Free Silvern (The Gilded Series) by Christina Farley Page B

beads up on my forehead and my heart skips a beat. Even with its stark barrenness, I know this place.
    The Spirit World.
    There’s an odd tug at my insides, and I’m irresistibly compelled to take a step closer. A part of me wonders if I can find Komo there. Glancing around me, I see no one is watching. I tell myself I’ll only be gone for a moment. That I need to go and find answers.
    I inch closer and allow a gust of wind to curl around me until it drags me through the wavering light. The force yanks and pulls at my skin and muscles. Darkness and stars swirl around me in a kaleidoscope. Then I’m tumbling through a second wavering wall.
    Into another world.

The moment my boots sink into the crisp, brunet grass, I know I’ve entered the Spirit World. Everything appears sharper. The air almost tastes thicker.
    Marc told me that the worlds are connected by shared histories, and that places where the Spirit World has crossed into ours will always maintain a stronger connection. I’m still not clear how the two worlds piece together, but obviously they do, because here I am, standing in the misty gray of a lifeless world. It isn’t hard to figure out where I am, either. The winding dusty path, the barren forest, the bone-filled stream, the dilapidated queen’s palace. This is Haemosu’s world. It’s entrenched in my memory forever.
    My heart slams against my chest as the memories clatter through my mind like a kkwaenggwari gong. Haemosu’s screams vibrate around me; my knees buckle and I sink to the ground. I remember how the burning flames of his fire monster singed my skin, and how his claws ripped me to shreds after he transformed into a tiger.
    I squeeze my fists tight and crack open my eyes. He is no longer here. I have to believe that. Even still, he lived in this place for too long, destroying it slowly in his quest for power. He craved power so much that he sucked the life force out of the trees, the water, even the buildings.
    Despite the barrenness, the air drips rich as honey. I stand, realizing there’s something about this place that feels different. With each breath I take, the power of the land soaks into me. My body buzzes with energy. I’ve never felt so alive.
    I should turn back. I eye the wavering wall where I stumbled out of reality. This must be the portal. I step back toward it, fear clawing my mind as past memories continue to ricochet through me. Yet somehow a greater need makes me plant my feet. There’s something about this place that feels right. Like I belong. Perhaps this place has the answers I seek.
    A blast of hot air slices across my back. I spin around to face three golden dragons.
    Oryonggeo.
    These three must be part of the group of five dragons that drove Haemosu’s golden chariot. They’re stunning: sleek bodies glistening in the dull air, finely sculpted necks and faces, smoke puffing from their noses as they study me from ruby eyes, which are the same color as the five dragon gems that ringed the bracelet Haemosu gilded me with. These are the same dragons that clawed through Komo’s house, and the same ones that snatched Grandfather off the boat. I’d been powerless to stop them then.
    I swivel to retreat, but one of the dragons snakes out a claw and catches my shirt.
    Why do you return? they speak in my mind.
    Despite the grimy grayness around me, their scales glint as if covered in a thousand shimmering coins. If I were anywhere but here, I would have thought them beautiful, but my memories are too strong for those thoughts.
    “Quite the welcoming committee,” I say.
    You should not have come.
    No kidding. I struggle against their hold. “Don’t sweat it. I’m leaving.”
    A tail swoops from behind, swiping my feet from beneath me. I fall to the ground and land on my bottom. A rumble shudders over them. I think they’re laughing at me.
    But since you are here , they say, we cannot allow you to leave.
    “Are you always this cordial?”I ask, standing.
    You killed