“Follow me. The wang wishes to speak with you.”
Lisa nodded, and they walked as fast as they could without appearing to rush. Neither of them spoke as they entered the palace and made their way to the wang’s suite, adrenaline sweeping through Lisa. When the elevator opened, Evan greeted them. He bowed to them and led the way to the door. He knocked twice and waited for an answer before opening it.
“Please go in, my lady,” he whispered in Common.
She went in and found the wang standing in front of her with a pleasant smile.
“Please sit, Princess,” he said in Common as well, indicating an armchair in the middle of the room while blatantly ignoring the astonishment on her face. They both sat, and he took a few moments to study her. “Do you love him?”
“Wh-what?”
“My oldest son, Geum Ha-Neul. Do you love him?”
“I apologize, Wang-Mama, I—”
“Don’t apologize—you shouldn’t apologize,” he said. “I should be apologizing.”
She looked at him with her mouth slightly agape as he genuinely seemed remorseful.
“I know who you are, Vasilisa Aleksandrsdöttir. I’ve known you your whole life.”
She sucked in a deep breath. He knew, yet he had still allowed her in the palace even though he had banished Rosalina. Lisa remembered her father saying he and the wang had attended school together as teenagers and interacted, but with his words, she now wondered if they had been friends.
“I’ve been hoping you could help change Ha-Neul’s mind about spellcasters,” the use of the correct term for witches surprised her for a moment, then she realized that his family situation would have allowed him to know the correct classifications for magic users, “which is why I personally placed you near my children from the very beginning of your employment and allowed you to become their nain. Then, when I learned about Ha-Neul’s feelings for you, I took full advantage.”
All of her interactions with the wang began to make sense. “That’s why you told me to tell him what I know about Vires, why you had me stay with him during the party.”
He nodded. “I, Geum Dong, Wang of Balhae, have done many things I am not proud of,” he paused, his eyes blinking rapidly, “especially toward my own people—your people—and I fired Rosalina when Ha-Neul found out about her situation.” He took in a ragged breath and slowly let it out. “It was all to appease my tortured son.”
“I assume you mean the incident that killed your wife?” she asked.
The wang nodded and wiped tears from his eyes for a few moments. When he seemed calm, he continued. “Ha-Neul needs to heal, and I believe you are the person to help him.”
“But—”
“No.” He lifted a hand. “No, please listen.” He leaned toward her, touching his fingertips together, pointing them at her. “I know your feelings no matter how hard you try to hide them. You know who sees past all the façade, don’t you? You know who is a clairvoyant.”
She nodded, not daring to speak the secret out loud.
“I want you to love him, and I want him to love you; however,” he became grave, “you must tell him who you really are, and soon.” His whole demeanor became kinder and more empathetic. “You know that, don’t you?”
“Yes,” she breathed out, tears forming. “Ha-Na and I talked about it last week.”
“Our families have kept your secret from him long enough. It’s time he knows the truth.” He watched her carefully until she nodded. “I know it will be hard for both of you, and I know you know that as well. It will be worse the longer you wait.”
“I know,” she breathed out.
He held out his hand and waited. She placed her hand in his, and he covered it with his other hand.
“No matter what happens, I want you to know that I am grateful for everything you have done for my family, Vasilisa,” he said. He patted her hand and withdrew his. “It is late. You have a long day ahead of you tomorrow, so you should go to bed.”
They both stood, and she bowed to him, and he bowed to her in return.
“Sleep well, Wang-Mama.”
She left the room to find Irene waiting, and all of the emotions she had held in check finally overwhelmed her. She collapsed into the outstretched arms of her aunt, who held her tightly and whispered comfort into her ear as her body trembled with silent sobs.
Emily-Jane Hills Orford is an award-winning author of several books, including Gerlinda (CFA 2016) which received an Honorable Mention in the 2016 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards, To Be a Duke (CFA 2014) which was named Finalist and Silver Medalist in the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards and received an Honorable Mention in the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Book Awards. She writes about the extra-ordinary in life and her books, short stories, and articles are receiving considerable attention. For more information on the author, check out her website at: http://emilyjanebooks.ca
