Silvern (The Gilded Series)

by Farley, Christina

  “Kud.” I choke out his name.

  I’m a complete fool.

  “Yes. So you recognize me after all?”

  I spot a crooked grin struggling on his face and recognize a slight resemblance. Why hadn’t I seen it before?

  “Leave me alone.”

  “You were not thinking that moments ago.”

  My face turns heated, shamed at how close I let him come to me. I back up farther.

  “We have a connection, the two of us,” Kud says.

  My heart stops at the possibility. “You’re wrong.”

  “Join me or give me the orb.” Kud’s voice turns sour. “And you can go back to your pathetic life.”

  My hand clenches the orb, still tucked inside my palm. The power of it pulses against my skin as if fire.

  “Never,” I say. “It will be returned to the Heavenly Chest.”

  “You followed my instructions perfectly.” He steps closer. His tentacles writhe at my feet, sliding up my bare legs. “I enticed you to take this quest to find the orb at the Council. Even when the king of the Underworld tried to thwart me, you defeated his weasels and Princess Bari. I returned to my land barely in time to heal my wounds. Then I showed you the back door, and you once again took the bait. You were my only hope for obtaining this orb. Excellent work.”

  His words sicken me. They are truth, and I’m ashamed as I face it.

  I spin and make a break for the elevator, but his tentacles cinch tight around my ankles. I fall to the ground, barely catching myself, but the orb tumbles out of my grip, rolling across the concrete floor. I look for the waiter, but his head is resting on the counter. I pray he’s sleeping and not dead.

  Kud looms over me. His eyes focus on the orb, just out of my reach. I slap the ground, grasping for the orb before he can reach it, but he lifts my body upright using his robe’s tentacles. They snake tightly around me until my arms are bound. I’m practically a mummy, everything tucked in except for my neck. He leans in close as if taking in my scent. I gag. His breath reeks like death.

  “Yes. It is mine now,” he says, and swoops to pick it up.

  The orb flames bright as a shooting star. He screams in pain, cursing, and it tumbles to the ground. With his unscathed hand, he grips his searing red palm. A sizzling sound and the stench of burnt flesh fill the air.

  “What curse have you put on this, witch?” he snarls.

  “The dragons bound the orb to me. I’m its keeper now until I give it away. Only I can hold it.”

  “What is this?” Kud spins in ferocious anger, lifting his fists and shaking them. He opens his mouth, and the terrace erupts into a windstorm. Chairs and tables fly across the roof and fall away. The lightbulbs shatter in their sockets and are scattered across the ground. My hair flies around me, but I stay upright, still bound.

  The elevator doors slide open, and Marc races out. He’s pushed back by the gusts and is pressed against the elevator shaft’s wall. His eyes are wide.

  “You can’t win,” I yell at Kud over his storm. “I am the orb’s keeper until I return it to the Heavenly Chest.”

  Just speaking those words, a strength builds inside me, because I know they are true. The storm stops. Kud turns his attention to me. “Until death do you part.”

  “No!” Marc yells and darts to me. “Don’t touch her!”

  Kud holds up a hand and Marc freezes, unable to move.

  “What have you done to Kang-dae?” Marc says.

  Kud starts laughing, a deep, devious, guttural sound. “I am Kang-dae,” Kud says. “The perfect disguise, don’t you agree?”

  “I don’t believe it,” Marc says. But at the same time, I see the understanding wash across Marc’s features. “You murderous demon.”

  “Yes, indeed,” Kud says.

  My heart breaks into a million pieces. How wrong I’d been. I stare into Marc’s eyes and beg his forgiveness. How many times did he warn me he had a bad feeling about Kang-dae? But there isn’t a flick of anger in Marc’s gaze as he stares back at me. Only that lock of his jaw to show his determination to stop this madness. This is what I love about him. He understands me like no one else can.

  “You can kill me,” I tell Kud, “but the orb will follow me into death. It is forever bound to me.”

  “Unless you release your hold,” Kud adds.

  “I’ll never do it.” I lift my chin. “Nothing will persuade me.”

  “Nothing?” Kud’s lips twitch, and his gaze leaves my face and focuses on Marc.

  “No,” I choke, realizing Kud’s new intent. “Don’t.”

  “You have been such a nuisance,” Kud tells Marc and struts to him. “She was almost mine. She let me touch her. If that blasted bird hadn’t shown up, her lips would have kissed mine.”

  Marc’s face turns ashen and his head jerks back as if he’s been slapped. My heart tears in half, and I gasp out a sob.

  “Don’t believe him, Marc,” I say. “You’re the one I want to be with.”

  Kud laughs, his voice shattering the pain that hovers over us. It’s as if he’s plunged a knife into my soul. I’ve caused more hurt to Marc than I could possibly imagine.

  Marc stares at me, his brow furrowed, his wavy hair hanging over his eyes. I want to run my hands through it. Tell him I’m his and he’s mine. That it’s always been this, even in my stupidity. But more than anything I want to erase the doubt.

  “If I had more time,” Kud says, ignoring me, “she would’ve been mine. Maybe she still will be. She’s saved my life twice now, and she brought me the orb. A worthy companion, don’t you think?”

  Marc grits his teeth. His usually calm green eyes are full of fire.

  “It would give me such pleasure to have you watch her become mine,” Kud says. “That would be more painful than death, wouldn’t it?”

  I stare at the orb, willing its powers to come to me. It skitters once and then stills. I close my eyes and focus all my concentration on the object, speaking to it in my mind. Begging for it to hear me.

  A glow seeps from it and grows, wider and larger. The power from the orb infiltrates my skin, my bones, my soul. It’s as if a portion of the Spirit World has spilled out of the orb and drenched me. There before me is the White Tiger. Its pale-blue eyes sparkle with white fire, and its skin glows brighter than a star. The jaws widen and its roar envelops me, filling me.

  I rip free from my bonds and sprint toward Kud. I leap, practically sailing on air, and double-kick him. He falls back, stunned. With a sweep of his arm, he flings a gale force that smashes into my chest, propelling me across the terrace until my back hits the railing. His talons ripple across the ground to snatch hold of me once again.

  Reaching out my palm, I call to the orb, sucking a stream of power into my hand. As it touches my skin, it explodes into a ball of white fire, sizzling. I untangle from Kud’s grip, spin around, and fling the ball at him. It smacks into his chest, and he bursts into silvery flames. It engulfs his cape, all the way down to his tentacles. The flames lick my ankles where his talons once gripped me, but it’s as if my body is immune to their burn. I cartwheel across the terrace and leap into a snap-kick, striking him in the face. He staggers and groans. But as I spin around to face him again, my heart seizes. A red pulse throbs over his heart.

  The Red Phoenix orb.

  Kud has grown to twice his size. A writhing cloud of shadows.

  “If you will not see things my way,” he says, “perhaps you need motivation.”

  Kud stretches out his gnarled hand. Red electricity streams from his palm and hits Marc on the arm. Marc cries out in pain. I race to him, but he’s already on the ground, passed out, by the time I reach him. Black swirls tangle into a knot on his wrist. The electrical sparks sink into his skin, forming the symbol of a black snake.

  I cradle Marc in my arms and glower at Kud. “What have y
ou done to him?”

  “I placed poison in his arm. Slowly, it will work its way to his heart.” Kud draws his cloak around him. “You must choose between saving his life or saving the orb. But what I really want is you. Never have I witnessed a fighter of your ability. You would be my greatest prize.”

  I spit on him. “I am no one’s prize.”

  “If you do not bring me the orb in three days, he will die. And I will keep killing your loved ones until you do as I ask.”

  “This is an impossible choice,” I say, bewildered. “I don’t even know how to find you.”

  He smirks. “Then choose me now, and you can save your loved ones and rule the world with me.”

  “Never.”

  “Stupid girl.” He laughs and then disappears into the thick of the night.

  I clutch Marc’s body to mine, hating Kud for ruining everything. But mostly hating myself for my stupidity.

  For once I have no tears.

  Only vengeance.

  I wrap Marc’s arm over my shoulder. He groans from the movement, and his eyes flutter. I hobble us into the elevator and push the button, waiting for eternity until the doors reopen and we’re on our floor. By the time we reach my room, Marc is panting, and I’m struggling to keep him upright. After today, my energy has been sucked away, and I can barely stumble to the bed. I untangle him from my arms and lay him gently into the bed. Silently, I send a million curses to the North Korean government for not allowing cell phones. I need to talk to Grandfather.

  “I’ll be back in a second,” I say as I adjust the two flat pillows for Marc. “Grandfather will know what to do.”

  Marc closes his eyes. “I’m fine. Just need to rest.”

  I hold his hand with the mark on it and trail my fingers over the design. The skin still feels warm to my fingertips. I press my lips to his palm and gently press his hand to my chest.

  It’s hard to leave his side seeing him so pale and weak. It takes me way too long to find Grandfather, but in the end, I find him at the most logical place. The buffet dinner. My head won’t stop spinning. Right now I can’t think logically at all. I can barely see straight, I’m so furious.

  Angry at Kang-dae for tricking me. Angry at myself for being so gullible. Angry we all fell right into his scheming scam. Angry that Marc is the victim of my idiocy.

  By the time I find Grandfather eating at the buffet table, I’m so worked up I can hardly form a complete sentence.

  “Haraboji.” I bend down and grab his arm. “You need to come with me right now.”

  Grandfather doesn’t question me. The two of us fly out of the ballroom. As we make our way back to Marc, I tell Grandfather the entire story. He remains silent, but his face grows harder with each step we take. By the time we enter my room, I’ve already thought of a million horrifying things that could’ve happened to Marc while I was gone.

  Grandfather rushes to Marc’s side and studies his hand. Then he presses his palm to Marc’s forehead. I hover over Grandfather’s shoulder, clenching and unclenching my fists, anxious to do something to fix this disaster.

  “Kud gave us three days,” I say. “If I don’t give him the orb in that time or join him, Marc will die, and he’ll choose someone else to kill. He won’t stop until I do what he asks of me.”

  Grandfather sighs. “Sounds just like I imagine Kud.”

  “There must be a way around this.” I pace the room, my head spinning.

  Grandfather rubs his forehead. “We’ve been through this before with Komo. There isn’t a way.”

  “There must be some healer or something that can counteract this curse.”

  “We need to get him home to his parents,” Grandfather says. “They will know what’s best. Keep all of this a secret for now. I don’t know what consequences this will bring.”

  I think about Marc’s mom, her kind green eyes that are mirror images of Marc’s. There’s no way she’ll ever look at me in the same way. I’m responsible for this happening to her son.

  The door swings open, and Michelle and Chu-won run into the room.

  “What’s going on?” Michelle asks. “What happened to Marc?”

  I sit on the bed and grab Marc’s hand with the tattoo. “We had some trouble on the roof.”

  “Trouble?” Michelle looks around. “Where’s Kang-dae? Is he all right?”

  I swallow. Sure he’s all right. Laughing hysterically back at his palace right now. “He got called away. He won’t be joining us anymore.”

  “Marc is very ill,” Grandfather tells Chu-won. “Make the preparations. We leave for Seoul at first light.”

  Chu-won nods, wide-eyed, but doesn’t question Grandfather.

  “I should pack Marc’s stuff,” I tell Michelle. “Will you watch him?”

  Her eyes narrow. “What happened? Did he get into a fight?”

  I nod, but I can’t say anything else. Grandfather thinks it’s best to keep this secret, but how will that help Michelle? I don’t even know what to tell her. Instead, I kiss Marc’s forehead and leave the room.

  Outside Marc and Kang-dae’s room, I stare at the door for some time. I can’t stand the thought of knowing that this was once Kang-dae’s room. Licking my lips, I quietly turn the doorknob, expecting some type of danger. But once inside, the room is quiet, designed similar to Michelle’s and mine.

  Marc’s bag is set against the wall. Clothes spill out from its top as if someone’s gone through it in a hurry. I wonder if that was Marc or Kang-dae. I start stuffing the clothes back inside; Marc’s scent lingers on them. His blue sweatshirt is the last to go into the bag, but I find myself clutching it, pressing it against my cheek.

  I quickly scan the room, curious about Kang-dae’s stuff. If I remember correctly, he had a backpack and a suitcase. But there is nothing here, as if it all vanished when he left.

  That night I wish I were alone with Marc, so we could figure out all of this together. But Michelle is persistent, unwilling to leave or let what happened to Marc slide away. I squeeze into the bed next to Marc. There isn’t much room, but I’m glad. It’s good to have him close. As if the closer we are, the less chance that Kud can split us apart.

  Marc sits up and takes a sip of the seaweed soup Michelle ordered for him.

  “So spill. What really happened to Kang-dae?” she asks.

  I hug my knees against my chest. “I don’t want to talk about it. In fact, I think we should ban his name altogether. He doesn’t even deserve to have a name.”

  “Don’t be that way,” Michelle says. “What happened to you agreeing to tell me everything? Listen, I was there when Kud first showed up. I deserve to know.”

  Actually, I don’t tell her everything. I don’t tell anybody everything. It’s not that I don’t trust them. But the people I love who get involved always, every single freaking time, get hurt. I don’t know how much more I can handle.

  “Kang-dae was Kud in disguise,” Marc finally tells her.

  Michelle’s eyes widen, then she shakes her head. “I can’t believe that. He stood there and fought with us in that corridor when we were attacked by those horrid weasels. You must be mistaken. Like how do we know that Kud doesn’t have Kang-dae captive and was pretending to be him?”

  “He fooled us all,” Marc says. “But it makes sense now, thinking about how Bari thought the god of the Underworld would be interested in the company we kept. I wish I could say I’m surprised, but I never felt right about him. Should’ve listened to my instincts.”

  “Don’t say that,” I say. “None of us saw it. Even the Council of Shinshi didn’t see that coming. He was named a Guardian. I should have listened to the dragons. They knew. And there I was, defending him at the waterfall.”

  “Dragons?” Michelle asks.

  “Long story,” both Marc and I say simultaneously.

  Marc shrugs and slurps
at his soup.

  “Hey,” I laugh. “What’s up with the slurping?”

  “You only live once.” Marc tries to give me that grin, but the effort must be too much. He passes me the bowl and sags against the pillow.

  “We’re going to figure out a way to help him.” Michelle folds the blanket over Marc and smooths down the bedspread until every wrinkle is gone. “There must be someone who can find a cure. I don’t know how much more I can handle of this.”

  “Yeah,” I say. “I know.”

  That night I curl up next to Marc. Outside the air is eerily quiet and calm. I’m so used to the sounds of Seoul buzzing in the background. Here the silence presses against me. I can hear Kud’s laugh, echoing through my head, and feel his silver eyes boring into mine.

  I think back to every moment Kang-dae and I were together. Every word we shared. Every touch. My skin crawls, and I grip the covers closer around Marc and myself, burrowing my face into his neck.

  Marc’s breathing grows more even than before, and it soothes me. I want to believe some of the pain is gone and tomorrow we’ll find some answers.

  “I’m so sorry,” I whisper into his ear, trailing my finger across his jaw, memorizing his silhouette. “I’m going to make this right. He can’t have you. I won’t let him.”

  We travel home from North Korea in complete silence. Even Michelle, usually a chatterbox, is oddly quiet. “I want to help get Marc home safely,” I tell Grandfather once we reach Seoul Station. I know they think I can’t do anything to help Marc, but if our places were switched, I know he would never leave my side.

  Grandfather frowns. “You might not like his parents’ reaction. His mother will be upset. You should leave before they arrive.”

  “Jae,” Michelle says, tugging on my arm. “You should stay out of this. It will only make things worse.”

  Her words stop me cold because she’s right. If I had listened to myself long ago and kept Marc out of this mess, he’d be safe right now.

  I set down my bag and sit next to Marc on the bench. Despite the warm spring air, he’s shivering, his arms clutching his body. His face is paler than ever, and his eyes are blank and glassy.