Destined {𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕊𝕌ℕ𝔾}

Chapter Eighty-Nine

Several days had passed, all of them blending and blurring in and out of one another. Jisung had been the busiest of them all, in charge of coordinating all of their forces. Minho stared at him from across the room, eyes fond. Every time he looked at Jisung now, the little flutter that had overtaken his chest had been magnified until he felt nothing but warmth.

This warmth, this all-consuming emotion of love that seemed to burst from his chest with just a glance, gave him a sense of courage. He'd definitely need it for the days to come. He twisted the wedding ring around his finger, biting his lip softly.

He continued to watch as Jisung conversed animatedly, eyebrows drawn, mouth quick; it was almost like he was speaking to several different people at once, giving hurried instructions. It made sense; they were leaving tomorrow.

Or, rather, he was leaving tomorrow. Nerves settled at the bottom of his stomach, now; their plan... their plan was risky. But it was the only way to make sure they got someone into the Crimson Castle. He just so happened to be the unlucky soul that needed to do it.

Jisung leaned onto his desk with one hand, eyes closed, massaging the bridge of his nose. All curtains had been drawn on the pack house, and nobody except a few trusted wolves were permitted to leave.

The office was empty, now, and Minho walked forward, silently wrapping his arms around the wolf's torso, resting his hand on his shoulder. Jisung relaxed almost instantly. "You should sleep," he said softly as he reached up and brushed hair away from his forehead.

Jisung could only shake his head, rubbing his eyes that were lined with dark eye bags. "I won't be able to sleep even if I leave," he said softly, eyebrows still furrowed as he met Minho's eyes again. "I don't like this plan at all." He reached out and let his fingers linger along the vampire's cheek.

Minho could only shrug; it wasn't like they could change it now. He'd be leaving with Hyunsik tomorrow – towards the Crimson Castle. "We don't have a choice," he sighed, resting his head against his shoulder again. "We need to kill him, and we're the only two that can."

Jisung bit his lip, wrapping his arms around Minho's waist, holding him close. "I know... but there's one thing I'm worried about." His eyebrows drew again. "Seungmin said that he didn't have the time to read what came next after he read about it. What if... there's another condition that has to be met? What if we fail, because we don't do it right?"

"We won't fail – we can't."

Eyes closed, Jisung buried his face in his neck. "I know."

~#~#~#~#~#~

Despite all he'd told Jisung, Minho's own nerves were running rampant. He stood beside Hyunsik, who'd be escorting him to the Crimson Castle; at vampiric speed, they'd get there later that day.

Jisung stood facing them, face hard, though his eyes danced with worry. Minho wished he could kiss him right then, but they had to maintain the appearance of being completely uninvolved with one another – almost hostile.

Nobody could know if Chan didn't have someone spying on them right then. His ring and the masking elixir Changbin had given them were in his pockets, a backpack full of unimportant stuff slung across his shoulders, the silver pendant he'd managed to find around his neck, its weight anything but reassuring.

He and Jisung shared a gaze, but no words, no contact. "Let's go," he said to Hyunsik, turning and walking away, despite the pain squeezing his chest. He was really starting to wish that he'd never asked Hyunsik if the Vampire King could appear in his dreams as a conscious entity.

He wished the answer had been no; unfortunately... he had a powerful wizard at his side. He was the one that had been protecting the book, and was, apparently, Chan's right-hand man, though nobody had ever seen his face, or fought him directly.

He was perhaps the biggest danger to their plan – he was an uncontrollable, unpredictable variable. Their plan was fragile – it was the only one they could come with, and involved many—almost too many – risks. So many things could go wrong, but did they really have a choice anymore?

Chan was getting more and more aggressive, and if they dragged it out any longer... who knew what would happen. They might as well bring the fight to him and be in control than have it play out in the other direction.

He'd be able to buy some time, at least, delay Chan just long enough for the rest of them to get there and launch their surprise attack.

"Remember the plan," Hyunsik said softly, eyes gleaming in worry. Minho nodded tersely; Hyunsik could only jump in on the day of the battle in approximately five days, but if he managed to find Jeongin first, he might just be able to use his influence over Chan to get him released – that was, only if he determined he could.

If he could... it would ensure Jeongin's safety, and Hyunsik would be able to join the fight, which in reality, would be a huge asset.

They were silent for the remainder of their journey, the scenery zipping by so quickly he couldn't even see it. In the distance, amid a clearing in the trees, stood a castle, deep Crimson in colour. He was almost surprised they'd gotten there so fast – despite the fact that they'd been travelling tirelessly for nearly twelve hours now.

He felt drained, but not tired; he supposed that was one of the perks of being a vampire. Hyunsik stopped at the edge of the forest, staring at him deeply; he'd be lurking in this forest until the time came, if ever he needed help. Or if he managed to let Jeongin escape.

Closing his eyes for a moment, he put his hand in his pocket, feeling the ring that rested there. He made sur his Mark was fully concealed, before he took a hesitant step out of the clearing, one step closer to the castle.

He hadn't even made it to the gates when someone swept down in front of him, smiling handsomely.

"Hello, Minho. I knew you'd come."

A/N: Annnnd yes. Istg y'all I finished writing this at 9 AM, it's currently 11:30 PM, I was about to go to bed when I realized I almost forgot to post this chapter agAIN *cri*

Lots of love,

~Emilie