The sea was black in the moonless night after the Ring had gone dark. The awed silence gave way to fervent whispers among the usually stoic troops. Hyong felt General Namgung’s eyes on him as surely as he felt Miss Ryu’s grip on his elbow.

Hyong exhaled. The General’s would certainly, mercifully order an end to his torment.

No order came, or it was lost in the cacophony: first, an explosive pop, followed by screaming wind and thundering waves, then the groaning of the destroyer as it listed hard toward the Ring, and, not least, the screams of the soldiers.

Chapter 27

Chapter 29