“Kira, we will not leave until you eat,” Kyoung said. “You are wasting away and losing your muscle. This is unacceptable for a soldier. Don’t make me force-feed you!”
She took the bowl of rice gruel with chicken and vegetables and forced herself to take a bite. When she tried to put the bowl down, her brother wouldn’t let her.
Her temper flared. “I don’t want to eat!”
There was a soft knock on the door. Kyoung opened it and Seung entered, carrying a small tray. He beamed happily to see her up. “It is so good to see you so much better, young mistress!” Seung said. He poured hot tea out into a small tea bowl and handed it to her. Kira shuddered and made a face as she smelled the potent mix of ginseng and honey.
“I know you are not a fan of ginseng,” Seung said, “which is why I added a lot of honey. Please drink this. It will make you feel much better.”
Kira felt her temper rising, but she looked at Seung’s pleasant face and didn’t want to hurt him. She took the tea bowl and quickly downed the ginseng mixture, scalding her tongue on the hot tea. She shuddered as it went down.
Giving Seung a sickly smile, she thanked him. Seung’s joyful face made up for the awful taste.
“I will let Master Jaewon know that you drank all the tea,” Seung said. “He will be so happy to hear it. He has been so worried for you.”
With a deep bow, Seung quickly left the room.
“Good girl,” Kyoung said. “Now eat this.”
“Leave me alone!”
“We’ll go away if you eat all of this.” Kyoung pushed the full bowl in front of her face.
“I’m not hungry.”
“You’ve starved yourself so badly that your body doesn’t feel hunger. This is false. You need to eat and we will not leave until you finish the entire serving,” Kyoung said.
Kira was furious, but seeing the determined expressions on their faces, knew she had no choice. “If I eat this, you’ll leave me alone?” she asked.
“Until dinnertime,” Kyoung agreed.
With an aggrieved huff, Kira quickly downed the bowl of gruel.
Satisfied, her brothers reluctantly departed.
Lying down gave Kira no satisfaction. Now that she’d eaten, she had a surge of energy that she’d not had in a while. She felt a sudden need to escape her room. Outside, the air was brisk and cool. Kira walked around her courtyard, taking deep cleansing breaths. She walked the entire length of the house, heading to the other wing, where Taejo and Brother Woojin were staying. Standing at their doorway, she could hear the monk teaching Taejo his lessons. Unwilling to bother them, she slipped away.
Still restless, she decided to step out of the walled gate and into the village streets of Muju. Here she saw the most visible proof of her brother Kyoung’s arrival. Squadrons of Iron Army soldiers were stationed all over the streets.
At her appearance, the chatter on the streets died down. Most of the soldiers bowed, others stared in openmouthed surprise.
“Her eyes aren’t yellow!”
“She’s just a normal girl now!”
“Then she can’t be the Dragon Musado anymore. What use is she to us?”
The last comment hit her hard. This was what she had feared. Hearing it out in the open seemed to substantiate her own feelings. How could she face the daimyo or the Demon Lord? How was she to fight them? Without her tiger spirit, she was nothing special. Without the Dragon King’s treasures, she could not win. What good was she to anyone anymore?
She’d made a mistake. Turning back, she quickly entered her courtyard gate and ran into the house.
18
That night, Kira’s dreams were a mishmash of nightmares. Her sense of hopelessness was overwhelming. And through it all, she heard the voice of the Demon Lord mocking her once again. In the morning, bleary-eyed and exhausted from grief and sleeplessness, Kira woke to find Nara lounging beside her, cooling herself with a pretty wooden fan.
“Nara, you’re safe! I was so worried about you!” Kira said, happy to see her friend.
“I had to go to my lair and give myself time to heal,” Nara said. “I’m sorry I was not here when you needed me.”
“It’s not your fault,” Kira said. “You were injured protecting me. Thank you, my friend.”
The kumiho caught Kira’s hands between her own. “I will always be your friend. You are like a little sister to me. And I will always cherish you.”
Kira blinked back the tears that threatened to fall again. “I am no longer special. I’ve lost my tiger spirit. I’m no longer the Dragon Musado.”
“No, my little sister,” Nara said. “You are still you. That has not changed. I can see inside you and this I know.”
“You’re wrong,” Kira said. “Without my tiger spirit, I am nobody.”
The kumiho slapped her fan shut and sat up straight, her amber eyes sparking with anger. “Are you disagreeing with your older sister?” Nara snapped. “How disrespectful! I’ve lived for many centuries now. Respect your elders, child.”