Chapter Twenty-Two Sunny
Chapter Twenty-Two
Sunny
“Okay.” Keeper Bang turns toward us at the top of the volcanic mountain, lava bubbling behind her, and hands each of us a vial of water. “Throw the tokens into the volcano and jump.”
Haesan shoots me an accusatory glance.
I attempt a nonchalant shrug. “She’s not pushing us. We have to jump.”
The merman narrows his eyes at me even more. I don’t glare back at him because I have to admit it’s a very slight difference.
“We can do it together.” I take the vial from him and hold his hand tight. “On three. One. Two. Three.”
“Wait.” Keeper Bang waves her hands in alarm. “You don’t actually have to . . .”
I don’t hear the rest of her sentence as I throw the vials into the molten lava and jump in after it. And Haesan has no choice but to follow because I have an iron grip on his hand. Luckily, a swirly blue portal opens up inside the volcano, and we fall through it.
Shit.
We hit the water with a sizzling splash, and I scramble to get the clothespin out of my pocket. But my jeans are plastered against me, thanks to the water, and I struggle to stick my hand inside the pocket.
I arch my back the best I can to give my hand better access to my pocket, and I barely get the tip of my middle finger inside. The skintight jeans seem to have fused onto my legs. Where did I even buy these?
I glance around the water, but I don’t see Haesan. I start to panic as my lungs burn, and I kick my legs a little too hard.
“Sunny.” Haesan grips my shoulders. “I’m right here. You’re okay.”
I have no idea how he’s talking underwater, but I came to terms with knowing nothing when it comes to this fucking realm. Gods, the water is so cold. I nod at him and dig into my pocket.
Jagged pain splinters through my chest as I use up the last of my oxygen.
I rush to fish out the clothespin with numb, fumbling fingers, only to lose hold of it in the water.
Air escapes from the corners of my lips.
The clothespin floats away from me, and my vision narrows as I fight for consciousness, my body begging me to inhale.
Haesan lunges for the pin and pinches my nose with it—just as I take a heaving breath, not caring that I’ll inhale a lungful of water. But it’s . . . air. Thank gods. I greedily gulp in more air, but my limbs flail like I’m drowning, my panic still not spent.
“Gang Haesan, did you bring a sinker to the Kingdom of Water?” an amused voice drawls.
“Don’t be an asshole, Ahn Seongho. My friend can swim like a fish,” Haesan snaps as he hoists me into his ginormous arms and gathers me against his chest. Then, he whispers for my ears only, “Please tell me you know how to swim, Sunny.”
“What?” I can talk, and not in that underwater bubbling voice like in cartoons. I take another full breath. I can breathe through my mouth without gulping down water. It’s all actually pretty cool. I finally stop flailing. “I . . . I know how to swim.”
“Hmm.” Haesan doesn’t sound convinced.
“What business does she have in our kingdom?” Ahn Seongho asks in a more official tone.
I notice the tall, pretty male for the first time. He is wearing a flowing blue robe, similar to the silver robes worn by the portal keepers at the Kingdom of Sky, with a man bun on top of his head.
“None of your business,” Haesan grumbles.
“I am a portal keeper. It is precisely my business.” The keeper smirks.
I glance between the two males. I’ve never seen my friend so rude to anyone before. While Keeper Ahn comes across as a little cocky, he doesn’t seem all that bad.
“She needs an audience with the queen.” Haesan relents. “It is a matter of great urgency.”
The keeper frowns at his earnest words, then he nods decisively. “Then make haste, Haesan. I won’t hold you up any longer.”
“Th-thank you, Seongho.” Haesan seems a little taken aback. “M-maybe we can get a drink sometime, and . . . catch up.”
“I would like that.” Keeper Ahn smiles, the corners of his eyes wrinkling. “Now, go and take care of that urgent business.”
With a nod goodbye, Haesan swims out toward our destination, still carrying me.
“Who was that?” I ask.
“We grew up together,” he says, propelling us forward with powerful kicks of his legs. “He was my childhood nemesis.”
I side-eye the in’eo. “He doesn’t seem so bad.”
“Yeah,” Haesan concedes. “He seems to have grown out of his bratty stage. Maybe I should’ve given him another chance sooner.”
He leaves unsaid that he might never get that chance now. And I can’t in good conscience assure him that he will. I can hope and try my best, but I can’t promise him a better future. Or any future at all.
We swim on in somber silence. I shiver after a while.
“How far is the Dragon Palace from here?” The clothespin lets me breathe, but the water is freezing cold. I’m not sure how long I can last.
“Not too far.” My friend pulls me closer, and I burrow into his warmth. “We’re almost at the capital.”
“Thank gods.” I crane my neck and squint my eyes, then I see it—a pearlescent walled city. Hmm. Something looks . . . off, but I can’t put my finger on it. Whatever. I drop my head against Haesan’s chest again. I couldn’t care less at the moment. I just want to get dry and warm.
He swims us to the bottom of the fortress and knocks on the big mother-of-pearl gates. Two guards swing them open from the inside. But something still isn’t right. I feel like I’m watching them on TV.
Curious, I reach toward them, but my fingers skim across an invisible barrier.
That’s why everything looks weird. The capital of the Kingdom of Water is enclosed in something, like it’s inside a giant snow globe.
I press my fingertips against the barrier, and this time, there is a little give. Interesting.
With startled shouts, the guards jump back and point their spears at us.
“Wh-what’s their p-problem?” My teeth clack like castanets.
“I am Gang Haesan,” he says quickly to the guards. “I am here to see my aunt, Gang Sanggung.”
“That female just b-breached the barrier.” One of the guards waves his spearhead at me.
“Impossible,” the other guard rasps.
I blink at them and belatedly notice the water splashes on their uniforms.
Well, shit.
I should probably say something in my defense. My Yeoiju is usually the explanation for all the weird shit I can do, but that will probably freak them out more. “I d-didn’t mean t-to.”
“She’s my friend—one of the good guys.” Haesan takes a step toward the open gate, and both guards point their spears at us. “Please let us in. She’s a being of Mountains. She won’t survive much longer in the water.”
The guards exchange uneasy glances but don’t budge.
“Let the child through,” a female chides from behind them. “He practically grew up in the Dragon Palace. Do you really want to risk Gang Sanggung’s ire?”
“But the female—” one guard insists, as the other slowly lowers his spear.
“Is his friend.” The female’s voice takes on a steely edge. “Do you want to deal with the diplomatic headache of letting a being of Mountains die from hypothermia?”
“No, Jo Sanggung.” The guard finally relents and steps back from the doors, but he points a naggy finger at me. “You can come in, but don’t make any sudden moves.”
I gape at the male as I shiver uncontrollably. Do I look like I’m capable of making any sudden moves?
“Hold your breath,” Haesan says close to my ear. “And try not to move.”
I do my best not to shiver too hard as he steps through the gates in slow motion. It literally feels like he’s pushing through a giant blob of Jell-O. But he steps out on the other side to a mild autumn day, and I sag with relief.
Haesan walks past the guards with a glare, then bows to the female who stands across from us. She is wearing a turquoise hanbok chima with a navy blue dangui on top, the attire of a high-ranking court lady.
“Thank you, Jo Sanggung,” he says when he straightens.
“I thought you were busy training to become a suhoshin.” She tuts her tongue and waves her hand, whipping the moisture out of our wet clothes. “Does the beauty in your arms have anything to do with you playing hooky?”
The dry clothes feel like heaven. Warmth seeps back into my body, and my teeth quiet down enough for me to think straight.
“Uh.” Haesan shifts on his feet, glancing from the court lady to me, then back. “Actually, yes.”
I squeak in outrage and wriggle in his arms. He sets me gently on the ground, then smiles proudly when I don’t keel over. It’s not easy being mad at someone so sweet, but I manage to scowl at him. “I am not the reason you skipped out on your suhoshin cadet training.”
“But you are, Stormy.” His brows pull low, then after a second, his eyes widen, and he waves his hands frantically at the court lady. “No, no, no. Not in the way you think. She is my friend—a friend that I am a little afraid of. It is not what you think at all.”
“Why are you here, child?” She smiles indulgently at the bright-pink in’eo.
“We came to speak with my aunt.” His expression sobers, worry replacing embarrassment. “We need an audience with the queen. It is a matter of great urgency. The lives of everyone in the Realm of Four Kingdoms are at stake.”
“Surely you exaggerate.” Jo Sanggung chuckles uneasily.
“No, my lady.” I shake my head. “He does not.”
She studies my face for a long moment, then she nods as though coming to a decision. “The queen will hold her daily assembly soon. The Dragon Palace is only a short distance away. I will escort you to the royal audience hall.”
The court lady walks exceptionally fast, and we hurry to keep up with her. I turn to Haesan and whisper, “Who exactly is she?”
“Jo Sanggung is in charge of the royal kitchen,” he answers. “And a good friend of my aunt.”