Chapter Fifty-Four Ethan
Chapter Fifty-Four
Ethan
The brilliant flare of white light explodes in the skies, and I throw my arms up to shield my eyes.
I don’t know how long it takes before the light fades enough for me to squint my eyes open, but I sprint toward it the instant I can.
“Sunny!” I shout as I run out of the city gates.
It took all of them—every single one of my friends—to hold me back when the Amheuk hurt Sunny . . . again and again. I roared at them to let me go until my voice turned hoarse, but I couldn’t break free without hurting them.
With my sanity back, I am grateful to them for saving me from a futile death. I would’ve only gotten in her way.
Now, I have to go to her. Even if it’s not . . . her anymore.
I push myself until I become a blur. My heart pounds—more from fear than exertion—because I don’t see her anywhere. The Cheon’gwang shines brightly enough to chase away even the hint of a shadow.
But I can’t see Sunny.
I know she became the light to defeat the darkness, but she is still her. She has to be. Because she’s mine.
“Sunny!”
As I keep running, the white light fades away, and it’s night again in the Kingdom of Sky. I whip my head left and right, screaming her name until the tang of blood coats my throat.
Then in the shadowy darkness, I finally find her. Her small body, glowing with white light, lies limply on the ground.
“Sunny.” I fall to my knees next to her. “I’m here. I’m here, baby.”
I gather her into my arms and rock her back and forth. I hear the keening wail of mourners rising from the field—but there is only me. My grief tears through my throat, threatening to unravel my mind.
“Fuck.” I shake her. “Come back to me, Sunny. Gods damn it, you stubborn fool. Open your eyes. Come back to me.”
Her eyelids flicker, and I stop breathing. Then miraculously, she blinks open her eyes. “Ethan?”
“Yes.” I laugh, blinking my eyes to clear them. “Yes, Sunny. It’s me.”
She raises a trembling hand and cups my face. Her palm scalds my cheek. I flinch and nearly draw away from her, but there is no way I will ever avoid her touch—not even if I burn to cinders.
“What happened?” She lifts her head to look around, and I help her sit up. “Is it . . . over?”
“You don’t remember?” I keep an arm around her shoulders to steady her, but I tuck her hair behind her ear with my free hand. “You did it, baby. You stopped the Amheuk. The darkness . . . it’s gone.”
I laugh again. She did it. She fucking did it.
Sunny blinks at me, a frown tugging at her brows. I smooth out the two grooves with the pad of my thumb. Then her eyes widen, and she scrambles away from me. I am too shocked and confused to stop her.
“Sunny?” My blood pounds in my ears, and a premonition sends a shiver down my spine. “What’s wrong?”
“You have to get everyone out of here.” She crawls back even farther from me.
“Sunny, stop.” I gingerly raise my hands in the air. She stops moving, but her eyes flit left and right as though looking for escape. “Out of where?”
“They have to leave the Realm of Four Kingdoms,” she whispers. “They have to go to the Mortal Realm. Everyone.”
“Everyone?” I scowl, ready to argue I am not going anywhere without her.
“Except you,” she says, and I deflate with relief. “But you have to get everyone to leave now. The Amheuk is gone. The Gray Void is gone. They just need to leave. Make sure the seraphim and the suhoshins carry the ones who can’t fly. Just do it now. Please.”
“They’re going to want a little more expla—”
“Hurry.” She screams, her body jerking and writhing.
“What’s happening, Sunny?” I jump to my feet. “Are you hurt—”
“You have to go, Ethan.” She opens her eyes, and her pupils are engulfed in white flames. And her voice booms like the roar of fire when she says, “Go now.”
I don’t want to leave her, but her desperation breaks my heart. She is terrified, and I can’t refuse her.
“I’ll come back,” I vow. “Wait for me, Sunny. I’ll come back to you.”
For a split second, the brown of her eyes flickers through the white. “I know.”
I take off in a run, back toward the capital.
The dream.
My recurring dream about the fiery ruination of the worlds rockets back into my consciousness. The female in my dreams—the one engulfed in white flames—is Sunny. I see her face clearly now, as well as the destruction that lies around her.
Everything burns.
I run faster, my heart thumping in my throat. My lungs burn, but I push myself harder. I have to hurry. I need to get everyone out. She will never forgive herself if even a single person gets hurt because of her. Everyone has to leave.
Now.
I burst through the gates of the walled capital and run straight into Jihun.
“Ethan, what’s wrong?” He catches me by the shoulders, and the rest of my friends huddle close. “Where’s Sunny?”
“You have to get everyone out,” I pant. “You have to evacuate everyone to the Mortal Realm.”
“Why?” Jihun shakes me once when my eyes slide away.
“Everyone has to go,” I growl, shoving his hands away. “No exception. And it happens now.”
“But, Nephew—” the Queen of Sky begins.
“Now!” I shout. “Everything burns. Please, Imo. Get everyone out.”
“The prophecy of the End of Days . . .” she breathes, her eyes widening in fear. I can only nod. She gives my hand a firm squeeze and goes into action. “Bora, Taeyoung, and Jihun. Begin the evacuation. Without question, and without delay. Your king has willed it.”
I feel my friends’ questioning glances and the fear of those around me.
I ignore them all. I summon my golden axe and silver axe, then stalk to the wall of the capital.
Then I pour the force of my magic into my axes and slash an X into the fabric of the realm, making two realities flicker in the air.
How did I do that?
But I ignore even my own question and rip open another exit.
I am the King Foretold.
It is not my destiny to save the Realm of Four Kingdoms but to save the people. They are the soul of this realm. I cut another X into the boundaries of the Kingdom of Sky.
I will save them all.
I hear the din of shouting and the swoosh of wings as people make their way out of the realm. But I have no time to pay them heed. My aunt and my friends will evacuate the Shinbiin into the Mortal Realm.
I have to focus on creating more exits because only I can do that.
I carve one diagonal line down the fabric of the realm, then another on the opposite side. The newly added exit flutters, revealing a different night sky beyond. My arms tremble from bone-deep fatigue—my magic depleting with every tear I make. But I don’t stop.
It is not my destiny that fuels me but my love for Sunny. It is my duty to save my people, but I have to fight for every life because Sunny will grieve even a single loss. I fall to one knee but push back to my feet. I can’t stop, even if my body gives out.
For my people. For my fated love.
I will not lose a single life.
I don’t let myself think about my other so-called destiny. I have work to do. I swing my axe but miss the mark. Thrown off balance by the momentum, I stumble and fall to the ground. I use my axes as my crutches and get up again.
I rip another exit in the fabric of the realm, and I do it again and again, until I can’t lift my axes anymore. But with a hoarse roar, I swing my axes once more and slash open one last exit. Then I crash down on my knees, barely hanging on to my consciousness.
I don’t know how long I kneel there, but then two strong hands lift me up by the arms. My head feels too heavy to lift, but I raise my eyes to meet Jihun’s.
“I will see you in the Mortal Realm, Your Majesty,” he says with a break in his voice. Hailey and Cheyun linger close behind him, worry saturating their expressions. When I don’t answer, he shakes me once. “I will see you in the Mortal Realm, Ethan.”
“Just go.” I jerk my arms free and turn to walk away.
“Promise me, Ethan.” He grabs me by the shoulders. “Promise me that I will see you and Sunny in the Mortal Realm.”
“I . . . I will try.” I blink, as though waking up from a dream. “I’ll try, Jihun.”
“Good.” He presses our foreheads together, his hand heavy on the back of my head. “I will wait for you, Brother.”
“Thank you.” I pull him into a hug, my arms tight around him. “Thank you for everything.”
“Everyone has gone through,” Hailey whispers huskily.
“We have to leave, Jihun.” Cheyun untangles him from my arms and takes his hand in hers. Then she reaches out and squeezes my arm. “It’s been an honor, Your Majesty.”
“The honor has always been mine.” I nod solemnly at her.
Cheyun leads Jihun away from me, with him glancing over his shoulder every other second, then they step through a jagged exit together.
“Stay alive, Ethan.” Hailey wraps her arms around me. “Bring her home to us.”
“I will try,” I say again.
Hailey bites her bottom lip to stem her tears and follows Jihun and Cheyun into the Mortal Realm.
Then . . . everyone is gone.
Thank gods I could do this much for Sunny. Because my other destiny can go fuck itself. There is no way in hell I would ever kill her—even to save her from herself.