us time.” I clench my jaw. “We need to tell General Jo and General Hong to retreat.”
“I don’t think they know the meaning of the word.” Jihun meets my gaze. “The Queen of Sky is our only hope.”
“The Queen of Sky?” Hailey’s round eyes shoot toward him.
“You heard right.” I quickly bring her and Jaeseok up to speed on our adventures this morning. “If General Bak indeed poisoned her, that means the queen opposed this war until the end.”
Jaeseok’s uncharacteristically grim face brightens by a fraction. “So once she wakes up, she can order the Kingdom of Sky’s army to withdraw.”
“Ifshe wakes up,” Jihun corrects.
“Shewill.” I glare at my wet blanket of a royal adviser. “She has to.”
“Maybe all she needs is a little encouragement from a former idol.” Jaeseok puts on a brave smile and shifts his body in a casual half dance, subtle yet masterful.
I laugh under my breath. It’s not hard to believe he used to be in a Korean boy band. He certainly has the looks and the moves.
“I thought your band broke up even before you debuted,” Hailey teases.
“The hype about our debut already made us famous.” Thedokkaebiwinks. “But the mystery behind our breakup made us legendary.”
“I hope the breakup had something to do with you returning to your actual duties as a suhoshin.” Jihun sounds as dry as the desert.
Even the crushing weight of my responsibilities—of my potential failure—feels lighter with the Sentinels by my side. They are the family I chose. The pain of my grandfather’s betrayal pales in comparison to the strength each of them lends me.
“Let’s head to the walls.” I head out of my chambers. The Sentinels have never let me down, and I don’t plan on letting them down.
“But Your Majesty—” Hailey begins.
“Don’t bother.” Jihun stops her mid-protest. “Have you ever known our king to put his safety first?”
With Jaeseok guiding us, we moon shift to a well at the edge of the capital. My eyes widen as we approach the chaos at the wall. Night has fallen, but the sky is lit an eerie orange from the fires burning outside the capital. Foot soldiers run to and from the wall, transporting cannons and catapults, and archers line the top of the fortification.
So this is what a war looks like.
The scene is horrifying yet surreal, like my mind took a step back to distance itself from the promise of violence.
“Have you heard from Captain Seo since the last message?” I ask in a low voice when Jihun comes to stand at my side.
“No.” A muscle jumps in his jaw. “And not knowing where they are, it’s impossible to send them even a short message from our end.”
“Gods.” I wipe a hand down my mouth. “We can’t have them just walk into ... this.”
“Sunny and the others are smart and resourceful.” Jihun squeezes my shoulder. “Being dropped into the middle of a raging war isn’t ideal, but they can handle themselves.”
“I can’t argue with that.” Even so, my hands twitch at my sides, ready to pull her into my arms—to keep her close, to keep her safe.
I raise my eyes to the orange sky. The soldiers of the Kingdom of Sky are seraphim. Although Shinsi stands at the top of a mountain, there are no trees tall enough to hide the walled city from the sky.
The enemy will attack from the air, but beings of Mountains are faster than our winged foes. We can shoot them down before they breach the wall—more often than not. This will be a bloody battle for both sides.
“Who are those soldiers behind the archers?” I ask Hailey.
