Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Eighty

Jisung loathed lying, almost more than anything. He slipped between shadows, jaw set tightly. However... to fool one's enemies, one first had to fool their own allies. He felt truly, utterly terrible for what he was doing; after the intimate conversation he and Minho had shared, he'd done nothing but sneak out of their room in the dead of night without so much as telling him where he was going – or why.

He hated suspecting his friends, and he hoped beyond hope that the Riverock was far enough to only be a day away. He hoped beyond hope that they wouldn't run into them this night, infinitely closer than they'd been before his announcement – both of his announcements.

Only two people travelled with him – the two people he knew without a single shred of doubt would not betray him. On either side of him, running quietly in the shadows of the forest, were none other than Hyunsik and Hyunjin. The remainder of his friends – including Minho – thought they were heading out tomorrow. The rest of his pack were preparing for two nights from then.

He loosed a shuddering breath; this could either go extremely well, or extremely horribly. His eyes glowed golden as they ran across the woods on silent feet, ears sharp, listening for any indication that the Riverock was anywhere nearby.

So far, there was nothing but the sound of their own breathing and of quiet nighttime creatures filling the air around them. The silence was almost foreboding; he ignored the chills that crept up his spine, or the dread that had deeply settled in his gut.

There was only one way to find out if there really was a traitor amongst them.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Hyunsik, Hyunjin and Jisung were perched high up in a tree, eyes watching the route below them; it was the only way the Riverock could have possibly gone through. Jisung's face twisted into a grimace as he heard the sound of many wolves snapping twigs and crushing fallen leaves.

The three of them exchanged a glance. A lump had formed in Jisung's throat, and he closed his eyes, sucking in a deep, slow breath. With a curt nod at his small team, they dispersed; it was time to put their plan into action.

Jisung leapt to the ground, standing on the trail – in their direct path. His eyes smoldered, and the closer they drew, the deeper his betrayal ran, and the hotter his anger coursed. He would take care of them all by himself, if he needed to.

They would pay for the murders under their belts.

~#~#~#~#~#~

Seungmin sat alone in the library, nothing but the dull light of his lamp to illuminate the old, yellowing pages displayed beneath him. Sure enough, the words scrawled across the pages were indeed written in his people's ancient tongue.

The writing had faded somewhat, and the letters themselves were almost illegible. He sat back, the purple tinge to his eyes finally fading as he allowed his magic to deactivate for a little while. He trembled with the exertion it had put on him to place a spell upon himself – a spell to make himself read faster.

He was almost done the entire book, and yet he'd not yet found anything that could have proven a weakness to the Vampire King; most of it was filled with old myths and legends, tales that couldn't possibly exist, even in their magical world. It spoke of things like silver-eyed serpents with five heads and clans full of vampire-werewolf hybrids and a holy potion used by angels to prevent death.

Whatever Hyunsik thought was in this book, he was most certainly sure that it wasn't in there. He rubbed the backs of his hands against his eyes, fighting the dreariness that pulled at them. Perhaps it hadn't been such a good idea to use that much magic all in one go, especially after he'd barely recovered from teleporting himself and Hyunjin so much.

I have to be careful, he thought bitterly, blinking away the spots dotting his vision. He turned to stare out one of the library's many ornate windows, staring up at the bright moon. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, stars twinkling carelessly up above. It was the perfect night for an evening stroll.

Or a hunt.

He swallowed thickly, shaking away the feeling of unease that spread through him. He had a bad feeling; about what, he didn't know, only that something was going to go terribly, terribly wrong. Shaking his head, he reached for the book again, his strained eyes focusing on the text at his fingertips.

"A little more won't hurt," he mumbled, shrugging. Ignoring the trembling in his hands, he flipped another of the ancient pages. His eyes scanned over its contents quickly, deciphering the strange, loopy characters quicker than he'd ever been able to before. Practice makes perfect. He chuckled softly, and apart from that, the library was entirely silent.

His eyes widened, pausing. Sucking in a deep breath, he read over the same page once more. He sat back in his chair, purple fading from his eyes completely as he continued to stare at it, face pale – paler than it had ever been, he reckoned. "Oh my Goddess," he breathed, running a hand through his hair. He had to find Jisung, he had to tell him that–

All of a sudden, his eyes snapped up, narrowing on the darkness beyond the lamplight. Slowly, he stood. "Who's there?"

A/N: Honestly, I feel like this story kinda flopped. Man, I made so many mistakes with this one, but, hey, I'll know for next time, eh?

Q: What's the genre of fiction you like the least?

A: To be quite honest, I don't even know if this is a legitimate genre, but... classics, oh my god I cannot STAND them. Most of the time I find the stories stiff and the writing stiffer and I, I can't- (obviously there are a few exceptions, but.... not many)

Lots of love,

~Emilie