What’s making it so faint? Is it the Amheuk?
Even though it is diminished, thegiof Water trickles into me until the sword of light glows against my thigh. And after what feels like an eternity, white light shines through the dark tentacles, disintegrating them into specks of black ash.
The Shin’gwangdo dims in my hand, and I quickly sheath it. There isn’t enoughgito light it again.
Air. I need air.
I swim toward the portal with the single intent ofbreathing. I don’t know what I expect to happen when I get there, but I’m getting there. My head spins, and black edges into my vision, but I keep jackknifing my legs. The portal shimmers like a mirage in the water.
I’m so close.
But the Amheuk rises behind me like a gargantuan whale, and it swallows the bottom half of my body. Anguish twists through me until I can’t feel my legs anymore. I can’t hold my breath anymore. I can’t ... fight anymore.
I’m sorry, Ethan. I love you.
My last gulp of air spurts out of me, bubbling in the water, and my eyes slide closed. But two strong hands grab me by my armpits and haul me toward the portal.Two disembodied hands.I must be hallucinating.
Then I land on my back with a thump—Is this a wooden floor?—and the shock has me dragging in a heaving breath.Shit.But instead of the rush of salt water I expect, I breathe in sweet, sweet air.
Before I can sigh in relief, I flip onto my stomach and vomit a gallon of water, then I proceed to cough up my lungs.
“Stop that ruckus,” a grumpy voice mutters, while a warm hand pats my back.
I inhale slowly through my nose to stifle my coughs before I crack a rib. Then I push my torso off the floor with one arm and struggle to my knees. The same hands—They were real—help me sit up, then lean my back against the wooden pillar.
“What in the world is going on?” Keeper Bae, the owner of the two lifesaving hands, barks at me. “What was that beast in the water? And why didn’t one of the Kingdom of Water’s keepers open the portal for you?”
I hold up a finger, asking for a minute, then scoot a little away from the pillar. I take a deep breath, then ram my left arm and shoulderagainst the pillar. My shoulder slides back into the socket with a pop. I grit my teeth against the pain, stars sparking behind my eyes.
When I can see straight again, I finally face the keeper.
Gods, do I have to say this again?
I almost wish I had another dislocated shoulder to reset. Anything to stave off the bomb I have to drop. But Keeper Bae—who just saved my ass—deserves an answer. I sigh past my raw throat.
“The Kingdom of Water lost both of its portal keepers to the Amheuk, Keeper Bae. The eternal darkness has breached the Realm of Four Kingdoms.” No matter how many times I say it, the reality of the nightmare still jars me.
And the stunned keeper falls on his ass, his mouth opening and closing.
“It’s attacking the Kingdom of Water, and their dome won’t hold for much longer,” I soldier on. “You have to allow their people to come through the portal. The Kingdom of Sky has to grant them asylum.”
“Of course,” Keeper Bae says without hesitation, making me do a double take. “While I don’t have the authority to grant them asylum, I can at least help them through.”
“You don’t mind that they don’t have proper documentation?” I gape at him.
“Do I look like a monster to you?” Keeper Bae scowls at me. “People’s lives are at stake. Who cares aboutdocumentsat a time like this?”
“I’m going to regret saying this”—I scowl right back at him—“but I like you.”
The keeper blinks, then bites his cheeks. If I didn’t know better, I would think he’s holding back a smile. I tuck my chin to my chest to hide my own smile.For fuck’s sake.With a sharp shake of my head, I clamber to my feet.
Keeper Bae rises with me, his arms loose at his sides. But I have a feeling those lifesaving hands are ready to catch me at the first sign of unsteadiness.
“I have to go back,” I pant, winded from just getting off the floor.
“Go back?” He yells directly in my face, but I let it go, because now I know he’s a softy deep down. “Backtherewith thatthingtrying toswallowyou whole? That was the Amheuk, wasn’t it?”
“Yes,” I answer truthfully.
