Chapter Twenty-Three Sunny
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sunny
The Queen of Water runs out of the audience hall and stumbles to a stop at my side. The whiny high officials—who acted so brave and strong when they ordered the guards to arrest me—cower inside the hall.
“Are we too late?” the queen asks, her gaze intent on the dark tentacles above us.
“No.” My voice is thready and unsure. I mark my palms with the crescents of my nails. “No, we are not too late.”
The Amheuk cannot win.
“I will follow where the King Foretold leads.” The queen meets my gaze. She is done playing whatever game she was playing with me. “The diviners said all will be right when the prophecies are fulfilled.”
Again with the prophecies. Does the prophecy of the End of Days say that the King Foretold must kill the bearer of the Yeoiju? Do I want to know? Nope. Prophecies, fate, destiny . . . I don’t care about any of that.
I only care about protecting the people I love. And that means finding a way to destroy the Amheuk. That means not giving up.
“All will be right?” I scoff. “What the hell does that even mean?”
“Sunny.” Haesan grabs my arm from the other side, apparently alarmed by my lack of decorum.
But the queen just shrugs. “Beats me.”
“How long do you think the dome will hold?” I ask.
“It is meant to be impenetrable . . . So, perhaps a day?” Ironically, the Queen of Water has a dry sense of humor.
“Then I guess we’ll live to see another day.” My sense of humor, as usual, borders on corny during times of extreme duress. Haesan groans beside me. I don’t think he sees any kind of humor in the situation.
“First things first, I will send reinforcements to the Kingdom of Mountains,” the queen declares, like that had been her plan all along.
“The Kingdom of Mountains doesn’t have an impenetrable dome.” Fear jolts through me. “Do you think the Amheuk already . . .”
“The Kingdom of Mountains lies above the Kingdom of Water.” The queen stacks her hands as she explains. “The Amheuk won’t be able to reach the Kingdom of Mountains without first going through the Kingdom of Water.”
I nod, struggling to swallow. “What’s above the Kingdom of Mountains?”
“The Kingdom of Sky lies at the top, farthest from the entrance to the Realm of Four Kingdoms,” she answers.
“So the Kingdom of Underworld is closest to the entrance?” My heart pounds against my rib cage. Minju is still there—and my new friends. “Does that mean that the Amheuk already went through it? Is the Kingdom of Underworld g-gone?”
“Taeyoung is awfully clever.” A nerve tics beneath the queen’s right eye, and her voice trembles. “He wouldn’t let something as silly as the Amheuk destroy his kingdom.”
“You’re right,” I agree quickly. “I bet the King of Underworld devised a nerdy work-around to evade the Amheuk’s invasion.”
“At least, temporarily . . . But like I said, first things first.” The Queen of Water raises one hand without glancing back. “General Dokgo.”
“Yes, Your Majesty,” a female says, stepping out in front of us.
“Assemble troops to deploy to the Kingdom of Mountains,” the queen commands. “Without delay.”
“At once, Your Majesty.” General Dokgo executes a sharp bow, but she hesitates, glancing at the darkness thrashing above the dome. “But with this imminent threat, how many soldiers can we spare?”
“Half. We can spare half of our military force, General,” the queen answers with steely determination. “No kingdom can last long against the Amheuk on its own. We must stop the war in the Kingdom of Mountains so we can unite the forces of all four kingdoms.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The general spins on her heels and marches away from the audience hall.
“General Jeong,” the queen says, and a short, stout male steps up to bat. “Prepare to evacuate as many people as possible. I will send word to the Queen of Sky to request asylum for our people.”
Of course. Everyone should evacuate to the kingdom farthest from the reaches of the Amheuk.
“Right away, Your Majesty.” The general bows and takes his leave.
I want to go to Ethan so badly that pain claws at my chest. But I can’t. I glance down at the mark of the blood oath on my palm, then curl my fingers over it. I have to focus on what I can do.
“Is there a way to contact someone in the Kingdom of Underworld?” I ask the queen. “I want to make sure my friend is okay.”
“Whatever the King of Underworld did to evade the Amheuk”—she worries her lip as though she knows what that might be—“will probably prevent any typical means of communication.”
“Gods.” I tousle my hair aggressively. “What a shit show.”
“There is one way.” The queen blows out a long sigh. “I can call the King of Underworld.”
“You can call him?” I gape at her, worried my eyeballs might pop out. “You have a phone?”
“A phone?” She snorts delicately. “Of course I don’t have . . . Never mind. I’ll show you.”
“Sunny.” Haesan places a hand on my arm. “I will go to the Suhoshin headquarters here. There must be something I can do to help.”
“Be careful, Nephew.” His aunt, who had been hovering beside the queen, pulls him into a teary hug.
“I will.” He steps back from her.
I hug him as well. “See you soon, Haesan.”
“Don’t die, Stormy.” He squeezes me a little too tight, then drops his arms. With a bow to the queen, he leaves us with long, determined steps.
Gang Sanggung turns to Jo Sanggung, who stands at the threshold of the audience hall. “What will you do?”
“I must prepare the queen’s meals even if the world ends tomorrow,” she replies staunchly. “I will do my duty.”
“Stay safe.” Gang Sanggung squeezes her friend’s hand.
Jo Sanggung nods, pressing her trembling lips together. “You too.”
“The rest of you”—the Queen of Water spins toward the audience hall and faces the cowering officials inside—“go make yourselves useful any way possible. Help keep the people calm and provide aid wherever it is needed. Understood?”
“Yes, Your Majesty.” The officials bow low, quaking in their boots. The loudest ones, who wanted my head, eye the doors with shifty expressions. They are going to run the fastest to save their asses and only theirs.
Gods-damned cowards.
The queen shakes her head at them and glides away from the audience hall. Gang Sanggung motions for me to follow. With one last glance at the dark, undulating sky, I do as she bids, wondering how the hell the Queen of Water plans on calling the King of Underworld.