Page 74 of Reign of the Talon
for she is the Yeouiju who will lift you from the ground.
And the Child of Venom will rule all
Before making her home in Yeomra’s halls.”
Sick to my stomach, I try to lurch away. Yet I am held fast by some invisible power, forced to exist only within the confines of the memory, exactly how I was in this moment. Panicking, I attempt to awaken, but this dream is not a mere dream—something tells me that it is another trick of my mind, forcing me to confront another truth.
Words spill from my mouth, unprompted, tasting of bloody memory.
“The last stanza,” I say slowly.Before making her home in Yeomra’s halls.“Does it mean—”
“All living thingsss die eventually, Shin Lina. Even the so-called immortals. It is inevitable.”Sonagi makes a fluid gesture that I suspect is the Imugi version of a shrug.“Do not concern yourself with that part. It sssimply means that one day, you will passs. And we will come with you, for we are linked. Wherever you go, we will not be far behind. We will follow you to Jeoseung and back if needed, my child.”
My eyes fly open as I wake gasping in a cold sweat, Sonagi’s last words to me ringing in my ears.
We will follow you to Jeoseung and back if needed, my child.
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
The Prophecy
“I’m willing to wager that you’re incredibly happy to see me,” Haneul says with a nasty grin as blood from a gash in his forehead trickles into his eyes. That same cut leaks green onto my skin, but I make no motion to brush it away as I stare him down, the Dokkaebi emperor Eunwoo apprehended in the dead of night, infiltrating this Sanyeongto palace from the northeastern side, armed only with his firesword and utterly alone.
A foolish plot. I felt his arrival, and he was most quickly dealt with.
Jeon Eunwoo stands behind the emperor in the throne room before the phoenix throne, a dagger held to his throat—more of a formality than anything. My newest soldier knows not to harm Haneul more than we must, knows that I suffer from the curious and altogether revolting affliction of being soul-stitched to this Dokkaebi. Yet the prince still looks at me in hopeful anticipation. I’ve already given Eunwoo my thanks, but it’s clear he wants more—more verbal praise, more chances to prove himself, more of a bond between us.
Exhausting.
Silently, I cock my head, unsure what to make of Haneul’s presence. At surface level, this seems to be some sort of pathetic assassination attempt. Yet Haneul has avoided attempts like these for precisely the same reason this one failed: I sense him. And he has gone to such lengths to keep this body alive and breathing, has certainly had some part in freeing the Prisoner from her cage… I do not believe that Haneul came here to kill me.
So why is he here?
Standing from the throne, and descending the dais, I eye him warily. I circle him, watching as his jaw works.Curious,I think.Very curious indeed.
“Why have you come, Dokkaebi?”
Sonagi, lingering in the shadows, hisses her discontent as she waits for his answers. Haneul’s eyes dart to the Mother of Imugi, and his hatred is carried toward me on the red thread of fate.
“Dokkaebi,” I snap. “I am speaking to you.”
“Yes, I know,” he retorts. “You’re very loud.” Haneul smirks. “Are you going to torture it out of me?”
I inhale thinly through my nose. He knows very well that I won’t, not when his wounds are mine as well.
“Well?” demands Haneul.
Torture him I may not, but I will not allow him to feel socomfortablein my presence. I slap him hard enough that both of us see stars. It’s to prove a point. As my cheek burns, I refuse to acknowledge it, instead lifting a finger and signaling to Sonagi, who slithers from the shadows.
Haneul barely reacted when I slapped him, save for a blink of surprise—and hurt. I sneer. Has he forgotten I am not the one he longs for? I wait, and after a long moment, I am rewarded.
“I came here,” Haneul says through ferally gritted teeth, “because the gods want to kill me.”
This is enough to take me aback—but only for a tenth of a millisecond. “I see,” I say icily as Sonagi sways back and forth, hood flared, eyeing Haneul with no insubstantial amount of hatred. “Your quest for self-preservation continues. As does your laughable mission to helpher.” I feel the Prisoner now, moving through the mind, scuttling like a roach. I clench my jaw, but the mindscape is far too delicate for my gnarled, mental fingers to catch her.
It matters not.
She will face me before the end of this…and she will lose. My attention turns back to the Dokkaebi in front of me.
