Chapter 20

Hwayoung had been looking forward to a nice night of sleep, and if they really had to get up, she wished she knew even half of what was going on. The only reason she’d agreed to it was that Kyungsoo looked genuinely scared, and she’d never quite seen him so eager to get out of somewhere. He had been calmer back in the Second Sector, with practically all of the crown prince’s guards after his head. He’d been calmer facing the dragon. But his reaction hearing about the so called war dogs—that was not Kyungsoo.

Soyi and Baekhyun had retreated into their cabin to pack, and after a moment of indecision, she sent Chanyeol after them, intent on talking to Kyungsoo alone. If she looked out the room and he were gone, then at least she’d know he had been bluffing and then perhaps sleep. She had a heavy feeling that he wasn’t lying to them, though, or at least not about the fact that they were all in danger.

Chanyeol seemed slightly reluctant to leave, but he disappeared grudgingly out the door. Without another word, Kyungsoo turned to packing.

Hwayoung folded her arms. “What now?” she asked.

He glanced over his shoulder. “What do you mean?”

“What do I mean?” she echoed. “Okay, so where do you know Park Chanyeol from?”

“I don’t know him,” Kyungsoo corrected. “Not really. I know Park Jaeho. He used to train with me. But I’ve seen Chanyeol around the palace a couple of times when I was younger. He’s not lying about his identity, at least.”

“So you’re sure that he’s General Park’s illegitimate son?”

She didn’t miss the way he flinched. “I think so.”

“And the war dogs?”

“We avoid them. At all costs.”

She strapped on her daggers again, then pinned her cloak. “What’s your history with them? They’re Marked soldiers. Children who’ve been trained since they were discovered they were Marked. What about them is so dangerous that they’re so much more powerful than we are?”

Kyungsoo’s shoulders rose and fell. “I don’t know,” he replied, though there was almost a hint of misery in his voice. “My brother kept me away from most of his affairs, and training these soldiers was definitely his idea. It was also supposed to be extremely secret, so not a lot of people know they exist. Most of the time they’re his elite guard—the elite of the elite—but these kids have been… they’ve been through so much that basically all they know is what they’re commanded to do.”

Hwayoung shuddered. “Do you know their powers?”
 

He shook his head. “But there are rumours that one of them has the ability to track Marked down. Which is why if they’re closing in, we need to make as much distance as possible so that they can’t follow. If we leave too late, General Park might be able to follow us.”

“These were just kids,” she mumbled numbly.

Kyungsoo gave her a look. “You were a kid too,” he replied. “So was I. So was Baekhyun. And Soyi. My brother doesn’t care about that, and you should know.”

He was right. But it didn’t make it any less wrong.

***

They set off quite miserably in the light of the moon. Chanyeol led the way, though he moved by himself, a tall silhouette. For his height and build, his movements were surprisingly light against the ground, and if there had been no light at all, Hwayoung thought that she might not even have known he was there. That in itself was a red flag. Surely he’d had some sort of training, but Kyungsoo didn’t even move like that, and the illegitimate son of the crown surely had more privileges than the illegitimate son of a general. She eyed the back of his head and wondered just who he was and what he was hiding, because there was definitely a lot. Quite frankly, distrust of Chanyeol (along with a few questions she desperately wanted answered) and the lingering horror of the war dogs the crown prince had created was all that was still keeping her awake and on her feet. Even then, her eyelids felt heavy.

It shouldn’t have been that bad, going days without sleep. She’d done it often in the Second Sector, the only rest sometimes being in a high up, abandoned rooftop where she dared rest her eyes for an hour or so. But either way, the inn was supposed to be rest for even just one night. She missed the days in the forest, where she could sleep for consecutive hours without being woken up. The shifts were silent, mostly peaceful, and there were no soldiers to worry about. She still barely talked to Soyi, but the four of them had a mutual understanding of cautious trust; the knowing that they wouldn’t wake up the next morning with a dagger in their throat and all their limited belongings stolen. With Chanyeol, it wasn’t the same. Maybe Kyungsoo trusted his judgement, or maybe they shared a fear of the war dogs. Maybe even Baekhyun and Soyi believed Chanyeol. But Hwayoung couldn’t help but feel that there had to be more that he was hiding. Luck simply wasn’t that kind to gift a person who had the potential to be a valuable asset just like that.

The tall grass of the field seemed to stretch on for miles on end. She could see the faint rise of a couple of trees in the distance, but there were no other landmarks. At that point, the town wasn’t visible behind them anymore, but still Chanyeol pushed on relentlessly. Hwayoung wanted to ask him if he had any idea where he was leading them, but the silence of the night was so delicate that she was slightly scared to disturb it.

They must have been walking for hours when the lack of sleep seemed to caught up to her. She began making up reasons Chanyeol was helping to entertain herself, and they went from being sent by his father to being the crown prince in disguise. She was pretty sure she was going to pass out on her feet if it weren’t for him holding up his hand.

Immediately more alert, she scanned her surroundings. The only visible thing, apart from the grasslands that stretched for miles and miles, was a small grouping of trees. Beyond it was what looked like the remnants of some sort of building.

“It’s a farmhouse,” Soyi said.

It wasn’t too far away, and the thought of rest was so enticing that she didn’t think twice before sending out her power. Wind ruffled across the long grass, snaking around the trees as she directed it towards the farmhouse.

Silence followed, only the rustling of the grass audible. She couldn’t feel anything else in the farmhouse that was living, and Hwayoung turned to them. “It’s empty,” she informed. “We can rest there.”

Chanyeol’s eyebrows furrowed. “I’m not sure if we’re far enough—”

“We’ve been walking for a couple of hours,” she cut in sharply. “Actually, it’s almost dawn. If your father makes his stop in that town, he’ll probably do it now. And if your war dogs can still, what, track us from this far, then will we ever be safe?”

He hesitated. “I don’t want to take risks.”

“And the rest of us are absolutely exhausted.”

It was Baekhyun who spoke up, voice quiet. “Just let us rest. For an hour or two. We can keep on moving after that, but there are other dangers out here. If none of us replenish our energy, it won’t even take war dogs to tear us apart.”

There was a moment of tense silence. She could see Chanyeol’s jaw clench, unclench, before he looked at Kyungsoo. “Your Highness,” he said drily. “What do you propose?”

He doesn’t know Kyungsoo that well, was her first thought, or perhaps Chanyeol didn’t know his limits. Hwayoung wasn’t sure if Kyungsoo’s next answer was because he genuinely thought so or he was simply saying it to spite Chanyeol, but all she could feel was relief when he gave one single, sharp nod. “We all need a break,” he said shortly. “Baekhyun’s right. Even if we avoid the war dogs, there’s going to be more dangerous things to face. We need energy for that too.” His gaze flickered over Chanyeol. The Your Highness definitely hadn’t gone past him ignored. “If you’re so awake, you can take the whole watch while the rest of us sleep.”

He turned around, cloak whipping in the light breeze, and stalked towards the farm house.

Chanyeol leaned towards her, an eyebrow raised. “Did I say something wrong?” he asked.

Hwayoung took a step away from him. “You should know titles like that are exactly what gets under the skin of bastard sons.”

He gave her a sharp grin. “Your prince was trying to provoke me too.”

Hwayoung gave her a look. “Just because he believed you about the war dogs doesn’t mean you’re best friends now.”

“I thought you were recruiting Marked. Thought you’d all be happy to see me.”

We might’ve been if you hadn’t been General Park’s son and there’s way too many things that are suspicious about you, she thought, but Hwayoung also figured the best to deal with Chanyeol was simply not to engage. Especially when she was too exhausted to think straight. She didn’t need to accidentally spill more to Chanyeol than she wanted him to know. “Let’s just go,” she told him pointedly. “I assume you’re taking first watch?”

“If you all trust me enough not to wake up dead, then I can be up for it.”

“You’ll be dead before you touched any of us,” she snapped, then her heel to leave. It had been less than half a day with Chanyeol, and Hwayoung had already decided that between him and Kyungsoo, she would take a brooding, angry prince over Chanyeol anyday.

***

The barn was indeed deserted, and it seemed as if Kyungsoo had already scouted the whole place and then settled down in his own corner because he had spread his cloak out on a pile of hay and was arranging the rest of his belongings, yawning. His sword was still strapped to his belt, though, most likely an indication that he didn’t trust Chanyeol because Hwayoung was sure he’d stopped sleeping with his weapon on him.

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