Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

041

Days had passed and, despite my vigorous attempt at tracking down the King of the North, wanting nothing more than to talk to him, to hear him out, to talk, Hongjoong always seemed to slip through my fingers mere seconds before I could catch him.

I huffed in mixed frustration and exhaustion as I hurried down one of the grand corridors within the Palace of Atlas, the sound of my footsteps padding against the perfectly polished marbled floors echoing up the walls and intricately sculpted columns as they stretched towards the ceiling far overhead.

The amulet was hanging out my neck, the gilded moon; crescent and embedded with the eight kings' gemstones, thumping against my chest with every step I took as I followed the king ahead of me, occasionally offering small smiles and greeting to the passing guards and servants.

Nari had tipped me off regarding his whereabouts but with their questionably magic abilities, I realized it would probably have been easier to send her and Jinae after Hongjoong instead of me as I struggled to keep up with his steady strides as he turned another corner.

I ran a hand through my hair, the action having been repeated so often now that it had left it messy and tangled as I turned the corner as well, hesitating for a moment before catching sight of my target again and continuing to follow him. I had to talk to him about Selene, about what had happened in order to confirm the things I had discovered underneath the Pyramid of Giza, about everything.

Taehyung had died in the last trial; the contestant from Sector 4, Seoul. I cleared my throat as I bowed my head at another passing guard. Seulgi had died as well; the last female champion from Sector 3, Tokyo. We were only five left. We were five left and I was the only woman among them. I needed to know more before I would willingly walk to my death, I told myself.

Speeding up as I walked through golden galleries filled with collections of grand pictures and paintings of the Eight Kingdoms of Haelan, I caught a glimpse of Rome before tearing my eyes off the familiar landscape of my home and glancing back across my shoulder to ensure that we were truly alone before turning back to Hongjoong and hurrying after him.

"Your Highness!" I called, now running as I tried to catch up with him, the male turning around as the sound of my voice cut through the silence of the gallery, his grey eyes the colour of silver and ash and then raw panic as they widened and flickered to the amulet around my neck.

"Hongjoong!" I tried, but he was running as well now, my heart sinking as he took off and barged through another set of doors at the end of the gallery, slamming them shut behind him just as I reached them and ripped them open as well, revealing another magnificent space beyond with crimson walls and white doors and gilded details climbing up everything from the columns to the frames containing the pictures to the domed ceiling and frescoes overhead.

"Hongjoong-" I said, turning around to close the doors behind me only to cry out in pain as I slammed into another body, rubbing my forehead as my eyes fluttered back open, not to the sight of the King of the North, but to the bronze-haired male I had spent my entire life with.

Taeyong looked equally as surprised as I felt, his hand placed comfortably on my shoulder in an attempt to support me, to steady me, as my eyes flickered to his face; familiar and handsome as always, unable to notice how his hair matched perfectly with every last royal and golden detail within the gallery.

A shaky breath left my lips as a moment of silence fell over the two of us, the king long forgotten, as the two of us simply took each other in, studied each other, the air of quiet turning suffocating, painful, almost.

I realized then, with a heavy heart, that we had not truly seen each other eye-to-eye since the fifth trial in Santiago, since the moment I had crawled out of the volcano and found myself at sword-point, the dark blade cutting into my skin, pressing, threatening to steal whatever life, whatever time, I had left until Taeyong had killed my attacker.