Finally a slip by the intruder, a lessening of the vise grip on her head. “Help me,” she croaked out in a harsh voice. “Kill me now before I kill you both!”
As soon as the words were released, the viselike hold gripped her again. And then Kira realized her mistake. She’d paralyzed her brothers. Inside her head, she shrieked in horror, desperately battling the intruder, but her body wouldn’t listen. In their momentary confusion at hearing their sister’s voice, Kira attacked them both. First she felled her eldest brother, her sword slashing across his neck. Without losing any momentum, her sword swung down next onto Kwan’s arm, severing it.
Kwan stared at her in horror.
“No, Kira. No!” His words choked on a death rattle as Kira stabbed him through his gut. She heard an evil laugh filling her head and recognized it as the Demon Lord’s.
And then she was screaming, her mind freed at last.
Harsh cries tore from her throat as Jaewon shook her awake. For a moment, she didn’t know where she was. It was still dark out but for the stars glinting in the inky sky.
“It’s all right, it’s just a dream,” he said soothingly. “Hush now, it’s not real.”
Broken sobs shook her body as she clung to him. It had felt so real. The foreign intrusion into her head. The absolute control over her mind and body, forcing her to kill her brothers. This was not a vision that could ever come true. She was never going to let this happen. She would kill herself first.
She wept for a long time, unable to speak of her vision. But Jaewon never pressed for details, only holding her in his arms, providing her comfort and solace. She finally fell asleep, still wrapped tightly in his embrace.
3
In the morning, Kira woke up in Jaewon’s arms. His face rested against the top of her head. He was sound asleep, his breath tickling the back of her neck. Kira freed herself gently, careful not to wake him. She needed some private moments alone.
She gathered her things and walked up the mountain so as not to be disturbed. She used a small amount of water from her water bag to wipe her face and clean her teeth. She held a cold wet cloth against her eyes, feeling how swollen they were from all of her crying. The mere thought of her nightmare caused her to shake once again. Pure unadulterated fear shot through her body. This was worse than when she’d heard the voice of the Demon Lord talking to her constantly.
She tried to push the vision from her head and returned to camp. Jaewon lay sleeping. His face in repose was so young and carefree. The sadness that she’d associated with him for so long had mostly disappeared. There was a lightness about him that hadn’t been there before. She hoped she’d never see that deep sadness within him again. And yet, she worried for him. She didn’t want to be the one to hurt him again. He meant too much to her.
Waking Jaewon, she showed him how to collect dew. There had been no rain overnight, so their bowls were empty. Kira walked over to a large open field of grass and began to wipe the blades with a clean rag. They were moist with dew. She then squeezed her rag into her bowl. Within ten minutes, her bowl was full. They collected enough to fill their metal pot. After gathering more firewood, Jaewon lit a fire to boil the water.
“You can only collect the dew in the early morning, while it is still cool,” she said.
“Clever trick,” he said. “Who taught you that?”
“My father,” Kira said. “All my survival lessons came from him. He would take us hiking into the mountains to hunt and teach us everything he knew about nature.”
“He sounds like a great man.”
Kira nodded. “The best,” she said simply. “I miss him every day.”
Jaewon reached over and enfolded Kira in his arms.
“You helped me reunite with my father, and I thank you for that,” he said.
“I didn’t do anything,” she mumbled into his chest.
He squeezed her tight. “Yes, you did! I wouldn’t have had the courage to seek out my parents if I hadn’t met you. I would still be running away from my problems. But now I feel like I have my father back, and to hear you talk about missing yours breaks my heart,” he said. “I know he’s not like your father, but I would gladly share mine with you. And I know he would embrace you like the daughter he never had.”
Kira snorted. “That sounded suspiciously like a backhanded proposal.” She pushed away and sat down, arms folded as she gave him the stink eye.
A flush crept up his neck and into his cheeks as he sat across from her.