His voice was barely a whisper. "Where did you go? We thought—we searched for days—there was blood, and arrows, and—" His voice broke completely. "We thought you were dead."
"I'm sorry," Soyeon sobbed. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to disappear, I was running from Li Feng's men and I—" She couldn't explain the wardrobe, she couldn't explain modern Seoul. She quickly came up with a lie. "I kept running and I was scared and I—I know I should have come back sooner—"
He didn't believe her. She could see it in his eyes. The story was too thin, too full of holes. But his expression….
He looked like he was seeing a miracle he didn't dare trust.
"Two weeks," he said, his voice thick with emotion. He blinked rapidly, fighting tears. "Two weeks we've been searching. Two weeks of—" He stopped himself. Cleared his throat. "Come. We must return to the palace. People need to know you're alive."
