Page 73 of Reign of the Talon
“I have to go,” he whispers onto the top of my head. It is a hoarse whisper, heavy with regret. Laying on him near the fire, I stir, opening my eyes and looking down at him in concern.
The time we have spent reacquainting ourselves with each other was only a fleeting moment of light before the cold, dark reality of our situation seeped in. Rui’s body is not here, not truly. He is in Gyeulcheon, and the gods are coming for him, just as Dalgyal Gwisin is coming for me—lurking in the woods beyond. As my concern hurtles down the red thread, Rui smiles, and it’s a crooked—yet sincere—thing.
How is it, I marvel, that he came here with eyes like abandoned, haunted tombs? How is it that in such short a time, they have regained some of their light?
Rui, please tell me what it is you plan to do.
Rui sighs. “You won’t like it, little thief. In fact”—another crooked smirk—“you’re going to hate it. I’m half expecting you to hit me on the head and call me insufferable and altogether unhinged. But if you must know…” He hesitates, continuing only when I glower. “I’m going to allow myself to be kidnapped.”
Kidnapped?I reel back, eyes widening.You don’t mean by—
“Unfortunately, I do.”
Rui. No. Absolutely not.
“Rui,yes,” he replies sardonically. “It’s a clever idea, actually, Lina. And—ignoring the fact that it is supported by Gameunjang herself—I’ll explain why,” he says quickly as I roll off him, glancing around for some blunt object I can use to beat some sense into him.
“The Prophecy needs me alive,” he presses, voice now entirely serious. “She doesn’t want to die, but because our lives are linked, I am a threat to her. I could kill myself at any moment and bring her down with me. Somebody—like Kang, for example—could assassinate me and, by extension, assassinateheras well. So the tactic has shifted. She wants to capture me—keep me alive and unable to foil her plan. She’ll protect me from the gods, if only to protect herself. And it’s not as if she can so much as scratch me without feeling it herself.”
Your troops—
“Will be overtaken by Dalnim and Haemosu. They will fight willingly for them. I’ve already begun to lose their faith—I suspect that even without the twins’ intervention, I would have had to flee regardless.” His mouth tightens. “The road ahead is dark, but this path here—it could lead to light.”
If you do this, I start, hardly believing that this war has deteriorated so rapidly that Rui has no choice but to seek asylum with the Prophecy inhabiting my body, believing itself to be some warped version of me,if you are held hostage, what then?
“What else but sabotage?” Rui asks with a sharp, dangerous smirk. “If the Imugi were to mysteriously fall ill en route to Bonseyo… Well, that would be quite unfortunate, wouldn’t it? If everyone else insists on playing with poisons, I might as well try my hand—regardless of how cowardly it may be. It is only fair.”
I swallow hard. I do not want to accept this, but it…it makes sense, in a twisted and disorienting sort of logic, the very sort of logic Rui operates by. My eyes flick to the window, to the blizzard beyond. I have no other suggestions. As much as it worries me to admit it, this strategy of Rui’s may very well work, for no other option appears to me.
And if Rui does not take this path before him, he will die—tonight.
Fine, I sign, although I know he was not asking for permission. Rui, the stubborn Dokkaebi, does exactly as he pleases.Just…be careful.
“Always,” he replies, but his smile is a little less certain.
…
I sleep fitfully the rest of the night, allowing myself only a few hours of rest, lest Yego burst through the door of the chogajip and devour me whole. My dream is…a memory, one that I wish I could leave far behind.
In it, I am standing in the Sunpo sewers, the stench of blood and shit thick in my nose as I stare into Sonagi’s luminous, golden eyes. She is coiled around me, black forked tongue flicking in the air, eager hunger rolling off her in waves. I know this scene—I know it like I know to avoid swimming in the strong currents of the Yongwangguk Sea, know that it is a dangerous, dangerous moment.
One that changed everything.
In this memory, I have just killed Asina and the other Blackbloods—the ones that so often tormented Sang’s brother, Seojin. Sonagi has just devoured Asina, leaving only a bloody finger behind, which will later be put in the sight of Konrarnd Kalmin as a calling card. And the Prophecy has just infiltrated my mind, for Sonagi has captured me in her gaze, has shown me the history of the Imugi-Dokkaebi war, has spoken those damning words to me.
“With one last breath,
an empress will rise.
From dust and shadow
to bring sunrise.
Follow her and her path will lead true
to power and vengeance if from war you withdrew.
What you seek has now been found
