“Thank you for bringing the cavalry.” Jihun sweeps Cheyun into his arms, and she emits a tiny squeak. He steps right back, but a rosy blush stains her cheeks.
“Like I said, Sunny is the one who convinced the King of Underworld.” She tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then clears her throat. “I just showed them the way.”
“Then thank you for showing them the way.” I tip my head. “As for Sunny, we’ll thank her when she comes back.”
“Yes.” Captain Seo averts her eyes as a shadow mutes the quiet joy on her face. “You can thank her when you see her again.”
My stomach dips, then ripples with nausea. Something is wrong, but I don’t have the guts to question her about it. Instead, I tell Jihun, “We have to send for the generals.”
“They won’t get here in time,” Jaeseok interjects, coming back to stand next to us. “General Im just ordered our soldiers to cover all the water surfaces inside Shinsi.”
“Why?” My brows pull low. “I thought troops couldn’t moon shift in mass numbers.”
“No, but theycanin small clusters.” Jihun crosses his arms. “The longer we hold them off, the more likely General Bak is to risk moon shifting his soldiers into the capital. Even if he’s sending them to their deaths.”
“I’ll go to the generals to bring them up to speed,” Jaeseok offers without hesitation. “I’ll shift from here using a bowl of water, then you can dump it out as soon as I’m through.”
“You won’t be able to come back here until the fighting stops.” I don’t like the idea of splitting up the Sentinels more than we already have.
“Then the generals and I will have to make quick work of it.” Thedokkaebigrins incorrigibly. “If I eavesdropped correctly, the Kingdom of Underworld’s army will strike the enemy forces from the west. General Im will hold them off at the walls, here in the south. SoGeneral Jo and General Hong will have to close in on them from the north and the east.”
“They might not have enough forces to cover that much ground,” Jihun points out.
“Then they should concentrate on hitting hard from the north.” Captain Seo taps her finger to her chin. “Hopefully, the troops from the Kingdom of Water will be here in time to box in the enemy from the east.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Jaeseok turns to leave.
I stop him with a hand on his shoulder. “Be careful.”
“You too.” Then he meets Jihun and Cheyun’s eyes. “All of you.”
“Let’s go find you that bowl of water.” Jihun claps Jaeseok on the back, and they walk away together.
“Lieutenant Cha will be fine,” Captain Seo says in a quiet voice. “He is more competent than he lets on.”
“Yeah, I know.” I rub my forehead with a half smile. “Are Minju and Draco with Sunny in the Kingdom of Water?”
“No.” The captain stares at the ground and breathes a shuddering sigh. “Draco ...”
When she doesn’t go on, I wrap a hand around her arm and turn her to face me. “What is it, Cheyun?”
She finally meets my gaze, her eyes glassy with tears. “Th-they died.”
“What?” My voice is barely above a whisper, but she flinches. I realize my fingers are digging into her arm, so I drop my hand to my side. “Sorry. But what ... did you say?”
“Daeseong killed them,” she rasps, her tears spilling over. “They died protecting Sunny.”
“No.” I stumble back a step, then another, like I can run away from her words. “Please no.”
It doesn’t seem possible. Draco dead? The surly teenager with a soft, kind heart? The magnificent azure dragon spirit? They had so much life. How could it have been snuffed out so early? They were just a kid. A good kid.
“I’m so sorry.” She runs the back of her hand across her eyes. “Sunny and Minju laid them to rest at Heaven Lake.”
They are really gone. I lock my knees so they don’t buckle under me. They gave their life to protect Sunny.
Thank you for protecting her, kid.
“Draco will get a kick out of being remembered as the Cheonji Monster.” My chuckle turns into a broken sob, but I press my fist against my mouth and clamp down on my grief. I can’t fall apart in front of my soldiers. I need to lend them my strength, not burden them with my sorrow.
