Briar Rose - Taekook

Chapter 16

More than 4000 words! Enjoy!

XVI: Jungkook 

Something was wrong.

I felt it instinctively in my bones even before Taehyung descended the stairs. When Jimin came down looking equally worried, I knew that my suspicions were correct. But when I asked about it, Jimin had merely shrugged.

"He's not telling me. I don't get why." A look of confusion flashed briefly in his eyes, before he dismissed it and took something out of his folded robes with a flourish. It took me a moment to realize that it was my scim. "Here. You're going to need this."

I looked down at it. "But we're going to London. People would be suspicious if I walk down the streets with a big sword strapped to my belt."

Jimin laughed lightly. "Of course it's not going to look like a sword. Though I never understood why you humans don't carry around weapons with you. You should. It's a dangerous world out there." He threw the scim in the air, watching as it swirled in a circular motion three times before morphing into a thin string of silver. Catching it in one hand, he presented the silver bracelet to me. I took it from him, praying that it didn't turn into a blade in my hands. "Thanks."

"Simple transformation technique." Jimin explained. "It will transform back into a scim whenever you remove it from your wrist. It'll be a handy tool to have if you're faced with anything out of the ordinary."

"What things?" I asked, putting the bracelet on my wrist. It fit perfectly, practically invisible after I lowered my sleeve.

"Specters, most likely."

Taehyung's voice came from the stairwell, and Jimin and I both turned. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him in human clothes. He was wearing a simple gray t-shirt paired with a navy trench coat, and his dark hair was artistically disheveled in a way which I found painfully unfair. A silver ring glinted on his right hand, and his usually red eyes were brown. Even without his daggers and black tunic, he radiated power that a simple human couldn't possibly have. Only the slight dark circles beneath his eyes betrayed his tiredness.

"Take a picture, it lasts longer." Taehyung said, catching me staring at him. I quickly looked away, blushing. He laughed, descending the last stair and walking over to where I stood.

"Good morning," he murmured, landing a kiss on my forehead. His arms snaked around my waist as he pulled me closer to him, and I leaned against his shoulder. It was amazing to think that only a week ago, I hadn't even met Taehyung, and thought that vampires were myths. And now here I was, getting hugged tightly by the vampire king, no less. I smiled as he caressed my hair with one hand, not letting go of my waist. His eyes flickered with some type of emotion I couldn't read as he glanced down at me, but it quickly melted away into love.

"Gods, get a room!" Jimin groaned, shaking his head. "You guys are worse than the Namjin couple!"

Taehyung smiled, nudging me gently towards the pinwheel door. "You and Yoongi are pretty bad yourselves. But don't worry Jimin. We'll be gone for the whole day, so you won't have to see us."

"I know. Just... be careful out there alright?" Jimin sighed, and looked at me. "And keep Jungkook safe. He's only just started the basics of scim training."

"With my life," Taehyung agreed, and I hit his chest lightly. "Yah! I can look after myself, you know!" He laughed as he reluctantly removed hands from around my waist and walked towards the door. "Of course. Now, let's go."

"Jungkook, stay back." Jimin cautioned. I watched as Taehyung moved his hand towards the pinwheel, making a turning motion with his hand. The door started rattling on its hinges, and an otherworldly light engulfed it. Taehyung's face grew taunt with concentration. He made a fist, and suddenly, the pinwheel turned to yellow with a loud ping. The door stopped shaking, and the light receded.