Cursed Hearts | ATEEZ

046

I crouched down in front of the grave, holding my breath as I carefully placed the golden amulet in front of the smooth stone marking the final resting place of the Moon Goddess, the crescent moon, and precious gems sinking slightly into the lush grass surrounding the area which had previously been charred and coated with blood.

I pretended not to see how King Hongjoong's clenched fists were shaking through the corner of my eye and turned my head, like the others, towards the exceptional view from atop the hill. I pretended not to know how much this place affected him.

They had needed this, all of them. Selene had needed this, deserved this.

The mountains surrounding Martell looked beautiful despite the secrets I now knew they held, their dark history and the symbol of punishment they were the very embodiment of, unfairly given.

They were golden in the light from the setting sun; warm and bright and marvelous in the last hours of my last day in Haelan. Wooyoung hadn't told me. He didn't need to. I already knew what would happen once the sun rose tomorrow, and I had come to find myself at peace with it.

I ran my hand over the smooth stone, just once, feeling like it had to be done, shivering a little as my fingers grazed across the cold, dark surface which reminded me of night before standing back up, now side by side with the kings.

The weather was cold. It was December, winter, and, for the first time since the Trials began, I truly sensed how close we were to the ending. The last month of the year, of the Trials, of the cycle. The trees were naked and brittle in the distance.

It would end tomorrow, all of it. This was the year it would come to an end. The amulet had found its home, and Selene would get her peace, Helios his revenge.

I said nothing as Wooyoung wrapped his arms around me from behind, pulling me to his chest and resting his head on my shoulder as we swayed lazily back and forth.

We were all here, exactly like the dream I had had, exactly like the time she had died. Except, I was alive, and I felt my heart hammering in my chest as I savored the King of Autumn's warmth and the fact that, even if only for a moment, we could both pretend that we didn't know what would happen tomorrow.

Except, unlike the dream, when I glanced one last time at the sun before it disappeared below the tops of the mountains, taking my last moments of freedom with it, I did not feel a sense of familiarity but rather a flaare of hatred flicker to life within me.

"I knew she would be different," someone mumbled from behind me. I pretended not to hear. I wasn't planning on saving them, on being their savior. I was planning on sacrificing myself.

"Are you sure this was how you wanted to spend your time?" Wooyoung mumbled, hot breath ghosting over my ear as he leaned his head closer to me, "Our time?"

I nodded a little, watching as evening and darkness slowly began to roll down the sides of the Eight Mountains and settle over Martell below them, "No person, place, or thing should have the kind of power over us that your history has. She deserves peace, you deserve peace, we all do."

"Are you happy?" he asked, and I felt my heart swell a little as I realized that, however short-lived, I was.

"As happy as I can be," I admitted, "And you? Are you happy?"

"More than happy," Wooyoung said, placing a kiss on my cheek before pulling back a little as he straightened himself and turned to the capital below as well, a sigh leaving his lips, expressing a feeling I knew we shared, one that couldn't truly be put into words.

"I just wish things could be different, better. You deserve better," the King of Autumn said, almost regretfully. The crown atop his head looked heavy.