Chapter 3

Hwayoung could hear the soldiers’ voices shouting outside as she lead the prince through the crumbled insides of an abandoned house. The floorboards cracked underneath her feet and her steps seemed echoey, no matter how light she made them.

“Do you know where this leads?” Do Kyungsoo asked in a quiet voice. “There are guards everywhere. Even if you get out of the alley—”

“I was staying in an inn,” she replied. “It won’t be far from here. Besides.” She turned to look at him. He had a tight grip on one of his blades. “No matter how powerful or talented or skilled you are, you can’t evade them forever. Unless you can get out of the city, there’s no way you’ll survive.”

“My brother’s men are everywhere,” he said. “The walls are the most guarded. There’s no way anyone can leave without being seen. Even if you have a place to hide, he’ll tear the city apart to kill me.”

Hwayoung glanced back at him. “What did you even do to him? It sounds much worse than just an assassination.”

“None of—” he began, but Hwayoung froze. The network of abandoned buildings (some abandoned, others seemingly abandoned but used as night markets and others ion rings) wasn’t something the royal soldiers knew how to navigate through, but she could hear voices behind them. It was far away, louder because it was echoing, but still, Hwayoung walked faster. The prince started in surprise behind her too.

“Soldiers,” he hissed at her.

Hwayoung glanced behind them. It was too dark to see much, but the soldiers would definitely all gather if they knew the prince was around there somewhere.

“We’ll be there in a little bit,” she told him tersely.

It wasn’t long when Hwayoung broke off into a run. She couldn’t pinpoint exactly where the soldiers were at this point, but it would be safer to leave the inside. They could cut through some alleys to get into the inn, but to be stuck inside would be difficult to summon wind if they ever had to fight, and probably even harder for Kyungsoo. There was no way he could use his power through the stone floors. And no matter how good at fighting the two of them were, they couldn’t take on all of the soldiers the crown prince had sent.

Do Kyungsoo had a tight grip on his dagger, though he didn’t say much, just kept in step with her. They turned down one final hallway before Hwayoung spotted a door.

She wasn’t too sure where they were exactly, but it was an exit and she would be able to find where the inn was as long as they were on the streets again. She yanked it open just in time for the prince to shout in alarm, and then something flew past her head at alarming speed. The soldier at the other side was dead before his body hid the ground, a dagger to his head. She winced at the sight. No matter how many times she’d seen such things, it was still hard to get over.

Kyungsoo also looked unnerved. “He can’t be alone.”

“And we also can’t say here any longer.” She glanced out at the street. “I think it’s safe out there for now. If we’re quick enough, we’ll get into the inn in less than five minutes and we’ll be safe from the guards in that time. The innkeeper’s not going to check on us until I’ve outstayed what I’ve paid him for, which was for a couple of days.”

She watched as the prince took a nervous step outside, reaching for his dagger. She winced at the sight and he wiped the blood on his robes again. Then, voice flat and expression grim, nodded at the alley. “Lead the way, Windwalker.”

***

They got back to the inn without crashing into more guards, which Hwayoung was thankful for. He looked exhausted by the time they arrived at the inn, but when she lead him towards her room, he didn’t sit down immediately.

The bed was hard when she collapsed into it. The prince stood at the door warily, eying her as she closed the curtains. She could here the faint sounds from the soldiers on the streets, but her renting an inn was hopefully the last thing they suspected.

Do Kyungsoo still didn’t move and she glanced at him. “Are you tired? No offense, you look exhausted.”

He met her gaze, eyebrows drawing together. “What do you want from me?”

“Sit down,” she replied. “You’re not going to get anywhere if you leave, so you might as well sit.”

The prince still didn’t move. “You’re a well known assassin,” he said slowly, ignoring what she said before. “You’ve killed members of the royal family before. You’re Marked. And you appear suddenly saying you’re going to help me? I’m also part of the royal family, in case you’ve forgotten. What’s stopping you from killing me the moment I let my guard down?”

“I could’ve done that a long time ago if I wanted to,” Hwayoung groaned. “But in case you’ve forgotten, you’re technically not part of the royal family anymore. The reason I’ve killed those people were to ultimately get closer to the crown prince, and even though he’s your brother, you already tried to assassinate him. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

He glared at her. “I have no friends here.”

“I don’t care if you have friends here or not. I don’t have to be your friend. I’m not here to make friends.”

“Then why did you help me?”

She glanced at his arms again. Most of his hands were swallowed up by his sleeves, but if she looked close enough, she could see the darker colored swirls that decorated his skin, curling around his fingers like some kind of pattern. She’d never seen a mark like his before (then again, she hadn’t met much Marked for a long time — they were smart enough to stay hidden now), but then again, she hadn’t seen a power like his either. The power of earth. He had so much potential if he knew how to use it. With his fighting skills and his power…

“You’re Marked,” she said. “I think that’s a good enough reason for me. I don’t care if you’re part of the royal family, and I’ll put this bluntly here because I might as well be honest with you. I want your brother dead, and you also seem to want to kill him. I don’t know what your motives are and honestly, I don’t care.” She paused for a moment. “Unless you’re going to take his position and do the exact same thing as he’s doing right now.”

The prince didn’t look as if he believed her. He still had a tight grip on his weapon, and he looked extremely alert, like he wanted to run at any moment. She studied his face, and then finally, reached inside her