Nine Tailed (Realm of Four Kingdoms, #1)

by Jayci Lee

I hear the thunk of two more daggers piercing the side of the tree, much too close to us—to him. I’m suddenly furious, and I welcome the flare of violence that erupts inside me.

Blue releases a piercing screech, and pain claws at my chest as though a thousand glass shards are tearing into me. I double over, blood spewing from my lips. It hurts so much that I want to weep and beg.

But I am. I’m so afraid.

My vision clears enough to see Ethan standing in front of the assassin, wielding an axe in each hand. The muscles in his neck are bulging, as though he’s straining to hold the axes aloft.

I KNEW he wasn't fully human

How did Ethan not get any blood on his face? Maybe he wiped it off with his hands. Did I get a good look at his palms? I was barely conscious from the blood loss. I could’ve missed it.

Girl its because he's not human lmao USE YOUR BRAIN

Ethan wisely keeps his mouth shut, but I want to kiss that cocky smirk off his face. No, not kiss. I meant punch. Like really, really hard. With my fist. Fuck.

Girl...

Besides, I wouldn’t mess with the Greeks. Their mythology is part of the US public school curriculum. When it comes down to it, they are harder to kill than a mythical creature only people in Korea know about.

Interesting

When I glance down, I see a dozen scratches on them. My legs haven’t fared much better. The pretty wildflowers have given me hundreds of shallow cuts. Without my healing powers, I’d have thousands. I scan Ethan’s hands, but he doesn’t have a single scratch on them. Maybe he’s so tall that the flowers don’t reach them.

“I wasn’t asking for a ride,” he says in a low voice, his gaze dropping to my lips, then lower. “Besides, that’s not the kind of ride I’m interested in.”

WOAHHHH

She flashes in and out of view as I chase her, a blur of white and brown. When I lose sight of her, I follow the sound of her husky cackle and find her again. But no matter how fast I run, she’s just out of reach.

She probably isn't real

Ethan is a being of the Shingae.

I realize with a chill that I would destroy anyone who tries to hurt Ethan. Even the gods.

He reaches for my hand and links his fingers through mine.

AHHHHHH

So quick that I can’t pull away, he presses his hand over mine and turns his head to plant an open-mouthed kiss on my palm.

RAHHHH

“You must relive the worst moment of your life.”

Uh oh...

The mother knew her daughter couldn’t run from her destiny forever. She only hoped that the girl would find happiness along the way to sustain her through the devastation that would follow.

“You took good care of yourself all these years. Were you waiting for me to come home?” The candle flickers and makes happy shadows jump across the room.

“It’s like the Korean version of serrano chili. It’s tasty in small doses but not if you eat half of it at once.”

“I’ll always choose to be with you, Sunny.”

PLEASE JUST BANG ALREADY

I don’t care what he thinks, because I don’t intend to repeat the . . . the mistake. I tug my hand out of his grip, but he doesn’t seem to notice. I bite the inside of my cheek to keep my lips from wobbling.

OH MY GOD PLEASE JUST COMMUNICATE !!! HE KISSED YOUR HEAD HE DOESN'T REGRT IT

A shield. Ethan raised some kind of shield around us.

“Your hi—”

Oh shit...

But I can’t deny there is something solid and steadfast about the suhoshin that makes me want to lean on

I'm confused... Do you want him or Ethan?

He would never be content with her love alone. The prince wanted her family’s wealth and power to bolster his own. With an angry swipe of his arm, he dried his tears and remembered what had to be done.

Whoever he is—whatever his powers may be—Ethan can’t fight the dark mudang on his own.

How does she not know...

“I’m not going to let that happen,” he says solemnly. My stomach swoops to my toes, then back up, leaving my insides sloshy. The thing is . . . I believe him. I believe he’ll die protecting me . . . and Ethan. So it’s up to me to keep all of us alive.

Do you want him or Ethan? Because you're giving me mixed signals

“Not many people know about that facet of the Yeoiju.”

She’s a being of Underworld. “You . . . you’re a jeoseungsaja?” “A.k.a. Grim Reaper, Death, or as people often call me, ‘Oh, no. Please not you.’ But yeah, I have the power to escort the dead to the Kingdom of Underworld.”

I would’ve had to kill everyone in the room if that giggle escaped.

I have to stop freaking out. It shouldn’t come as a complete shock that there are dragon spirits when I’m a fox spirit. There are bear spirits and tiger spirits, too, so why not dragon spirits?

Like the Loch Ness Monster in Scotland, there is lore in Asia—human lore—that speaks of a monster in the depths of Heaven Lake.

Interesting

“The suhoshins assigned to the Mortal Realm speak at least four languages. We never know where our cases will take us.” She smirks. “I, for example, speak Korean, English, Mandarin, and Spanish.”

I nearly choked on the damned cookie, but I don’t want to say anything.

The sorrowful crying fills me with helpless rage and grief. I realize it’s the sound of han—the twisted gi of a stranded soul.

And that awful yellow unitard. Blech.”

Aw shit

A single tear trails down his cheek. “I’m the one who is destined to kill you.”

OH

Then it ends. I know who I am. I know the sacrifices made for me. I know . . . what I must do.

“The king is too much of a coward to make a deal with the Amheuk.”

Pearlescent scales shimmer on their azure blue body, and the wolflike slopes of their face look masterfully sculpted. The dragon is quite possibly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.

“I love you, Sunny. All of you. No prophecy can change that. Nothing can ever make me hurt you.”