Chapter Sixteen
JOON
The door slides open, then closed. I wait for Mingi to speak, but when he does not, I lift my head.
Violet—not Mingi—stands in the entrance.
“I’m sorry,” she hurls the words as one would an insult.
I bite the tip of my tongue to keep from laughing at the strangeness of it. “You already said that,” I remind her. “Is there some other reason for this interruption?”
Violet rolls her eyes and groans dramatically as she approaches the desk. Without invitation, or anything that could possibly be mistaken for one, she sits across from me with her legs tucked.
Imugi has curled up behind the documents I have finished with, unseen from where Violet sits.
I rest my arms on the desk. “You have my attention.”
The demon lifts their head at that, but I send a subtle command not to interfere.
“You never said why you were looking for me earlier.”
“That is no longer relevant. Now, if that is all—”
“That is certainly not all,” she bites out in a tone no one has ever dared to direct toward me.
“You’re avoiding me—and don’t bother saying you’re busy because you’re more than capable of finding the time when you want something.
” She shakes her head and exhales, refocusing.
“I wanted to find you because I want to know more about everything. I want to do more than to stay behind or have you drag me along. But more than anything, I want to be your ally—someone you can trust. I want you to be someone I can trust.”
I scoff. “A pretty speech, and though I am sure you think you mean it, you would change your mind once you are in the thick of it. But by then, it will be too late.” I lean forward, searching for her real motivation in her bright, honey eyes.
“Considering the circumstances when we made our bargain, I am not inclined to take your words at face value. Nor am I in the habit of falling for such childish trickery.”
Violet’s hand shoots out to grab my wrist. “I am not trying to deceive you, Joon. I know you only threatened me because you are as desperate as I was when I stole the frost bloom.”
My name on her lips sounds warm and natural, filled with a familiarity I’ve not heard in years.
When did she stop using my title?
“Being here was my choice—I begged you to bargain with me and offered to help with anything you wanted, remember?” she says softly. A furrow forms on her brow as Violet searches my face.
She is human. Nothing more than a vessel to siphon the power needed to stave off the curse. No different from the six who came before her.
Yet, she is different.
They were content to stay within the palace, safe from the dangers of traversing the wild, never requesting to join my search—never asking why. And siphoning certainly did not bring any of them within an inch of their lives.
Violet releases a heavy sigh. “You do not need to carry this burden alone.”
I clench my jaw. “It is not a simple matter of trust. It would endanger both my life and yours.”
“How?” she prompts. Almost demanding.
“Telling you means a higher chance of the wrong people learning the details. Few would hesitate to use it against me. If my enemies thought for a second that you knew anything, they would threaten and torture you for the information—you would become their weapon against me.”
Violet’s grip on my wrist goes slack, her hand sliding away. She lowers her gaze, looking down at her clasped hands. “I understand.”
She gave up so easily. Unexpectedly, I find myself wavering at the disappointment on her face.
“I am sorry for pushing the issue. Endangering your life was never my goal. I wrongly assumed the same magic that keeps our bargain secret would keep that information safe in the same way.” Violet stands, bowing at the waist, then turns to leave.
Demons and saints…
I had not thought of that. Of all my wives, she is bound to silence, because she alone knows what the others did not.
I am used to keeping the details close to my chest, never needing or wanting to let someone in. Violet’s constant needling to know has burrowed under my skin and rooted in the marrow of my bones.
The memory of her taking the shard from my hand and wrapping it flickers in my mind.
By now, Violet has seen enough to know basic details of the curse. It was a kind gesture, but she could never guess the significance of the shards in a thousand years. Yet, in that moment, she seemed to understand its importance on a deeper level.
Against my better judgment, I find that I want to tell her—not just part of it—I want to tell her everything.
Violet reaches for the door.
“Wait.” The word escapes with a will of its own.
Imugi’s head snaps up, and the demon sends me a sharp warning glance.
She glances back at me, waiting patiently.
I am at a loss for words, with no idea where or how to begin.
As if she senses my internal struggle, Violet walks back over, this time skirting the desk and coming to sit beside me.
“Joon, it’s all right. You don’t have to tell me if it will endanger you.
But if you’re worried about me, then don’t.
I knew any bargain I made would be dangerous.
The risk is the same whether I know or not. ”
I study the set of her jaw and the fiery determination in her eyes, looking for a sliver of deception, and find none.
“If you are sure…”
Violet’s face brightens as if I promised her unlimited wishes with those four words rather than unnecessary danger. “I am.”
“Your Highness,” Imugi hisses at the same time.
Even if she does not come to regret this, I have the distinct impression that I will.
“Then, for you to truly understand, there is something you must see.” I pin her with a glare. “There is no going back. You have been warned.”
Iseul is out in the hall with Mingi, looking uncharacteristically flustered. Her voice cuts off as Violet and I emerge.
“The two of you should remain here,” I say. “We will return soon. There is a private matter we must discuss.”
The two siblings exchange a sideways glance.
Violet follows me enthusiastically down the hall and out into the Northern Court.
“The least she could do is stop grinning like an idiot,” Imugi mutters sourly as they settle on my shoulder under the protective cover of the brim of my hat.
Violet’s smile falters, though she pointedly ignores the barb.
“Be nice.” The admonishment slips out before I can stop it.
After the dim light in the Royal Office, the afternoon sun is blinding. The demon hisses and curls tighter to escape the harsh light that weakens them.
I take her to a door in the wall, hidden by a curtain of ivy. We step over the narrow flowerbed along the length of the wall and into the Western Court.
“Are there many hidden doors like this?” she asks in a whisper, even though we are alone.
“A few. Most are ignorant of their existence, and I would prefer to keep it that way.”
Violet walks at my side rather than trailing by a few steps, as is customary. Yet, I find that I do not mind.
Within my personal study, I call forth my power and press my hand to the floor—light flares in the shape of a large square. A section of the wooden slats disappears, revealing a staircase that leads down into the darkness.
Violet witnesses it all in silence. It impresses me how well she holds back the questions I know she is dying to ask.
We descend the narrow stone steps to a cave-like room roughly carved out of the earth far below the palace.
Dragon Flame lights flicker, keeping the room alight.
The fire burns eternally, without fail, on a single gold coin until quenched.
It is superior to the meager light given off by the patches of moss along the walls.
Imugi remains at the entrance, not passing the last step. They have never liked the feel of this place. Perhaps it is the nearness to the Otherworld that unsettles them. Though all demons originated there, none would wish to return.
A path of flattened and smoothed dirt at the bottom of the stairs leads us toward a shimmering, silver pond.
Violet steps forward, gazing around in wonder.
I move to the side to let her pass. She stops at the edge of the perfectly still water.
The packed dirt path continues around the edge of the pond, while the way forward is a glass walkway that hovers just over the surface, leading to the mirror in the center.
Violet looks back at me. “What is this place?”
“You don’t have to whisper here,” I say. “No one but Imugi and I—and now you—know that any of this exists.” I leave out the part that everyone else who knew is dead.
Because of me.
She doesn’t ask again, but there are questions written in her eyes.
I offer her my hand.
“Is it safe?”
I smirk. “I thought you didn’t care about the danger to you?”
Her eyes narrow into a cutting glare as she roughly takes my hand and steps onto the glass. Only the minor tightening of her grasp gives away her nerves as we near the center.
Though it proves awkward to walk with someone holding onto me from behind, I don’t shake her off.
We stop before the broken mirror. Violet’s other hand joins the one already clutching mine as she presses against my side.
The spider-webbed cracks in the glass distort her reflection. A few shards are still missing. I can see her trying to piece together this new information with what she already knows, and failing. She is still missing the part that ties everything together.
“I suppose I should start from the beginning—the beginning of what I remember, anyway. In truth, everything before then, and even that day, feels like a series of half-remembered nightmares where nothing makes sense.”
Violet frowns at that.
“There are details leading up to the curse that are beyond my reach. I cannot even remember how my parents died, only what I’ve been told.
” I close my eyes for a moment, and everything is as fresh in my mind as it was living in that moment.
“I awoke to the smell of smoke, the loss of my powers, and being cursed.”
A slight noise escapes her throat, but she remains silent, allowing me to continue.
“Each member of the royal family is born with a pearl. It is the source of our power, and our connection to our guardian.”
I glance down at her and gesture to the scar that crosses over my eye. “I am sure you’ve noticed this.”
She nods. Violet wears an emotionless mask. Even though she is usually incapable of keeping her emotions from showing on her face, I cannot read her now.
“I was down here when it happened.” I turn back to the mirror.
“I was only fourteen years old. Waking up to the pain is the first clear memory I have.
The curse stole my pearl and trapped it, along with my power, within this mirror, shattering it and sending the shards far and wide throughout the land.
The first piece I recovered was the one that had embedded itself in my flesh.
“At the time, I could not comprehend the magnitude of what that meant. So, for years, I did nothing.” I stop to swallow down the bile that threatens to come up. At the remembered pain. The regret.
There is no one to blame for my situation except myself.
“My powers grew weaker by the day, until I could no longer control the dragon. By the time I understood that it would kill me if I did not recover all the pieces, I had already wasted too much time.”
Violet’s head whips around toward Imugi.
“They are simply my bonded demon in the form of a dragon. I am speaking of the Winter Dragon. Without my powers, the dragon loses the ability to think and becomes nothing more than a wild creature.”
I pause as a shudder rolls over her.
“Why do you let everyone believe you send it out to attack cities and towns if it’s not true?” she asks, even though we both know she is already aware of the answer.
“The truth doesn’t matter when the world chooses to believe the lie.”
“But—"
“In this case, it is close enough to the truth. The dragon has been unleashed upon this kingdom, the king and queen are dead… and I am responsible for all of it.”