Page 89 of King Foretold
I am seriously tempted to clap until my palms sting. I feel as though I just watched the greatest performance of my life. But Jihun’s sword arm trembles violently, and his chest heaves as he fights to breathe. The movement spell took a lot out of him, and my giddy excitement fades.
“He’s in there,” Jihun rasps as he withdraws his sword.
Ethan nods his thanks to him and walks over to the tyrant’s cell with Hailey. I linger at Jihun’s side and wait for him to catch his breath.
“You okay there?” I try not to sound as worried as I feel.
“I’m fine.” He smirks when I gape at him in disbelief. “It’s descry magic. Revealing something enchanted to stay hidden takes some work. I’ll be fine in a minute.”
“If you say so.” I shrug offhandedly but stay close by his side as we make our way to join the others. When I’m certain Jihun isn’t going to keel over, I go stand next to Ethan. “Do you think the tyrant will talk?”
“Oh, I’m sure he’ll talk.” Ethan narrows his eyes. “I just don’t know if we can believe anything that comes out of his mouth.”
“Can we do a dance to make him tell the truth?” I ask, mostly kidding. Jihun deigns to cock a brow at me.
“If I know one, are you willing to give it a go?” Ethan lets his gaze roam my body. I blush like an idiot, and his smile is both knowing and sad. I suddenly want to kick myself for withholding my love for so long. I have so much more to give, but we might be out of time.
“If Jaeseok were here, he’d already be dancing, regardless of spells.” Hailey’s sigh sounds forlorn. I miss that ridiculous dokkaebi too. “But I don’t think there are any spells, movement or otherwise, that can compel a person to tell the truth.”
We’re all stalling, but I don’t mind. I’ll hoard as many seconds of normalcy with Ethan and my friends as I can. I know it’s what will sustain me for all that is about to come. I haven’t forgotten what I learned at Heaven Lake, even if my old loner habits are hard to break. Love and friendship don’t make me weak. They are the very source of my powers. And I will do anything to protect the people I love.
Anything?
The bloodlust of the word of power is preferable to the power I hide deep inside me. The power I vowed never to use. The power that is the source of the disgust and fear that hound gumihos.Beast. Monster. Abomination.The moment I wield it, I become deserving of those very slurs.
“I’ll talk to him alone,” Ethan declares with grim determination. “He might enjoy having an audience a little too much.”
“No, I’m coming with you.” Maybe I won’t have to wield that horrible power. It will be my last resort. “You’ll need my help to manipulate him. Bullies are volatile narcissists at the core. He might let something slip if we toy with his overinflated ego.”
“I hate that you’re right.” Ethan frowns. “You can come, but you have to stay close to me.”
“And I hate being told what to do,” I say archly.
A muscle shifts in his clenched jaw. “I’masking.”
“Then I’ll take it under consideration,” I shoot back.
“The clock is ticking.” Hailey interrupts our battle of wills. “The captain and I’ll stand watch out here.”
“Don’t you have to unlock the door or something?” I ask Jihun.
“After all that, I should hope not,” he says drolly. “The motion spellwasthe key. It should already be unlocked.”
“I might have a plan,” I tell Ethan as an idea comes to mind. “There’s no time to explain, but we have to hide what we’re really after for as long as we can. We can’t give him any leverage. We have to trick him into volunteering information about his alliance with Daeseong.”
He doesn’t hesitate. “I’ll follow your lead.”
Ethan pulls open the heavy wooden door, and we step inside together. A small torch on the side wall provides the only light, so we pause to let our eyes adjust to the darkness. The tyrant sits cross-legged on the floor, deep inside the dimly lit cell. Even with a wooden cangue around his neck, the long end extending to the ground, he manages to look down his nose at us.
I release the breath I’d been holding when I spot the silvery pins securing the two halves of the cangue together. Like the net that held him earlier, the cangue binds the former king’s magic as well as his body. I step farther into the cell, but Ethan wraps his hand around my wrist and half shields me with his body. I almost click my tongue in impatience, but the aggravating little smirk playing around the tyrant’s mouth stops me. I’d be giving the bastard ammunition.
“Come to see me so soon?” He raises his eyebrows in pleased surprise, chillingly convincing. “Did you miss me, son? And look, you even brought your pet.”
I give Ethan’s hand a warning squeeze.Don’t let him bait you,I say into his mind. His gaze shoots toward me at the same time I freeze in shock. How did I do that in my human form?I don’t know how I’m doing it,I yelp. Telepathically. Because apparently, I can do that now. The tyrant’s eyes skip back and forth between us.We’ll figure it out later.
“We have come as a courtesy to the king father.” I tilt my head in a half bow. “As you would understand, the throne cannot remain empty for long, so the coronation must proceed without delay.”
“Must I listen to the animal prattle on about nonsense?” the prisoner snaps and bares his teeth at Ethan. “You will have tokill meto take my throne.”
