Page 70 of Reign of the Talon
Yego heaves upward, and I tumble back into the snow, scrabbling to my feet as quickly as I can. The moment Gameunjang disappeared, Yego burst into the Temple of Ruin. This fight, this endless, damnable fight, has not ceased since. The entire way up the winding staircase was a battle; I am only relieved that the journey here, to this respite between levels, was rather short. It is exhausting, kicking and stabbing and ducking all while attempting to climb up steps.
This demon. I need to kill it.Now.
Breathing hard, I flip my sword in my hand as we circle each other. Having lost its arm, it walks hunched on its two legs, which are hidden by the stained hem of its bloody hanbok. Its teeth click, chatter, and gnash at me. “Pretty morsel,” it croons beneath wet gulps. “Prettymorsel…”
I rush it. I go fast, and I gohard. I’m fueled by fury, and I know, as the blade of my sword nears its skinny little neck, that this is Yego’s end…
It must know it, too, because the foul thing’s mouth slackens in terror.
And then it screams.
Itscreams, so loudly that icicles burst and shatter from the trees like glass, that I fall to my knees, unable to see, unable tothink. Blood might be trickling from my ears; I am not sure. My firesword falls from my hand, and I can feel the hot stench of its mouth as it looms over me, teeth clicking, rotating…
In the corner of my vision, there is a glint of gold.
“LINA!” That enraged voice, filled with alarm and fury, is one I know well. Snow flies upward from the ground as a heavy body collides with the Dalgyal Gwisin, tackling it with impossible strength. Holding it down so I can make the killing blow. I leap to my feet as Yego throws Rui off him, and with a faint, enraged chittering, flees into the forest. Panting, I make to go after it, but Rui—rising with a growl— gently catches my wrist.
“You’re bleeding,” he warns quietly, brushing a knuckle against my forehead. It comes away red, and I grimace at the flash of dizzying pain, remembering a nasty fall on the stairs. I freeze as my eyes land onhisforehead, where a similar gash drips gold.
I blink, swaying unsteadily. No. I thought…I thought he only shared wounds with the Prophecy, with my physical body. If I’d known, I would have been more careful.
If Yego catches me, devours me…for me, it means my meager existence in here is snuffed out, that the Prophecy is rid of me and may continue on unhindered. But what would it mean for Rui? Could it kill him? My head has begun to ache, and it is not only from the cut.
“Into the chogajip, little thief,” Rui murmurs, tilting his head. “You are in no fit state to fight.”
The hut is the same as last time—the crackling fire, the soft pillows and warm blankets, the swirling snow outside. Yet on the bed, there is a wooden box of fresh bandages and a damp washcloth. I reach for them, but Rui shakes his head.
“Let me,” he whispers. “Please.”
“You can be worthy of Rui’s love if you allow yourself to be.”
Hesitantly, I give him a tiny nod, sitting on the edge of the bed. Rui stands between my legs, tilting my head this way and that, dabbing the cut delicately with the washcloth.
Thank you, I tell him.For—saving me.
“It is an undignified sort of death, to be eaten by a creature that ugly.” Delicately, he begins to bandage the wound.
My thoughts exactly, I agree, and Rui smirks.The war, I say a moment later.I haven’t had time to…look. How goes it?
Rui stands very still for a moment, smirk falling, and I know something is terribly wrong. “Ah. The Prophecy has taken Wyusan.”
I’m leaping to my feet before he can stop me, sending him staggering back a few paces at the terrible reminder. I need to go. I need to gonow. No matter that my legs are trembling with exhaustion from the fight up the stairwells. I need to… I need to…
“Lina.” Rui’s eyes are grim. “You are of absolutely no use to anybody if you make yourself the Dalgyal Gwisin’s dinner.”
I give him a scathing look, mostly because I know that he is right. With pointed deliberateness, I sit back down, allowing him to finish tending to the cut.
What will you do now?
“That remains to be decided,” Rui murmurs, stepping back. “Some, ah, complications have recently arisen.”
What complications?
“Well…” Rui raises a brow and then winces when the motion makes ichor drip down his face.
Oh, for the gods’ sakes.
It’smyturn to grab the washcloth and gesture impatiently for him to sit down. He has the same cut, after all, and although it may not heal until mine does, I cannot abide the sight of it, knowing it was my doing. “You must promise me not to…overreact,” he murmurs. “This is, after all, only a minor setback. Very minor. Nothing to trouble yourself over, little thief.”
