Chapter Thirty-Nine
JOON
Memories cycle before my eyes, returning faster and faster, until they are a blinding blur. Each one is faded and tattered along the edges with the passage of time.
The clues were always there. Lost and obscured in twisted dreams that evaporate with the morning dew—lies muddled with enough scraps of truth to make them more convincing.
Was the body of that child really my brother? Were the other two Hyeon and Yuna, or were the figures by their design?
I blink, and I am before the mirror again. The cracks heal as the curse begins to unravel from the very spot that anchored it all this time. Blue light shines from the edges, radiating with the pulse of a strong heartbeat.
As it fades, a pearl—perfect and whole—pushes out of the glass. I catch it before it hits the ground.
My magic thrums in my veins, strong and unfaltering.
The guardian within stirs.
But not like before. He is calm. At peace again. He is finally free of the pain that imprisoned his mind.
We are united again, at long last, as we were always meant to be.
I missed you, old friend, I say through our connection.
And I, you. The dragon’s voice is deep and gentle. A comfort I had forgotten existed.
It is over.
I cannot help staring at this small, insignificant-looking thing—whole for the first time in far too long. There is a faint shimmer of a warmer hue than the pure icy color I remember.
Perhaps it is tainted by the blood that has soaked my hands over the years, or a scar left behind by the curse… or maybe it is the mark of Violet’s sacrifice.
I hold it to my chest, closing my eyes as the connection between my pearl and my essence takes root once again. As it was meant to be.
The curse continues to untangle, releasing its hold over the land and the people. The first victim of the Winter Dragon’s ice thaws and begins to wake.
Concentrating on the curse, I mentally sort through the tangled strands. When I find the oldest of them, I pull, willing it to come undone faster. Then I move to the next and the next.
The last hundred fray and snap in rapid succession. I feel it working through the human cities, feel each of my previous wives waking.
My feet barely touch the ground as I race back to the old throne room. I need to be there, ready for when Violet is freed.
Mingi and Iseul wait beside Violet’s frozen form. They turn their gaping expressions on me as I sprint toward them. I pass the shadouk, relieved he cannot bring harm to this world any longer.
“I… Your…” Mingi begins and fails to collect his thoughts.
“Both of you, go assist whoever you can as the curse continues to break,” I order in a way to help their scattered thoughts find purchase.
They bow quickly. But Iseul hesitates, lingering behind as Mingi jogs off to obey.
“What will you do with her?” she asks. Her eyes sparkle with unshed tears.
Mingi calls to her from the doorway. Iseul bows again, then hurries to catch up without waiting for an answer.
The gentle trickle of water from the stream comes in from a broken window near the back of the room. I use the sound to calm my thoughts and focus.
My power comes to me with an ease I never thought possible. Stronger than I ever knew before the curse, when I was still coming into my full potential.
It bends to the shape of my lightest command. I had forgotten how it was supposed to feel—an extension of myself rather than attempting to control the flow of a wild river slipping through my fingers. Impossible to hold for long.
I ready myself for the moment the curse unravels around Violet.
The gentle rustle of fabric comes from somewhere nearby. A sigh.
Magic ripples over Violet. The broken spell has finally reached her. I must act the second she is free or risk losing her for good.
My attention snags on a movement out of the corner of my eye. I ignore it at first. But then my head snaps up as it draws near.
The shadouk stalks toward us, slowed by the snapping and crackling of bones and joints. He doubles over in pain as his body transforms.
Demon shit.
I assumed him dead—he should have been with the nature of the blast I struck him with… except his demon blocked part of it.
There are seconds to decide my course of action.
Gently setting Violet on the ground, I rise, ready to cut down this monster with a single blow. I divide my power, taking only enough to stop the threat ahead of me while saving everything else for her.
I position myself between Violet and the demon cursed creature ahead of me. Whether I heal her first or deal with him, I will need to move fast.
The unnatural creature laughs with my uncle’s voice. A horrible, wet, raspy sound. “I see you finally succeeded at something for once in your life, Nephew. It’s inconvenient, but I will make things right once I am rid of you.”
“You killed my family,” I snarl. If I can distract him with words, then I can save my power for Violet instead of warning him to keep his distance.
“One must sacrifice something of great value in order to gain power.” He shrugs. “What could be more poetic than the brother who took everything from me?”
The ash and rust colored demon shakes off the rest of the ice shell and joins the shadouk. Both watch me from identical red eyes.
My uncle’s fingers blacken and stretch, turning into talons.
“Before the first kings became kings, they sought out demons and bonded to them. Thus, the fae were born into this world.” Scales, soot gray and coal red, break out across his face and neck.
The charred veins spread, growing and cracking his scales as they pulse beneath his skin.
“I realized that if I were to claim my birthright, I must follow in their footsteps.”
I flick a glance at Violet. The ice is thin. It’s only a matter of minutes before it’s gone entirely.
“But upon my return…” His breathing becomes labored, the register of his voice dropping two octaves as he continues, “My dear brother left me no choice—I had to force his hand.”
His arm transforms into that of a dragon. The shadouk takes a jerky step closer. Then another. Some of the ashy scales flake off.
I flex my fingers, feeling my magic spark and dance between them.
“If he had abdicated, then your mother could have admitted to loving me as I knew she did. But he refused—it’s his fault she died!” One eye turns pitch black, with a red slit pupil cutting through the center. The other eye is bloodshot, though it remains human.
“You are delusional. She loved my father. They were happy together.”
What stands before me no longer resembles one of the fae. It is a horrific homunculus made from parts of a dragon and a man, twisted and fused together.
One side of his mouth is stretched wide, nearly to his ear.
Razor-sharp teeth push out, sending the others falling to the floor.
His left arm is too long and bent in such a way that it appears to be snapped in half, while the opposite is that of the guardian he claimed against the will of the saints.
There is a crack behind me.
Finally.
I drop to one knee as the last of the ice evaporates.
“Enough of this. It is time to send you to the Otherworld and reunite you with your family.” The transformation completes, ripping through him as the grotesque dragon overtakes the rest of him. With a screech that splits the air, he ascends.
Mingi, Iseul, and Imugi reappear in the doorway, stopping short when they see the dragon.
Our eyes meet. I dip my chin. A sign that no matter how things play out, I trust them to know and carry out my will. Then, I send my power into Violet with every ounce of strength I possess.
The violent force of the shadouk’s tail strikes me in the chest, sending me flying. It circles, preparing to swoop again.
Imugi moves in front of me. They would risk themselves knowing they cannot win.
“Protect them,” I say.
My bonded demon, and life-long friend, turns their sorrowful eyes on me. There is no time for argument or hesitation. They bow their head, then cut through the air to do as I ask.
Knowing those I love are safe frees me to fight this battle. I call my dragon to the surface. The transformation is seamless—a sigh of magic tingling over flesh.
I glance at Violet once more. Her lashes flutter open. She sighs. Then her eyes close, and she stills.
No…
It had worked, but only for the briefest second. Now I cannot be with her in these last moments. I can only take some small comfort that the others can offer some comfort as she slips into the Otherworld. If only I had another minute, I could have saved her.
Rage bubbles up, and I turn it on the one who ripped her from me.
Cutting through the air, I aim for the shadouk. My talons pierce his scales and dig in. I drag him with me, soaring higher, through the ceiling and into the night.
He struggles against me as I heave him toward the Maldan Ice Wall until nothing but darkness and barren tundra surrounds us. I fling him, letting the points of my claws rip into muscle and bone as he tumbles into the frozen earth.
Half-clotted blood stains the snow. But the shadouk still lives. He leaps up, taking flight.
We collide. Snarling. Biting. Shredding. Neither of us is willing to concede.
This will only end when one, or both, of us dies.