“Then you’re a fool.”
I scowl, hurt for Namgi, who not a half hour earlier had spoken so affectionately about Kirin. “I trust Namgi far more than I trust you,” I retort. “He’s forthright and sincere. He told me how he met Shin, and why he serves him. While you’ve told me nothing of yourself.”
I hesitate, wondering if I’ve gone too far with my impulsive words. Kirin truly does appear upset—the first sign of real emotion I’ve seen from him.
“Because I’m unlikable, you think I’m disloyal,” he says, his voice icy. “Yet I’ve served Shin far longer than Namgi has. I’ve never known a time when I haven’t stood by his side. He’s my leader, but more than that, he’s my friend. I trust him with my life.”
Kirin pauses, then his gaze turns to me with a look of middling horror. “I can’t believe you exasperated me into actually defending myself against your ridiculous claims.”
I sidle forward, turning to flash him a wide grin. “It makes it easier to talk to you, knowing you’re a little human.”
I know I’ve said something wrong when the reluctant smile on his lips disappears.
“I am not human,” he says coldly.
For the next half hour, neither of us says a word. I move farther into the rows of shelves, which extend deeper than I first thought. It truly would be impossible to go through each scroll and book, even if the method of categorization were clear. As I walk, I realize the room is much larger than the outside view of Crane House suggested, which was taller rather than wider. It’s both similar and opposite to Moon House, where the room the goddess resided in was tiny compared to how her home appeared from the outside.
I continue to explore the library, turning corners when I meet them, until, at the end of a particularly long row of bookshelves, I reach a door. I’m surprised only because I thought the library was confined to a single room. The door is slightly ajar. I peek through to find a short set of stairs leading downward.
I know I should go back. If Shin returns and finds me missing, he will not be pleased. And yet, this is Crane House, home of scholars—what harm could there be in such a place?
I slip past the door, tread lightly down the stairs, and enter a narrow corridor dimly lit by lanterns with low-burning candles. On either side are rooms purposed for reading and writing and other scholarly pursuits, scattered with paper scrolls, ink, and brushes.
At the end of the hall is a private study, larger than the rest. Scrolls of poetry hang on the walls alongside paintings of nature. A single writing table is positioned at the back of the room before a paper screen.
It’s a beautiful screen, four times the length of the one in Shin’s room and twice its height. Each of its panels shows the life stages of a crane, from newborn hatchling to the last panel, which shows the crane in flight, the only splash of color the bright red of its crowned head.
“Forgive me. I wasn’t prepared for visitors, or I might have tidied up a bit.”
I turn to face a tall, elderly scholar standing in the doorway.
“Lord Yu,” I say, recognizing him from that first night at Lotus House. I bow low. “Excuse my intrusion. I was waiting in the room above and came upon the stairs—”
“Did I appear offended?” Lord Yu says. “Come, please sit.” He nods, indicating the small table before the paper screen. Moving to a side cabinet, he produces a tray with a bottle and two porcelain cups. “Do you enjoy the taste of wine-spirits?”
“I’ve never had the opportunity to find out,” I say, taking the seat opposite him.
He lifts the bottle and pours some of the golden liquid into a cup. Accepting the cup with two hands, I turn my face away to drink it entirely, as I’ve seen my brothers do. The liquor tastes bitter in my mouth.
“Now,” Lord Crane says. “Tell me the questions you have.”
I must look surprised, because he adds, “You must have questions you seek answers to, a young girl with a homeland in peril, a Sea God’s bride with a mystery to unravel.”
“Then you must guess my question before I ask it.”
“Nevertheless, you must ask for me to answer.”
“How do I lift the curse upon the Sea God?”
“You didn’t have to come to me for the answer to that question. The answer is in the myth: Only a true bride of the Sea God can bring an end to his insatiable wrath. The bride who shares a Red String of Fate with the Sea God has the power to break the curse.”