{HIATUS} Éternel: Between Two Worlds (#3)

xvi. Dancing On My Own

This chapter is dedicated to my cat, who just today (March 7, 2023) passed away in our arms. She lived a good long life, I'll see you up there when I'm ready munchkin.

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⁴⁷ A wave of exhaustion crashed over me as I fell back onto the mattress, my eyes shutting on impact to fully immerse myself in the softness of the sheets. My fingers ran over the material, cold from the amount of time it was left untouched. It had been a few months, after all.

Being on the road nonstop, performing and flying overseas to multiple countries to hold concerts and reveal my identity to the world was no easy task. But it had been long enough. I had to let go of my fear sooner or later.

After returning from my tour, I immediately went back to The Embrace to do a quick check-up on the realm. Thankfully, hunter activity was kept to a minimum, especially with the Dothraki fighting for me. When I had burned the Khals, the Dosh Khaleen were more than eager to take over and rule Vaes Dothrak in my name. Unlike the rest of the Dothraki, those women could be trusted. They had lived through hell.

I sighed and sat up, taking in the sight of my room in the darkness of the night, the only light source being the moon. I glanced at the calendar over my desk, pinned to the wall, the page turned to May of 2020. The last time I touched it was almost three years ago.

The same year I brought the boys back to Earthrealm.

With a scoff, I shook my head and stood up, taking the push pin out and throwing the calendar away. Time was moving too fast.

The sound of the doorbell rang through the house from the front door, making me raise my head in surprise. I quickly checked my phone to see if Levi had texted, but all I saw were the last messages he'd sent to me.

You know I'm right.

We're better off this way.

And he was right. Breaking up with me was the right thing to do, for both of us. It was fact that I still held a strong attachment to the boys, despite me trying desperately to break myself away from them. But Levi didn't deserve to be caught in the middle of my emotions. He didn't deserve to just be a distraction. That is why I had to make the ultimate sacrifice and detach myself from my humanity, and now, Levi and I were no more.

Making my way to the front door, I peeked out of the glass panel to see a large group of blurry but familiar faces. I sighed and shook my head lightly, reaching to open the door to the people outside. The voices of the boys rang through my ears as they cheered, walking into the foyer along with their girlfriends. Despite my exhaustion, I smiled and greeted the group, surprised to see them show up.

"What are you guys doing here?" I laughed, lips turning upward slightly.

"I think winning a Billboard award is a good enough reason to have a party, don't you?" Hoseok beamed, setting down a gold cake box on the kitchen counter. I leaned over and looked at the cake inside, decorated with multiple fruits and writing in icing that said 'To our Billboard Winner.' I smiled up at Hoseok and pressed my hand against his back, patting it lightly.

"My measly Billboard award is nothing compared to your Grammy."

"Well, regardless of which award is better, at least Namjoon bought another cake," Seokjin said, pointing to another cake box that was on the island counter behind us. I stepped over and looked into the box, noticing the label said mint chocolate, which Namjoon absolutely hated.

"Hey, Joon. Next time, look at the label," I snickered, Namjoon running over only to cry out at the cake's labeled flavor.

"I thought Namjoon was supposed to be smart?" Yeji joked, sitting down on the couch next to Hallie, Namjoon's girlfriend.