Page 81 of King Foretold
“If only His Majesty weren’t as powerful as the gods ...” I stop to take a shuddering breath, risking the barest flicker of a gaze toward Jihun. “If only he could receive acupuncture like the rest of us ...”
“Silence, you insolent girl.” Jihun plays along with my act, a slight tilt of his head the only indication of his surprise. I hope he understands why I’m doing this. “You dare speak in the presence of the king?”
“Let the girl speak.” A greedy kind of hope flashes in the king’s eyes.
“This lowly girl has restored the life force of many commoners through acupuncture, Your Majesty.” I dip my head and speak in a trembling voice. “I feel as though the heavens are collapsing at the thought that you, whose life is worth a million of ours, cannot receive the ministrations which may heal your gi.”
“You dare presume to understand my powers?” the king blusters. “I should have your head.”
“Please forgive the foolish girl, Your Majesty.” Jihun bows with his forehead pressed against the floor.
I bow down as well, holding my breath. I took a gamble, hoping to tap into the king’s desperation. I prepare for the tyrant to call for his royal guards to execute us on the spot, but I pray that he takes the bait.
“I can withdraw my invincibility at will,” the king lies smoothly, and my body goes limp with relief. “If the girl is as good as she claims, I will permit her to administer acupuncture on me.”
It worked. Thank gods.
“Gratitude fills this lowly one to the brim,” Jihun intones, raising his head at last. “This uinyeo has been gifted with the most sensitive fingertips of her generation. The gods must have bestowed such a talent on this common girl so that she may be of use to you. It would be her greatest honor to administer acupuncture on you, Your Majesty.”
“She would normally lose her lowborn hands if she touched the king’s body.” The tyrant wants to believe Jihun. He wants to believethat I can restore his magic. “But, perhaps, I will let her keep them if she can cure me.”
“Your generosity and mercy know no bounds, Your Majesty,” Jihun says. “Might this lowly one dare ask the king to lie down on his sleeping mat?”
Arching a condescending brow at Jihun, the king walks over to the sleeping alcove, then lies down on his mat. He sighs ponderously and closes his eyes, as though he cannot bear to look at our peasant faces any longer. “I presume you will ask to bare my chest. Do as you must.”
“You are as wise as you are merciful.” Jihun kneels near the king’s head with my unnecessary guidance, and I kneel directly in front of the king’s torso. “May she proceed?”
“The faster this ordeal is over with, the better.” The King of Mountains smirks, as though he is impressed by his own munificence.
Wehavehim. I carefully draw apart his robe and shirt, my blood pounding in my ears. I withdraw an acupuncture box from my sleeve and open it to reveal a row of silver needles. We’re so close.
Please let this work.
Exhaling quietly, I press the first needle into the pressure point on the side of his neck.Just three more.My hand trembles lightly as I insert the next needle below his right clavicle, then another one over his heart. My breath quickens. Once I place a needle in the last pressure point, the king will be paralyzed.
Just one more.
I poise my needle over his solar plexus and fight to steady my hand. I can’t miss the pressure point. I lower the needle, but before the tip can pierce his skin, the king’s hand shoots out and grabs my wrist in a punishing grip. I only have time to gasp before his other hand is pressing a sharp knife against my throat. Jihun lurches forward, and I feel the rush of wind as his wings burst open.
“Steady, seonnam,” the king croons. “I don’t want to slit her pretty throat ... yet. Unless you leave me no choice.”
Jihun freezes, even as his lips pull back in a snarl. “Let her go.”
“I wasn’t entirely certain what she meant to do until she embedded the third needle over my heart. Why would you want to paralyze me, little girl?” The king presses the tip of his knife into my skin, and warm blood trickles down my throat. A look of surprises ripples across his face as he gingerly sniffs at my cut. “Agumiho? I am both intrigued and disgusted. Whatever do you want with me, beast?”
The king licks his lips and twists the knife against my throat, drawing more blood without pushing it in any deeper. He smiles when I hiss.Fuck.I hate that I gave him the satisfaction. I have to stop him. I don’t want Ethan to kill his father. But I can’t get out of the king’s grasp before he opens up my carotid artery. I’ll be dead in fifteen seconds.
“Leave her alo—” Jihun’s roar is drowned out when the doors to the king’s chambers rip off their hinges and crash into the room.
“Sunny,” Ethan shouts as he runs toward me.
“Ethan, don’t ...” The knife presses deeper into my throat, cutting off my words.
“Stop where you are,” the king shrieks, fear and confusion in his eyes. “Or she will be dead before you reach her.”
Ethan jerks to a stop, his face contorted in fury. Then he raises his arm from across the room and holds his palm out toward his father. “I will end you.”
From the corner of my eye, I glimpse the king raising his own hand, and I lunge to stop him. The next second, a fiery burst of energy skims over my head and rams into the tyrant’s chest. I stay ducked low to the ground as the king is thrown into the air and slammed against the back wall. He grunts as he drops to the floor with a thud, his knife rolling out of his limp grasp.
