𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐔𝐒 || ᴛᴀᴇᴋᴏᴏᴋ

Chapter twenty one

They all stared at the prophecy lines. A sick feeling pooled at the bottom of their stomach. Jeongguk felt fear clawing at him. He imagined the goddesses laughing at him as he read the last line again.

A sacrifice to complete.

What sacrifice? For what completion? Did it mean the saving of Lupine? If so, who should be the sacrifice? Or is it even a person? The prophecy also mentioned secrets. What secrets did they have? Is it even their secrets?

Questions swarmed Jeongguk's mind, and he could sense that the others were also thinking the same if not similar questions as well. Taehyung spoke first.

"There is more." He said. They all tore their eyes away from the prophecy and looked at the pure blood.

"What?" Jeongguk voiced out. Taehyung fixed his blue eyes on him.

"There is more to the prophecy." He repeated. Seokjin sighed.

"Taehyung, what are you saying?" The elder asked. Taehyung turned to him, agitated.

"Remember my dream? Even though the words of the prophecy were fumbled, I have this gut feeling that this isn't what I heard. There has to be more, or this is wrong." He explained.

"I helped you with what I can, and you're saying my magic is wrong?" Yoongi growled. Jeongguk was quick to defend.

"No, no! That's not what he meant. Can you please check if there is more to the prophecy?" Jeongguk asked as if he was talking to a wild animal.

Yoongi closed his eyes and touched the liquid. After a moment, he opened them again and looked at the group.

"That is all of the prophecy." He finished. Taehyung did not seem convinced of that.

"But -" he began to protest.

"Tae, maybe he is right. Let's think about this later. What we have right now is frightening enough." Seokjin said. Taehyung clenched his jaw and nodded. Jeongguk offered him a sympathetic smile and squeezed his hand in reassurance. A small smile slipped on Taehyung's face at that.

"Shouldn't we try to figure out what the prophecy means?" Lisa asked. They all nodded and moved closer to the prophecy.

"The crown on Venus has to mean the Luna's crown," Seokjin said. "And Venus must be Jeongguk." He turned to the omega, and the rest of them nodded.

"But 'shall decipher', what does that mean?" Jeongguk asked. Hoseok hummed.

"The word decipher has different meanings. One of them is convert, though we can't be sure which one it is here." He said. They exchanged uneasy glances. Taehyung tightened his hold on Jeongguk's hand.

"What about the next line, 'secrets will uncover'?" Lisa questioned.

"It must be something about the blood hunters." Seokjin said. Hoseok grunted at the name, and Yoongi visibly shuddered.

"Blood hunters?" Taehyung asked. Seokjin nodded.

"The ones trying to steal the crown." Jeongguk gulped at that. There was more than one person behind this, but there has to be a leader too. So, who was that? How powerful are they?

"Then comes the sacrifice," Jeongguk said. The sickening feeling returned to him again. A chocked sigh left him.

"It can't be one of us, right?" Taehyung asked out. No one responded for a moment, afraid they might say the wrong thing. Then, Hoseok smiled.

"It can't be! It must be something else." His smile grew strained at the end, his eyes flickering among them. It was obvious he was worried about them but was trying to lighten the mood. It did not really seem to be working.

"We need to find the crown and start the prophecy. It is in Chyra, right?" Jeongguk turned to Seokjin, who nodded in answer. "Then we should leave. How many more days do we have till the blood moon?" He asked. It was Yoongi who answered.

"Twenty-seven at most." Jeongguk sighed.

"Alright, how about -" he was cut off by Hoseok.

"You can't just leave, yet! There are plenty of days left. You need to train, get in shape, and much more. Spend at least a week more with us, please?" He pleaded at Jeongguk. Jeongguk looked back at his teammates, and they stared back at him with uncertainty.

"I'm not sure, Your Majesty. This is a big matter and -" he was once again interrupted.

"Just seven more days!" Hoseok spoke quickly. "On the eighth day, which is -" he paused to count. "- Monday! We will send you with essentials and horses. It will be a one day trip on a horse. Walking will take two days." He said.

"When we reach Chyra, there will only be twenty days left till the blood moon." Taehyung stated.

"Well, there is not much you need to do there. His Highness will take the crown and attain the power. What do you need twenty days for?" Hoseok laughed. The group exchanged glances once more. They feared there would be much to do in those twenty days. Because, if not, it will be all too easy, right?

"Okay, fine. We will stay for one more week." Jeongguk agreed. Hoseok beamed at that.

"Thank you, thank you!" The prince chanted. Jeongguk tried to smile sincerely.

With Hoseok rambling about the training grounds, they walked out of the room, bidding Yoongi. The prophecy kept repeating in Jeongguk's head over and over again.

But his thoughts were cut short when Taehyung pulled him to the back and crept his arm around the omega's waist. The others walked in front of them, not realising that they had slowed down.

"I can't wait to mark you tonight," Taehyung whispered in his ear. A deep blush painted across Jeongguk's cheeks.

"Hyung, you pervert!" He hissed at the alpha. Taehyung chuckled and squeezed the side of his waist, earning a small yelp.

Meanwhile, Seokjin was half listening to the prince's talks. Lisa was next to him, stealing glances. She cleared her throat, but Seokjin ignored her. Then she quietly spoke to him when Hoseok walked a bit ahead of them, his voice becoming white noise.

"Are you avoiding me?" Lisa asked. Seokjin looked at her with slightly wide eyes.

"No." He answered simply and looked ahead again. Lisa huffed, not satisfied.

"Well, it seems that way."

"I don't think that's my problem."

"See? You're so cold to me," she crossed her arms, full attention on him.

"Stay away from me then." He answered simply.

"Why are you like this? This is what I meant by that you're avoiding me." Seokjin clenched his jaw and turned to her.

"Can you stop saying nonsense? There are many things going on, and I don't want to deal with you, too!" He snapped. Lisa's mouth was agape, and she tried to speak, but nothing came out. Hoseok turned towards them.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. Seokjin forced a smile at him.

"No, Your Majesty. Everything is fine," he said. Hoseok nodded and began talking again. Seokjin spared one more glance at the female omega and walked alongside the prince.

Lisa bowed her head and sighed. An arm around her shoulder made her look up, and her eyes met Jeongguk's warm brown ones.

"It's alright," he whispered, and she nodded. It was alright.