Silvern (The Gilded Series) (24 page)

I retreat to the archery center the next morning, needing the sensation of my arrows breaking free from my bow and flying across the distance. I’m desperate to watch them sink into their target, for the mark to hit center. The hike up the gravel road helps my head to clear.

Even as I’m escaping the city, I can’t resist calling Marc. He doesn’t answer. Figures. His mom probably put me on the banned list after we skipped town yesterday and he returned home half-drunk.

I send him a text:
Practicing w my bow. Want 2 meet 2night?

My heart aches knowing I am so useless. Why couldn’t I have been stronger and actually done something last night? All I did was tear up that freaking map.
Way to go, Jae.

Samshin’s words echo through me like treason. I can’t defeat Kud, she said. His powers far exceed mine. I’m just a mortal, inexperienced and clueless. He’s been around for a few thousand years, playing these games. What am I even thinking?

By the time I reach the main building of the archery center, I’ve already fixed Kud’s face into the target in my mind’s eye. There has to be a way to fix this mess. There’s no way I’m handing him that orb or allowing Marc to die. I’m going to fight this.

I pick up my bow and wave at Master Ahn.

As I’m heading back up the hill, I see the spot where I stepped through last time. I pause and stare at the place between the trees. Had that just been a fluke last time or had Palk orchestrated it? Or is it really a place where the Spirit World and ours connect?

When I called Grandfather last night and explained the situation, he told me the plan. We are to leave today at noon to take a trip to the southern coast to return the orb. He’d flip if he found out I knew of a portal right here in Seoul. My conscience battles between entering the Spirit World and seeking Palk to return the orb to the Heavenly Chest or keeping it to find Komo and help Marc. I tap my bow against my thigh.

Marc has made it clear he thinks I should return the orb, but thinking about him only sends a stab through my heart. I rub my forehead and scuff at the stone road.

In the end, I head to the top of the hill. I’m sweating, so I shrug off my jacket and toss it at the edge of the pagoda. The cool morning air buffets my back. It doesn’t take me long to unpack my bow and tie my
goong dae
to my waist. The bow’s wooden frame is solid, reassuring, in my grip. Like we belong together.

I stride to the line for target practice. Squinting against the sunlight, I pinpoint the target, 120 meters away. It’s far, but already the adrenaline has started rushing through me. The not knowing. The wonder of hitting something so far away, nearly impossible yet attainable.

I notch my arrow, pull back, lift, aim. The wind whispers against my ear. The buzz of the city below rushes across my face, alive and free.

I release. The string twangs, and I hear the gust of the arrow cutting the air. I purse my lips, waiting. And then it hits. Just slightly off the bull’s-eye. A smile cracks the corner of my mouth. It’s a good shot.

Someone starts clapping behind me. I spin, fear squeezing my heart, and whip another arrow out. But it’s Marc, sitting on the concrete wall next to the pagoda, his back resting against one of the wooden pillars. He gives me a lazy grin, his dimple showing. My heart melts into a river that never wants to end.

I lower my bow and race to him. I’ve barely set it down when I’m practically tackling him.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. “Are you feeling better? How did you know I’d be here?”

“Whoa, girl.” He lifts his hands into the air. “Easy now.”

But when I step back and assess him, I see he isn’t as well as I’d first thought. His skin is still pale, and beads of sweat line his forehead.

“You’re here, though.” I take his hands in mine, squeezing them. Too tight, but I don’t care.

“Dad brought me. I begged.”

The wind kicks up, and the clouds shroud the sun. I shiver against the breath of cold wind, feeling as if Death itself is laughing at me.

“How much time do you have?” I ask.

“It’s more like how much strength do I have left. My dad’s hanging out below, waiting. And your grandfather’s down there, too. Said he’s here to pick you up for the Council meeting.”

“Figures he’d find me.” I sit next to him and shrug back into my jacket. “Do they have any idea how we can fix all of this?”

“No.” He shakes his head. “My parents are working on it, though. Don’t worry. We’ll get through this. And about last night . . . I just lost it. This whole situation just sucks.”

“You seem better today.” I decide not to mention that this is his last full day.

“This morning my parents came up with a list of possible ideas for a cure. They’re pretty determined.”

“That’s great.” I stare at him, drinking in his green eyes and wild hair, even the air that hovers around him. He’s as perfect as anyone could possibly be.

“I should go. My parents are taking me to see a specialist today. He thinks he can help me.” He stands and wobbles. I catch hold of him. He bats my support away. “I’m good. Sometimes I get dizzy. My vision is a little blurry.”

“Just give me a second.” I could kick myself. I sound so stiff and awkward. It’s as if we barely know each other. I hate myself for it because I can’t seem to break through this impossible barrier that Kud created between us. I grab my bow, slip it back into its case, and strap the case to my back, and then we start back to the center.

As we tread down the hill, I hear voices farther down the road, around the bend. There’s no mistaking Grandfather’s voice. My heart quickens, and instinctively I reach for the orb. If Grandfather sees me, he’s going to make me go with him to meet the Council of Shinshi. I latch on to Marc and shove him into the forest.

“What are you doing?” Marc chuckles. “That’s just my dad and your grandfather.”

I glance around and spot the ruins not far from where we’re standing. An idea forms in my head.

“Would you do me a favor?” I ask, grabbing Marc’s arm so he won’t go back onto the path. “You know, since you’re dying and you won’t be able to do anything for me in the future.”

I mean my words to be playful, but they come out serious instead. Marc jams his hands in his pockets and groans. So I reach up and kiss him, dragging my fingers through his hair. Then I whisper, “Just say yes.”

“How can I say no to that?”

I take his chilled hand in mine and drag him over to the ruins. The wavering light twists and bends as if calling us to enter.

“Just hold on tight,” I say.

After the disaster of the last few days—months, really—I need time alone with Marc. Because if everything falls apart, I want the precious few moments that we have to be special.

He shakes his head as if to tell me this is a bad idea. But I keep pulling, and then the world is being pushed and squeezed all at the same time. We’re in a vortex, a blanket of stars cloaking us. There are so many doors, but I feel the pull of one in particular. The carvings along its surface glow golden in the midnight as if beckoning to me.

I reach out to open it and then see the
samjoko
symbol etched on its surface. The amulet opened this door for me once before, but that isn’t necessary anymore. I press my palm on the imprint, and the door swings open.

The two of us soar through the door as if we are flying. Then we tumble into this new world. My world. The thought sends a ripple of fear through me.

I shake away all doubts as I take in my surroundings. This is the only way for the two of us to gain time, I tell myself. I can tell we’re near the palace. In the distance is a series of sloping roofs, dark and faded against a dull-gray sky. I bite my lip. Today I can’t go there. The painful memories linger, too fresh.

Turning, I see the ocean in the distance and a pagoda resting on top of a cliff above it.

“How did you do that?” Marc asks, gazing back at the wavering lines where the portal opens.

“The portal?” I shrug. “Apparently I’m in charge of this place until Palk can find someone else.”

“Full access, huh?”

I laugh. “Something like that.”

“Are you going to take me on a tour? Or am I a prisoner?”

I cringe at the word prisoner. Too much of a reminder of the past, but he’s grinning at me and looking less pale by the second. “You know, this place might be good for you, after all. You’re looking better.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.”

A smile creeps across my face. “Come on.”

I take off running, the ground bursting into green beneath my feet. My heart leaps in my chest. The air is sweet and invigorating. Marc’s running beside me, the wind cutting against his hair. He grins as we head across the field, and I know the power of this place is surging through him, too.

“Race you to the beach,” he says and takes off.

“Oh no you don’t,” I yell after him.

My feet pound the ground. We sprint through tall sea grass and over sand dunes, our heels sinking deep into the hot sand. Just as Marc reaches the top of the last dune, I tackle him. We tumble together down the dune. Our limbs tangle, and when we land, sand coats us. I laugh, only to start choking on a mouthful of sand.

Marc catches me spitting and drooling like a baby. He bursts out laughing. “Serves you right, Fighter Girl.”

I try to glare, but it probably only makes me look even more comical. We lie on our backs, the sky above hovering in a gray and dull void.

“If you could have the perfect sky, what would it be?” I ask Marc.

“Icy blue. With wispy white clouds.”

I close my eyes and envision it. When I open them again, the sky looks exactly like I imagined. I grin. This is kind of fun.

Marc sits up. “How did you do that?”

“What else?” I look around. “Should I change the beach? The water?”

“You’re freaking me out.”

“Just think of it like a dream.” But then my heart slams against my ribs. Hadn’t Haemosu said something similar to me before?
The land of the wonderful dream.

Am I somehow becoming like Haemosu? Had it all started this way with him?

“What’s wrong?” Marc’s staring hard at me, and his hand cups my chin. “I can’t figure you out.”

“Me either.” I scoot closer to him. “I just know that I’m about to lose you and I want our last moments together to be the best ones. When we’re back at home, you can barely walk. Here, it’s as if Kud never existed. As if the mark he left on you doesn’t exist.”

“We can’t stay here forever. We belong to only one world.”

“I want to make this special,” I say. “Lasting.”

I press my finger to his lips. I don’t want to talk about any of this. It’s beyond depressing, and I can’t deal with it.

Instead, I pull him up and slip off my boots and jacket. Then I run into the ocean. I kick up water, splashing Marc. He scoops up a handful and douses me.

Seeing I’m now completely soaked, I dive into the water. It rushes over me, the perfect temperature. Marc dives in next and grabs me from behind. He pulls me close as if to throw me over his head. But instead, he stops and draws me closer. I wrap my legs around him and run my hands through his hair. He kisses my neck, his lips hot against my skin.

The water laps around us, and suddenly I’m lost in his touch. His mouth moves up my neck, inch by inch, until he finds my lips. Then we’re kissing as if it will be our last. Maybe it is. I hold on to him tight. Tears threaten to burst from me. I can’t let them. I refuse to ruin this moment. This place has become a million possibilities, and here it’s just the two of us, our breaths matching in even beats.

I’m not sure how long we are out in the water, clinging to each other, touching each other, never wanting the moment to end, but eventually we slosh our way to shore.

We grab our clothes, and I squeeze the water from my hair.

“We should probably head back,” he says. “It’s already getting dark.”

“That’s just this land’s time. The two worlds are on different time zones.”

I’m gazing out into the water, watching the sun squeeze below the horizon, when I notice something sparkling along the water. Curious, I step toward it. “What is that?” I squint at the horizon.

“No clue,” Marc says.

Then I hear a voice, calling out to me from the lights. “Jae Hwa! Jae Hwa!”

My breath catches. I know that voice.

I race deeper into the water, stumbling against the drag of the current. “Komo!” I scream. “I’m here!”

The golden light moves closer until it’s nearly hovering over me. I crane my neck back to see it.

“Komo?” I whisper this time.

“Jae Hwa,” a voice says within the golden light. “Finally. I’ve been looking for you for too long.”

“Komo!” I spin in a circle, wondering how to reach her.

“Use the White Tiger orb. What you seek is here in your lands. The orb will lead you to what your heart desires.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Good-bye, Jae Hwa. Be strong of heart. You will need it for the journey before you. I must move on. My time on earth is finished. We will meet again in the heavens.”

The golden light shimmers and slowly vanishes into the darkening sky.