Chapter Twenty-Seven Sunny
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sunny
It’s nearly dawn by the time Keeper Bae stomps back up the steps to the pavilion. I rub the fitful sleep out of my eyes and tilt my head back. He stands glaring down at me, holding a big jug of what I assume is pond water and two small vials, one on a looped thread.
“Are those vials for me?” I croak, pushing up to my feet.
“You are the most foolish child I’ve ever—”
“I am not a child.” I stick up my pointer finger perilously close to his left nostril. “I haven’t been one for over a century.”
The keeper has the gall to scoff and turn up his nose at me. Or maybe he just wants to move it away from the range of my finger. “To someone over three hundred years old, such as myself, you are still very much a child, especially when you behave like one.”
“I am not behaving like . . .” I blow out a sigh. “I have to go back. It’s important. And like I said, I can help. Let me help.”
“So be it.” He shakes his head. “You were right about one thing. Keeping the portal open for such a prolonged period is going to take a substantial amount of magic. I have enchanted the entire pond and will project a steady stream to the portal from here. But it will help to have someone at the other end prop the door open, so to speak.”
“How do you prop a magic portal open?”
“Find someone who can harness the power of the waves to funnel this jug of water to create a pathway through the portal. They have to keep churning the water to keep the tunnel open.” Keeper Bae rubs his jaw.
“In my two hundred years as a keeper, I have never had to hold the portal open for so many people.”
“You let the Kingdom of Sky’s army through to the Kingdom of Mountains,” I say waspishly.
“That was not my proudest moment. But General Bak would not take no for an answer. With Keeper Choe behind bars, I had to maintain my post for the safety of the realm.” His shoulders droop as though weary in body and spirit.
I immediately regret lashing out at him.
“Besides, an army is nowhere near as many as the people of an entire kingdom.”
“Thank you for doing this,” I mumble sheepishly.
“Anyone with an ounce of decency would do the same.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that.” I cross my arms over my chest. “Some people would be busy building a wall to close off the portal.”
“I said anyone with an ounce of decency.” He grimaces as though he smells something foul. “Unfortunately for us, we are forced to share the world with those few who possess not a single ounce.”
“Unfortunate, indeed.” I shake away my deep-seated sadness. “Why did you prepare two vials?”
“You shouldn’t need the second vial if you come back before the tunnel closes.” Keeper Bae hides his hand behind his back when I reach for them. “But you seem to court danger, so . . .”
“I’ll try my best to get back with the rest of the Kingdom of Water.” I hold out my palm and flap my fingers. Gimme.
The keeper mutters something under his breath and places the vials in my hand.
“I would love to stay and chat, but . . .” I tug one threaded vial over my head, then take the jug from his other hand. “So much to do. So little time.”
“When I sense the portal opening from the Kingdom of Water, I’ll open this end and keep it open for as long as I can.” His gaze bores into mine. “You must have the people move as quickly as they can. Even then . . . not everyone might make it through.”
“I understand.” I swallow with some difficulty. “All we can do is try our best, right?”
“Right.” He dips his head in approval.
There are a lot of assholes in this realm, but I keep meeting the good guys. Maybe there is more good in the worlds than bad. The thought gives me much-needed hope and motivation. This realm might be worth saving.
With a determined nod, I throw my token at the pillar and squint at the flash of blue light. Then I run headlong toward it and splash into the other side. I ignore the icy shock of the cold water and swim like mad toward the underwater city.
I can’t tell where it’s coming from, but morning light streams into the water. And the frenzied flailing of the dark tentacles has grown slow and sinuous over the dome. If I wasn’t already holding my breath, I would do so now, praying the Amheuk doesn’t sense me right away.
I kick and swim, calling on the speed of my fox without shifting. The huge breath of air I took at the Kingdom of Sky depletes much too quickly, and my lungs catch fire. Just a little longer. I grit my teeth against the dizziness whirling through me and propel myself forward.
I clap my hand over my mouth when bubbles seep out of the corners. Hugging the jug against me with my free arm, I swim on with just my legs. More air slips past my lips, and I press my hand harder against my mouth.
All those people in the Kingdom of Water need my help. I have to get as many of them through the portal as possible. My mind grows foggy. I tighten my hold on the jug of enchanted water and fight to stay alert. But my lungs scream with pain, and my consciousness begins to slip away.
Ethan.
A muscular arm wraps around my waist as my eyes slide closed. My hand slips off my mouth, and my body grows limp. I can’t lose the jug. Even as everything turns dark, I hug the jug tighter against me, curling my upper body around it.
Then, suddenly, the water pressing in on me from all sides disappears. My back arches as I draw in a heaving breath, coughing and convulsing. I should open my eyes, but I’m so weak I can hardly feel my body.
“Sunny.” Someone shakes me hard enough to make my head loll and my limbs flap in the air. The air? The person shaking me is also carrying me in their arms. “Stormy.”
Haesan. I don’t want him to be worried, but my eyelids weigh a ton. Still, I force them open and focus my bleary gaze on him. Or at least, I try. But he’s nearly nose to nose with me, making me go cross-eyed.
“Move back, you big oaf,” I croak.
“Thank gods, you’re okay.” Haesan draws back, and I can finally see his smiling face.
“I wouldn’t go so far as to say I’m okay.” I choke on some residual water I swallowed and cough raucously. “Thank you for coming for me. Now, let me down.”
He immediately sets me on my feet, but I sway and almost drop the precious jug of enchanted water. Haesan quickly takes the jug from my limp hold and props me upright with his free arm. I give myself some grace. Almost drowning twice in less than twelve hours would take a toll on anyone.
“I need to see the queen,” I rasp. When the in’eo moves to pick me up again, I growl, “Don’t. Just help me walk to the queen’s chambers.”
He basically ends up carrying me with one arm around my waist, my floppy feet barely touching the ground. The steady motion of being half carried is almost soothing. My eyelids grow heavy, and my head droops forward. Jesus. I’m nodding off like a granny.
“We need to find someone who can harness the power of the waves,” I blurt too loudly, jerking awake. “There is no time.”
“You don’t need to scream.” Haesan cringes, drawing his head back. “And you’re in luck, because I have the power of the waves in my veins.”
No. Not him.
“It can’t be you.” I shake my head and push away from him. Luckily, my legs don’t give out. “We have to find someone else.”
“But you just said there is no time.” He scratches his head. “There are others, but not many. It is a rare power.”
“The queen might know someone else,” I say stubbornly.
Keeper Bae didn’t need to explain to me that holding the portal open with the power of the waves would be dangerous.
The keeper would draw from the pond to hold his end open, but the person here would have to draw from their own life force to harness the waves.
With so many lives at stake, Haesan won’t stop until he has nothing left to give.
I can’t . . . I can’t lose another friend.
I walk on my own two feet the rest of the way, and the Queen of Water rushes down the steps of her inner chambers to meet me.
“Thank gods you’re okay.” She takes both my hands in her own. “Did . . . Will the Kingdom of Sky accept my people into their kingdom?”
“Yes.” Keeper Bae and I actually have no way of knowing what the Queen of Sky will decide. But once we get everyone in, we can fight to have them stay. “Are they ready?”
“Nearly. I managed to evacuate many nearby cities,” the queen says wearily. She must have worked all night. “Now I have to extend the dome to the more distant villages.”
“Will you be okay?” I ask, noticing the queen’s pallor.
“My remaining troops and the Suhoshin will assist with the evacuation.” She evades my question, and unease flickers across my skin. “The young shinbiins under twenty-four will go first.”
The ones who are as mortal as humans because they have yet to reach the peak of their powers. I wrap my arms around my midriff as dread churns in my stomach. They are so vulnerable.
“Do you . . .” I glance over my shoulder at Haesan and lower my voice. “Do you know anyone with the ability to harness the power of the waves?”
She looks past my shoulder and opens her mouth.
“Not him.” I grit my teeth. “Someone else.”
“Most of them have been deployed to the Kingdom of Mountains.” She purses her lips in thought. “We can search for older shinbiins who remained behind . . .”
“Stop, Sunny.” Haesan places a heavy hand on my shoulder. “It has to be me. Tell me what I have to do.”
I hate that he is right.
“That jug holds the token to the Kingdom of Sky.” I blink to clear my fuzzy vision. “But to keep the portal open for everyone to pass, you need to create a tunnel with the enchanted water.”
“This isn’t enough water to create a tunnel big enough for people to pass through.” He bows his head in thought. After a moment, he raises his gaze back to me. “I have to go out of the dome and mix the token with our waters. That’s the only way to generate a tunnel that big.”