Page 20 of King Foretold
Strength surges through me, and the small part of me that shrank away from the Yeoiju peeks out from its hiding place with curiosity and excitement. I don’t necessarily feel invincible, but I feel a little braver and a lot hopeful. I wonder if this is how Ethan felt when he came intohis powers. Then again, he’s always been brave, even without his magic. He was far from invincible when he put himself between me and danger time and time again.
“Are you still scared of wielding the Yeoiju?” The historian sheaths her knife, getting back to business.
“For the last time, I amnotscared.” And maybe Icando this. I can be brave like Ethan.ForEthan.
“Then take a seated position on the floor.” Minju claps twice in rapid succession, like an obnoxious PE teacher who says things likeDrop and give me twenty. “And close your eyes.”
I know the drill. I settle on my ass and slow my breathing, inhaling and exhaling through my nose. I quiet my mind and look inward. Well, it’s more like listening intently than looking. When you close your eyes, your consciousness is a vast darkness. You can’t reallyseeanything. But if you listen hard enough, thoughts, images, and emotions take form and solidify, taming the wilderness of your mind.
And I listen for the light within me. At first, I only hear the rush of my blood. I concentrate harder, my brows drawing together, until I hear a gentle hum, a soft chime, resonating deep inside me. My frown clears away as I recognize the sound.
It’s my Yeoiju calling me. And this time, I don’t shy away from it. I float toward it, weightless and fearless, a sense of calm stealing over me.
There it is.
The light glows serenely, chasing away the darkness of my consciousness. It isn’t turbulent, wild, and insatiable like I feared. It’s powerful but utterly at peace. I blow out a careful, shaky breath. In my mind, I cup the light in my hands, and my body mimics the movement. Warmth gathers in my palms and travels up my arms.
Minju gasps, and I open my eyes. White light, as small as a candle flame, floats in the cradle of my hands. My lips tip up in a smile of wonder. It’s ... beautiful. The light pulses in rhythm with my pounding heart, and the flame grows with every heartbeat.
Something tugs at my chest. It’s a question.Yes,I answer. My gi flows into the white light. It flows and flows. A shiver spreads from the base of my spine until my entire body quakes with it. My fingers grow numb, like they’ve fallen asleep, then my toes.
“No,” Minju screams.
I’m thrown into the air and land on my back with anoof. I lie unmoving as sensation creeps back into my body. When I finally blink open my eyes, I find a hole about the size of a basketball in the ceiling. Stars glint like gems in the inky sky.Yup.Jihun is going to kill me. What a waste of poetic genius.
“What happened?” Minju helps me sit up.
“I ... I don’t know,” I rasp past my parched throat, then I point at the hole in the roof. “Just to confirm, did I do that?”
“Yes, when you threw the flame into the air.” Minju dabs at my damp forehead with the ink-stained sleeve of her jeogori.
“Huh.” I feel woozy. I don’t remember chucking the flame, but I remember something else. “Why did you scream?”
“You turned really pale, then started convulsing.” Minju’s voice breaks. I take the hand still wiping my forehead and squeeze it gently. “I ... I’m sorry I pushed you so far, Sunny.”
“But it worked.” Everything is hazy. I can barely remember what happened after I manifested the white light.I manifested the white light.“I finally did it.”
“Yes, you did.” She nods thoughtfully. “Your tickle fetish aside, you might’ve been right about not getting the runes tattooed on your back. I didn’t think you would succeed on your first attempt.”
“Thank you?” I don’t bother telling her I don’t have a tickle fetish.
“To answer your earlier question ...” she continues, brushing aside my sarcasm.
“What earlier question?” I interrupt.
“You asked me what the runes werefor, but I only told you what theydo. The arcane words of power made your body stronger, but I usedthem to restore your self-confidence. They wereforhelping you get past your psychological barrier.”
“I don’t have a psychological barrier,” I mutter.
“Not anymore,” Minju says in all seriousness. “That’s why you no longer need the runes.”
“Good riddance.” Helpful or not, I still have a bad feeling about them. “What do they even say?”
“I still don’t understand what happened after you conjured the flame, though.” She doesn’t answer my question, her mind already five steps ahead. “Maybe you kept it alight for too long. Next time, we have to do this methodically and increase the time in five second increments. Like everything else, you need to train to become stronger.”
Minju draws a bound booklet out of her hanbok and waves her hand to summon a brush and ink. Then she writes furiously in the book, not even noticing the ink splattering everywhere. What can she have to write so much about? I manifested the light, then I blew a hole through the ceiling. The end. But the hole is a good sign, right? Even the small orb of light was powerful enough to do some damage.
“What else do you carry in that hanbok of yours?” I ask to distract myself from my growing restlessness. I’m impatient to move on to the next steps. Maybe I can try summoning the light again, without breaking anything this time. But I know Minju won’t be able to focus on anything until she finishes her notes. “Andwherefor that matter? It doesn’t even have pockets.”
