For the Prisoner

15. Back on Track

This time, Hongjoong didn't ditch Seonghwa in the forest. They left the spread of trees together, stepping from snowy branches side by side to find their way back to the clearing.

The sky had yet to grey with impending dawn, and there was a lot of time left that Seonghwa could spend asleep once he willed his hammering heart to calm.

Hongjoong was still strained. The mark Mingi had left on Seonghwa would fade with time and with it, Hongjoong's fury would ease. For now, they settled back into their somewhat neutral companionship. It was anything but peaceful, but so long as it upheld on its brittle stilts, Seonghwa could nurse it. He counted this little win as an achievement. If Hongjoong stuck to him, Seonghwa wouldn't succumb to madness, and things would improve.

As they found back to the campsite, Mingi sat in wait. He had Fléau on his lap, soothing her craving to rip Perie apart, who sat in the tree behind Yunho's sleeping frame. The wyvern was watchful to sleep around the vicious cat.

At the combined sight of the two men, Mingi's lips jumped into a wry smile.

"I see you haven't parted in indignation. Was it that easy to put your differences aside?" The witch cast the wooden wand aside that he had used to etch the runes into his fingers. The white quartz at its top dulled its glazing light once it lost contact with his flesh.

"You did a lot of damage. Keep your nasty claws off him," Hongjoong threatened low in his throat. The angles of his face cast in shadows and his horns towering above him clashed with Mingi's effortless aura of power.

"The gargoyle's chain has pulled taut. I never knew you were such a loyal pet." Mingi reached into the air in front of Hongjoong's body. His fingers wrapped around something only as thick as a finger and gave a moderate pull.

Hongjoong staggered at the same time the chain disappeared from thin air. It was crafted of shining cold, contrasting with the gargoyle's dark grey skin. When Mingi tugged on it, Hongjoong growled, but his claws couldn't seize the simple golden collar that attached it around his neck.

Startled, Seonghwa tried to help him out of it, but his fingers slipped as if through smoke.

Mingi clicked his tongue.

"None of us can remove this. It's his curse as you have yours, priest, removable only by the one who cast it. This one comes straight from the heavens." Chuckling, Mingi yanked once more and his eyes glinted at Hongjoong's fury. He withdrew when the gargoyle was about to slash at him.

"I didn't know it was a physical chain," Seonghwa whispered, dreadful of the position it put Hongjoong in. As gorgeous as the gold looked on him, it also reduced him to a slave.

"It's less physical than it is mental," Mingi hummed in agreement. His taunting made it no wonder why Hongjoong hated being what he was.

"Where does it lead?" Seonghwa eyed the chain, tried to find its source, but Mingi cut him short. He reached for Seonghwa's hand and seized it when he recoiled. Around his wrist and wrapped in a loose knot that he could loosen anytime if only he could touch it, the chain tangled to bind them together. No matter how he scratched and clawed at his wrist, it gained no density.

Hongjoong sighed.

"Leave it be. It's not something you need to concern yourself with."

Seonghwa hated this knowledge. That Hongjoong was physically bound to be his slave. He was no demon, simply a creature like any other. Cursed to serve for eternity.

Mingi's hand lingered on Seonghwa's to heal the shallow scratches, but Hongjoong slapped it off with a grumble.

"Away, I said."