Page 100 of King Foretold
Daeseong gasps and drops the little boy, alive and unhurt—not in response to my plea but because he has lost interest. He is much more interested in what he sees on my palm.
I’m thrust into the air again, and the pain in my back makes stars spark behind my eyes. I scream, and the white light blinks out.
“Where is it?” He wraps an invisible hand around my throat and lifts me higher off the ground. He squeezes as though he’s going to rip out my voice box. “Bring it back.”
But I can’t breathe. It hurts so much. My eyes roll back.
He shakes me by the throat. “Bring it back!”
“Let her go.” A deep, rumbling voice thunders in my head, and warm hands snatch me out of Daeseong’s grip, taking him by surprise.
“You’re okay, Sunny.” Someone wraps their arms tightly around me.
“How is she okay?” The deep voice growls. “Her fucking back is broken.”
“She’s going to be okay.” The other person, a female, speaks with calm certainty.
I drift in and out of consciousness as silver light glows around me. Slowly but miraculously, I hurt a little less and feel my legs twitching beneath me. As the pain recedes even further, I realize that Minju is holding me atop a dragon’s back as we circle the sky above Daeseong.
The silver glow of the historian’s healing spell gradually dims, and her arms slip from my body. Spurred by pure instinct, I catch her before she falls off Draco’s back. The agony in my back has quieted to a deep ache, but I still hiss in pain when I bear the brunt of Minju’s weight in my arms.
“Sorry, sorry.” She comes to and quickly straightens away from me. “I’m fine.”
“What are you guys doing here?” I demand, delayed shock jolting through me. “Ethan needs your help.Thatis your sworn duty as his royal guards.”
“Jaeseok and Captain Seo went to his aid, but I’m not much use in a battlefield,” Minju says quietly. “I hoped I could be of help to you here instead.”
“AndI’mnot a royal guard.” Draco glances back at me with their sullen dragon eyes. “I’m not even a suhoshin, soIget to decide wheremyduty lies.”
“You’re right, kid. Thank you. Both of you.” I don’t fight it anymore. I’m so happy they’re here. “Shit.”
My heart ramming into my ribs, I whip my head around every which way and see the dark mudang doing the same thing below us. “Why hasn’t he shot us down?”
“Don’t worry. He can’t see us,” Minju says. “The invisibility spell should hold for a few more minutes.”
I sag in relief, then jerk back up.
“Daeseong is keeping the humans captive in an underground archaeological site down there.” I grip Minju’s arm. “He’s threatening to collapse the roof and kill them all if I don’t hand over the Yeoiju.”
“Sunny, you can’t . . .”
“I know.” I squeeze the historian’s hand reassuringly. “I need you to get those humans to safety while I distract Daeseong.”
“I can peel the roof off and fly them out,” Draco says.
“The humans are unconscious—” I begin.
“We got this, Sunny. You worry about Daeseong.” Minju summons a short sword that looks eerily like my hwando in a sheath made of blue dragon scales. “Here. You’re going to need this.”
I nearly fall off Draco’s back. “I ... is that the sword of light?”
“What gave it away? The dragon-scale sheath?” the teenager says sardonically.
“Watch it, brat.” I smack their back and reverently accept the sword of light from Minju.
“I’ll go wake up the humans.” Minju smiles guilelessly. “See you soon.”
Before I can wonder at her premature farewell, the historian jumps off the dragon’s back, drawing a yelp from me. But I belatedly remember that she’s a seonnyeo as she flies gracefully down on her wings of wind.
