The Night Belongs to the Moon | Taeyong

37 | Glimmer of White

The music was still echoing away in the hall; the blood was still dripping from her leg; they were still dancing and the vampires were still watching.

Dal-ae stared at his chest, stunned, the throb of her heart drowning out everything around her. Slowly, she raised her chin and looked up at him. Taeyong was still smiling but it was then she noticed the sorrow behind those eyes.

'How long have you known?' she asked, quietly.

He pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her. 'Not too long.'

'How?'

'The day after Kun's interrogation, I cleaned your body...' he said, glancing at her hair and Dal-ae understood that her wig must have displaced in the process.

Taeyong's touch was still gentle but she seemed agitated.

'Did you see all my memories?' she asked, and Taeyong saw embarrassment taking form on her face.

'Dal-ae...' he tried but she pushed him away, stumbling backwards. The music stopped and the chandelier shot to the sky to its original position. Her hands were trembling and her face was flushed. Panic rose inside her when she saw the trail of blood on the platform and realised that she was bleeding out of her leg. Her eyes darted around the crowd in search of Yuta but he was nowhere to be seen. Dal-ae was strong and capable enough to fight vampires but with the Special Unit, the entire Vampire Court and Taeyong himself present, this was a risk she was not willing to take. She had to run and she needed help but her eyes could not find Yuta.

Suddenly, everything went pitch black and a cloud of grey smoke filled the air inside the ballroom. Wails and howls erupted from the crowd and Dal-ae staggered trying to find her footing. But just as she was about to fall off the stone platform, someone caught her and helped her up.

'Ugh, where were you?' she hissed. 'I thought you left me alone.' She could still see nothing around her with the smoke filling every corner of the hall. In the very next moment, a thick cloak was draped over her shoulders and she was pulled close to the man next to her.

'What do you think you are doing?' she asked, struggling against his arms but received no reply, instead she was helped down the platform and was guided through the black smoke with ease. Not one of the shrieking vampires blocked their path nor did they run into any trouble as they crossed the hall slowly.

Dal-ae looked up, trying to discern a face amidst the darkness but saw nothing. Her fingers tried to catch onto something but her hands were tucked inside the cloak. Soon enough, when they reached the exit, she was stopped and she felt a cold hand sliding up her leg.

She gasped and tried to free herself from his grip but was caught tightly against him with an arm around her waist.

'Shhh...' she felt him whisper onto her lips, fixing her in place, while his hand retrieved the silver dagger that was piercing her thigh.

Dal-ae heard him wince when the silver made contact with his skin but he did not let go of her. He placed the dagger in her hand then gently pushed her away from him and Dal-ae found herself out of the ballroom and amidst the snow-covered forest she had seen earlier with Taeyong.

There was no pavilion, no steps leading to the ballroom, but only the white expanse of the forest sleeping silently in the calm of the cold night. She whipped her head around and just as the door behind her was shutting, she was, in the black smoke inside, a glimmer of white before the darkness swallowed it.

𓆩 𓆪

That night, after the ball, the remaining members of Special Unit gathered at the Entrance Hall of the Night Mansion. Johnny and Jungwoo were stood by the stairway while Mark and Haechan were on the other side, Haechan leaning against the wall and Mark near the window. Jaehyun, though much sober now, was sitting on the steps quietly, with his head between his hands.