Page 94 of Reign of the Talon
Rui grins sleepily. “You’re getting closer, aren’t you?” he murmurs. “Closer to reclaiming yourself.”
The thought of existing within my body no longer fills me with an acute terror. Instead, I feel only a slight hesitancy that is overpowered by the flare of determination. I nod, toying with my necklace. Rui’s eyes travel to the five little keys, as if noticing them for the first time. With an elegant finger, he traces the charms: the beast, the willow tree, the dongsimgyeol, the little mirror, and the three truths. “My, Lina,” he murmurs. “What excellent taste in jewelry you have. I have finally rubbed off on you.”
I roll my eyes fondly.Two more keys await, I tell him.
“Only two?” he whispers, and there is no disguising the hope in his voice.
Only two, I confirm, and his smile is a thing of beauty: not the wolfish, feral grin he gives to others, but the soft, gentle one that is reserved only for me. My heart flutters like the delicate wings of a butterfly as he presses a kiss to my temple. I do not want to break this moment, yet I must still ask.How do you fare in the real world?I’ve not had time to stop and look, pouring all of my focus into crossing the levels and collecting the keys. I know only that time is of the essence. I would feel guilty, laying here so indolently with Rui while war wages outside, but if he has time to visit me in this mindscape, it means the Prophecy has stopped for the night.
Rui?I prompt.I felt pain, earlier, from the Prophecy. What has happened?
A suspiciously long pause follows.
I narrow my eyes.
Rui clears his throat. “There may have been a minor…ah, incident today,” he says innocently, with a virtuous smile that is not fooling me. “A minor incident in which I didnotfight a god. I would certainly never do that, little thief, as my beloved wife warned me not to—”
Rui!
“—and far be it from me to ignore the wishes of my soul-stitched,” he finishes sweetly.
Oh, he is insufferable. I drag my hands down my face.
Of course he fought a god.
Of course he did.
“In my defense,” Rui hastens to say, spreading his hands in a humble, supplicating gesture, “I had little choice.”
I listen with growing alarm as he details the fight on Habaek’s Bridge, and the following ambush by Dalnim, Haemosu, and their Bulgae. When he reaches the moment of Seokga’s involvement, I blink, not bothering to hide my disbelief.
In the stories, at least, the lines between the deities are clear. In those fables, there is a cleanly cut divide been the Good and the Evil. Gameunjang would fall into the Good, alongside Haemosu and Dalnim, as well as most of the other deities, including Habaek. Seokga, however… Well, the trickster god would be firmly grouped within the Evil, alongside Yeomra—whose power over death is widely feared—and illness deities such as Manurasin. For Gameunjang to have called upon Seokga… It confuses me, makes my head ache with bewilderment. It did not occur to me that Gameunjang would be allied with one such as Seokga.
Perhaps the stories are oversimplifications of the lines between Good and Evil. Gods know, I myself have found them increasingly blurred. Yet…I wonder at Gameunjang’s apparent alliance with Seokga.
Rui seemingly attempts to shake off the rest of his exhaustion. “I’ve slowed the Prophecy’s route to the capital of Bonseyo for as long as I can manage, but she’s taking the tunnels underneath the orchards. Apparently, they’re quite fast.” He scrubs at his face. “And Iseul has been reclaimed. She’s working with me,” he adds with a crooked smile. “The Prophecy isn’t too popular anymore, as it turns out.”
Iseul has changed sides. I blink in pleased surprise, pushing aside my reservations about Gameunjang and Seokga.
The Prophecy doesn’t know Iseul has swapped her allegiances?I ask quickly. My heart lurches in my chest at what the Prophecy inside of my body might do to Iseul should she find out of her disloyalty. The Gumiho only ever showed me kindness when I knew her. I still remember the day she found me on the street, unable to stand, unable to breathe as I was flooded with panic. The Gumiho took me in her arms, carried me to safety. It warms me to know she has decided to abandon the Prophecy, to be better than bloodlust and rage. We are so similar, she and I.
We could have been great friends, I think, if things were different.
“She suspects. She has Jeon Eunwoo watching her—Emperor Jeon’s bastard son. He joined her ranks recently. And he has wings,” Rui adds, watching as I blink in surprise. Whenever I hope that this cesspool of a war cannot grow any more chaotic, I am proven utterly wrong. “His mother was apparently a Heavenly Maiden. But from what I’ve observed, Iseul is taking care of it. She knows she’s being watched.”
Shaking my head, I roll out of the bed and hastily begin dressing. I’ve taken the time to rest, to lie with Rui. Now, though… Now, that familiar sense of urgency has settled back over me. I jerk my shirt over my head and hitch my pants up to my waist. I close my fingers around the three truths.
I’m still unsure why I had to learn them. It is the Prophecy who is destined to “rule all,” not me—I spoke the truth. I’ve no desire to lead, to be an empress… Although I suppose in all technicalities, as Rui’s wife, I’m Empress of Gyeulcheon. Perhaps that is what Yoonho and Sang meant, but still, something about it does not sound entirely accurate. It has always been the Prophecy’s dream to be an empress. Not mine.
And even if I make it out of here…if we manage to thwart the Prophecy and our deaths…I would not wish to rule the Three Kingdoms.
“Where are you going, little thief?” Rui asks quietly as I tug on my shoes.
Nowhere yet, I respond with slight trepidation as I wait for the stairs to appear. Rui slips out of bed and redons his robes, joining my side just as the wall is replaced by the long staircase.
“Let me come with you,” he says. “I want to savor the time we have. The Prophecy will rip me away soon.”
I hesitate. This staircase is a passageway through the mind, after all, a path to my most private thoughts. My darkest memories. Yet Rui is my soul-stitched. My husband. He has seen me at my worst, and still, he loves me. I have seen, through our thread, his love for me firsthand. And I will strive every day to be worthy of it.
