Chapter Thirty-Seven Sunny
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Sunny
Hugs are had. Backs are clapped. Laughter is shared.
Ethan, Ethan, Ethan.
I am happy to share this moment with my friends, but I have no room in my mind, or in my heart, for anything other than Ethan. I think he feels the same way, because he hasn’t let go of my hand, lacing our fingers tightly together, since we spoke our vows.
Death looms outside, but we have this moment—our moment. I glance at him from beneath my lashes.
My husband.
Laughter bubbles in my chest, and tears blur my vision and sting my nose. I am a flaming mess, but I’m okay with that.
Today is my wedding day.
But Minju coughs quietly, her hands clasped in front of her. Immediate silence falls across the audience hall, as though we were all waiting for this moment—were dreading it.
“It’s so soon.” Bora’s eyes are full of sympathy as she looks between Ethan and me. “I wish you two could have had more time.”
“Yes.” The Queen of Sky sighs. “But we have delayed too long already.”
Everyone slowly shuffles toward the dais, but I can’t get my feet to move.
Just one more second.
Ethan catches me around my waist and pulls me into his arms. “The Amheuk is totally killing the vibe.”
“You are a mega dingus.” I muffle my laugh against his shoulder, and he kisses the crown of my head.
“‘You are a mega dingus, Yeobo,’” he corrects, his warm breath ruffling my hair.
“Dude,” I choke, heat climbing up my cheeks. The term of endearment is used only between married couples. It’s so intimate. “I am not calling you that.”
“Why not, Yeobo?” He tips my chin up with the crook of his finger. Sweet tenderness and steely possessiveness war for dominance in his eyes. “Am I not your husband?”
“You are my husband.” I trap his face between my hands and kiss him soundly on the lips. “And I will consider calling you . . . that, but we should reserve it for when we’re alone.”
“Why is that?” He brushes the tip of his nose down the side of my cheek, and I shiver.
“Because I want to avoid climbing you like a tree in front of unsuspecting victims,” I whisper.
Ethan groans against the side of my neck. “You can have me anytime, anywhere, any way you want.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” I reluctantly draw away from him and tug him toward the dais. Because another second of these sweet, sultry whispers would make me take him right now.
“I think it’d be best if we all sat down for this.” Hailey hurriedly sets out seat cushions in a circle.
“Thank you,” the Judge of Tenth Hell murmurs to her in that dark, sexy baritone of his.
I can’t make out his expression behind those black sunglasses, but color floods Hailey’s cheeks before she spins away from him.
Ethan and I sit down, and he slides my seat cushion—with me on it—so close that I might as well be sitting on his lap. I roll my eyes but press up against him. He brushes his lips against my cheek with a low chuckle, and I get hot all over.
Gods, it doesn’t take much, does it?
While I lust after my husband over a peck on the cheek, everyone takes a seat in the circle.
Jihun sits to Ethan’s left and nods at the two of us, and my chest constricts.
I was so drunk on happiness I didn’t once think about how Jihun must feel.
He seems . . . fine, but this can’t be easy on him. He just has his poker face mastered.
I don’t know what to do—how to make him hurt less—so I offer him a sorry excuse of a smile. And he awards my awkward olive branch with a fleeting quirk of his lips. I swallow, tasting salt in the back of my throat. He is such a good friend.
“I believe we’re as ready as we will ever be.” Ethan nods at Minju, who sits across from us, with Jaeseok and the Queen of Sky on either side of her. “Tell us. How do we defeat the Amheuk?”
“With the Cheon’gwang.” Minju stares down at her rumpled skirt.
“Which is impossible.” Ethan frowns. “It sacrificed itself to stop the Amheuk during the Endless War.”
“The Yeoiju is a remnant of the Cheon’gwang . . .” Minju’s soft voice dwindles into silence.
“Exactly.” I have no idea where this is headed, but I don’t like it. “The Yeoiju is only a remnant of it.”
“A remnant”—the historian aims an apologetic grimace at me—“with the potential to become the Cheon’gwang, the true force of light powerful enough to subdue the Amheuk.”
“Become the true force of light?” Ethan asks, his voice dangerously soft. “Have you forgotten that Sunny and the Yeoiju are inseparable?”
“Of . . . of course not,” Minju stutters.
“Your Majesty.” Jihun puts a hand on Ethan’s arm. “Please allow her to explain.”
From their expressions, everyone in the circle, except me and Ethan, already knows what she has to say, and none of them likes it. Dread creeps down my spine, and Ethan plants a protective hand on my back.
“I . . .” Minju wrings her hands until they turn bright pink.
“It’s okay.” Jaeseok covers them with his own. “Take your time.”
She nods and takes a big breath. “In Santorini, Sunny defeated the dark mudang by absorbing the life force of nature.”
“But th-that doesn’t work in this realm,” I protest, interrupting her again. “I could barely draw any gi from the Kingdom of Water. The Kingdom of Mountains was a little better, but nature’s life force in this realm does not compare to that of the Mortal Realm.”
“There’s a reason for that, Sunny.” The King of Underworld rubs his forehead. “It’s because nature’s life force has been sucked dry in the Realm of Four Kingdoms.”
“Taeyoung,” Bora gasps.
“We are asking her to risk everything to save this realm,” he persists. “She has a right to know the truth.”
“I agree. We must tell her.” The Queen of Sky holds Bora’s gaze until the younger female nods haltingly.
“Magic is the foundation of the Realm of Four Kingdoms, and we need more gi than we can produce to fuel our magic. For generations, we have been siphoning nature’s life force for our own consumption. ”
My blood pounds in my ears, and I barely register Ethan stiffening next to me.
“That can’t be true. The Kingdom of Mountains would not have stood for it.” Ethan shakes his head slowly. “We respect nature. Nurturing it is the only way to foster life for all beings.”
“The Kingdom of Mountains capitulated when your father took the throne.” The Queen of Sky sighs. “He wanted more power, and he was a male used to taking whatever he wanted. That is why Dangun, the god of Mountains, abandoned the Realm of Four Kingdoms.”
My breath comes in short pants. First, the Gray Void, and now, this? Is there anything not tainted in this fucking realm?
“How could I not have known?” Ethan frowns down at his hands. “I would have seen this in my mother’s memories.”
“She could only share the memories you needed to remember who you are and to fulfill your destiny,” his aunt explains. “Your mother was over two hundred fifty years old when she had you. As powerful as she was, there was only so much she could imbue into the stone of tears.”
“W-wait. Is this why the shinbiins are nearly immortal?” My voice breaks as the horrifying realization dawns on me. I glare at every shinbiin in the room. “And all of you are okay with this? Bleeding nature dry for your own gain?”
“Our predecessors who chose this path are long gone, but we were complicit in it,” Taeyoung owns. “Your friends, on the other hand, only learned of this mere hours before you. Do not blame them—or the people of the Realm of Four Kingdoms—for the sins of their rulers.”
“You’re right.” Ethan narrows his eyes at the three monarchs. “The blame lies solely on you, and those who came before you. How could—”
“Please stop fighting. All of you,” Minju interjects, raising her voice. “We can’t change the past, and we are running out of time to protect our future. Besides, it would not have been enough. Even if the realm hadn’t stolen nature’s life force, it would not have been enough to defeat the Amheuk.”
“Then . . . what?” I am so fucking tired. “How am I supposed to become the Cheon’gwang?”
Because Ethan is right. My Yeoiju and I cannot be separated. If the Yeoiju becomes the true force of light, I become the light too.
“You have to . . .” Minju fists her hands on her lap. “You have to absorb the gi of the sleeping gods.”
I burst into unhinged laughter. “How the fuck am I supposed to do that?”
“Shhh. It’s okay, Sunny.” Ethan pulls my head onto his shoulder and kisses my forehead. “We’ll figure it out together.”
My laugh sputters, and I swallow the sob that follows it. What use is falling apart? It’s not like I can stand back and watch the Amheuk destroy the Realm of Four Kingdoms. I’ll never stop fighting for Ethan and my friends.
“We know the locations of three of the gods—Hwanin, the god of Heavens, Yongwang, the god of Water, and Yeomla, the god of Underworld.” Taeyoung clears his throat, guilt still shadowing his face. “However, no one knows where Dangun, the god of Mountains, has gone.”
“We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” I sigh and raise my head from Ethan’s shoulder. Minju is right. We’re running out of time. “So how do we get to Hwanin, Yongwang, and Yeomla?”
There has to be more to it than just finding the gods—I doubt they’ll just hand over their life forces—but one step at a time.
“That’s where I come in,” the Judge of Tenth Hell says. “I can teleport you there.”
Twin grooves form between my brows. “The gods are in hell?”
“No.” Gyun chuckles. “They’re not in the Ten Hells.”
“They are in purgatory,” Taeyoung supplies unhelpfully.
“Uh-huh.” I nod and keep nodding. “That makes much more sense.”
“It doesn’t matter where they are.” Ethan’s voice dares anyone to disagree with him. “I’m going with her.”
“Aww.” My wonky sense of humor kicks in full throttle. “I guess we’re honeymooning in purgatory.”
“I am coming as well,” Jihun adds, crossing his arms.
“On our honeymoon?” Ethan digs a playful elbow into the seonnam’s side, and the stoic male deigns to roll his eyes.
The hysterical edge of my laugh smooths out, and genuine amusement takes its place. This is the only way we’ll get through this—by giving one another shit. But more importantly, with shared laughter.
“I’m afraid I cannot carry a third,” Gyun says to Jihun, raising his arms as though demonstrating he only has two.
“Then I’ll come. I’m a jeoseungsaja.” Hailey juts her chin. “I can travel to purgatory without anyone carrying me.”
“Very well.” The judge tips his head at Hailey, his expression appraising. “I have a feeling you will have no trouble keeping up.”
We all get to our feet as though everything is set. I don’t ask when we need to leave. One step at a time. Ethan helps me up, then he immediately gets pulled into a conversation with the Queen of Sky, Taeyoung, and Bora. And I sigh wistfully.
Our wedding day is officially over.