Chapter 19

“What?” Hwayoung demanded.

The man—Chanyeol now, apparently—sat up with a groan, clutching the arm that she’d cut. “Yeah,” he croaked. “Surprised?”

“No, I thought you’d be taller,” she snapped at him, though her head was whirling.

General Park. Everyone knew him, of course; especially the Marked. Apparently fiercely loyal to the crown prince. Hwayoung had never come face to face with him, but she’d heard the horror stories of him hunting down Marked, massacres that everyone had been too helpless to stop. Sehun’s death had been because one of his raids.

She turned to Chanyeol. “What the hell are you doing here?” she snarled.

He flinched slightly at her tone. “Woah.”

“What are you doing here?” Hwayoung repeated, tightening her grip on one of her daggers. When Chanyeol remained silent, she leaned over, digging the tip of her dagger into his throat. She couldn’t tell just how hard she was pushing, but it was definitely hard enough to make Chanyeol uncomfortable because he shrunk back on the stone wall. “What do you mean your father is stopping here next?”

Chanyeol coughed. “Can you just let me talk without—” He gestured blindly at her. “This?”

Hwayoung glared at him. “Then talk.”

“Wait.” It was Soyi that spoke up that time, and a bit disconcerted by the other girl’s presence, Hwayoung glanced at her. She was holding her blades still, though her arms were folded as she stared at Chanyeol, apparently more at ease than Hwayoung felt. “Since when did General Park have a Marked son named Park Chanyeol? He has a son, sure, but he’s been seen with the general many times and he’s not Marked. He helps his father hunt down the Marked. And his name is Park—”

“—Jaeho,” Chanyeol finished for Soyi. “Yeah, you’re not wrong.”

Hwayoung drew her dagger away to release the pressure. “Then who the hell are you?”

Chanyeol croaked a laugh. “Our favourite prince isn’t the only bastard child in the royal family,” he replied.

She narrowed her eyes. “So you’re saying you—”

“No, it’s more complicated than that,” Chanyeol cut in. “But long story short, you’re lucky that I ran into you before my dad did, because you all need to get out of here before he finds you. It’s game over if he does, so you better all get your asses out of here unless you’d like to be dragged back to the crown prince and tortured. Or if you’re lucky, killed right here.”

“We can take care of ourselves.”

“No, you really can’t.” Chanyeol reached up, pushing the point of the dagger from his throat. Grudgingly, Hwayoung lowered it. He coughed again and pulled himself into a sitting position, clutching his throat. “Damn, Windwalker, you live up to what they say about you.”

“Stop stalling.” Hwayoung straightened. “And cut the . Why are you here?”

“Would you believe me if I said I’m trying to evacuate as much Marked out of here as possible before my father finds them?”

She sneered at him. “No, I wouldn’t.”

“Well, that’s what I’m doing.” For the first time that night, he glared at her—an actual baleful, angry look. “Because the crown prince has armed him with some of his best trained war dogs and they’ll hunt down all the Marked like there’s no tomorrow until this whole place is bathed in blood.”

“Hold on. War dogs? What the hell are we talking about right now?”

He coughed yet again. Hwayoung couldn’t figure out if he had a cold or if she’d really let her temper get the best of her and he was actually still recovering by just how hard she’d pressed her blade against his throat. “Years fighting the royal family, and you’re still so naive,” he laughed. “War dogs. The group of elite soldiers the crown prince has had trained to bring down Marked. They’re… more skilled than anyone you’ve met. And they’ll turn this whole town inside out just to find the Marked and kill them.”

“How are we supposed to trust you?”

Chanyeol glanced at her. “I don’t expect you to,” he replied. “But I’m telling you. These people are dangerous. My father has a handful of six of them with him, and an encounter with them…” He trailed off. “You know, the youngest one of them is twelve years old. But he’s probably killed more people in a day than you’ve killed in a lifetime.”

“And we’re supposed to just, I don’t know, take the word of a stranger who happens to be the son of the man who’s hunting us down because why not?”

His face twisted into a scowl. “I’m trying to save your life here, so maybe if you weren’t so thickheaded you’d actually listen unless you want to be slaughtered like the rest of the Marked—”

Hwayoung could literally feel her temper snap. Drawing one of the knives she kept tucked in her belt, she threw it at Chanyeol’s head as hard as she could. She heard the sound of it hit the stone wall behind him and the sharp breath he drew. “Listen here,” she hissed at him, “I have absolutely no reason to trust you. If you haven’t forgotten, you attacked us first. You say your father is the general, but whatever business this is that you’re talking about—bastard son or whatever—doesn’t make anything you say any more trustable. So unless you give us evidence that these war dogs or whatever you’re talking about is actually true, you don’t have the right to make demands.”

“Fine.” He took a step away from where she’d thrown the knife. “Fine, don’t believe me. But these war dogs? They’re real. Your prince has seen it. Ask him if you don’t believe me.”

“How do you know Kyungsoo’s with us?”

“You just confirmed it, didn’t you?”

There was a moment of long, tense silence as Hwayoung glared at her, though her mind was spinning. “What do you want?”

“I told you. I’m warning you that the Marked aren’t safe here because my father—”

“No, what do you want?” she interrupted. “You didn’t know we’d be here. Not for sure. You didn’t recognize us when you first saw us. You’re not helping people for charity either, are you?”

His lips twisted into a grin. “Perceptive.”

“Wait.” It was Soyi that spoke up, and, slightly surprised, Hwayoung turned around to look at the other girl. She was watching Chanyeol with narrowed eyes, obviously distrusting, but the expression melted into something more neutral when she glanced back at Hwayoung. “We should let him come with us.”

She blanched. “Him?” she demanded. “He’ll…”

“He can’t do anything right now,” Soyi continued. “I mean, as long as he’s not armed, we still overpower him. If he’s actually right about these war dogs and Kyungsoo confirms it, then maybe we can trust him.”

“Or he kills us all? Or brings us all to his father?”

Soyi’s eyes flashed. “You wanted to recruit people, didn’t you? We can hear him out in a safer place. With everyone.”

“Bastard sons of the general of the crown prince’s army wasn’t really on my list.”

“Was the prince?” Soyi shook her head. “I just think… I just think maybe it’s worth hearing him out. Maybe he does have valuable information. We can’t risk it either, if what he says is true.”

She tightened her grip on her blade. Part of her thought it was a terrible idea. What if Chanyeol wa