Two fingers dipped into the soft soil and trailed the indent created by the hoof of a horse. Kyurhee rubbed the bit of mud on her middle and ring fingers with her thumb and looked up ahead at the rest of the tracks. After sending Seunghyun and Jiyong back home, Kyurhee and the others bandaged up any wounds they had and taken a rest through the night to gain back the energy they had lost.

This morning the group had begun to follow the tracks left behind by the Shadows who managed to retreat. Their bodies ached, they felt exhausted even after resting, and moral was low, but even with all that the group trekked on. They had been following the tracks for some time now and they were leading the group further into the mountains.

Yonghwa looked down at Kyurhee and studied the profile view of the rogue’s face as she looked up ahead of them. By now, Yonghwa had memorized every angle and feature of Kyurhee’s face and he was captivated not only by her beauty but how headstrong and confidant she was. He would be lying to himself if he did not say he had a crush on the Princess. Yonghwa had no intention of telling that to anyone though.

“Is something wrong?” Yonghwa asked and broke the silence that had taken over the group this entire morning.

Kyurhee shook her head. “No, but the texture of the soil and print is different than the ones when we started. These are fresher which means it hasn’t been long since the death knight and his mount passed through here.”

“Is it possible that they stopped to rest?” Jongkook mentioned.

Kyurhee once again shook her head. “I don’t think so. The tracks being left behind are those of a horse. The ones by the Shadows disappeared a while back. The death knight wants us to follow the tracks his mount left behind.”

“According to one of our maps, this area we’re headed into is elevated and full of dangerous cliffs. Passing through can be dangerous.” Minhyuk informed them as he looked up from the map he was looking at.

“We’re going on foot so it shouldn’t be too hard to pass through, but if we have to we can use the shadows in the area to move through. I don’t know what we’re being led into but we must keep going.” Kyurhee told them and started walking once again.

The rogues and warrior looked at each other and nodded. They turned to look at Kyurhee walking ahead of them and began following her as they made their way up the mountain.





“That girl back there seems pretty upset with you. Is she your girlfriend?” Soyeon asked Jaehee as the two of them walked towards the café.

“Yes.” Jaehee answered as they walked around the small fence outside the café. She grabbed the handle of the door and opened it for Soyeon to walk in.

“What did you do to her?” Soyeon curiously asked and winked at Jaehee who closed her eyes and shook her head.

“Nothing!” Jaehee exclaimed and Soyeon chuckled. The line was surprisingly short so the two of them ordered a cup of coffee. After paying and receiving their drinks, they sat at one of the tables outside of the café in a corner by the wall. Soyeon grasped the cup tightly with both hands to allow the warmth of the drink to warm them up.

Soyeon smiled at the sight of Jaehee simultaneously tearing open ten teaspoon packets of sugar and violently shaking them into the coffee. “Maybe that’s why she’s upset with you. Doing nothing can make a girl frustrated.”

Jaehee stopped shaking the packets of sugar and looked up at Soyeon with a solemn face. Soyeon giggled and stirred her drink. The taller woman set down the packets of sugar and raised an eyebrow. “Did you just go there?”

“Sure did.”

“That’s terrible. I never thought I would hear something like that come out of your mouth.” Jaehee started laughing and Soyeon joined her.

“I’m sorry. It was a bad joke, I know.” Soyeon was still giggling though.

“Its fine, but seriously I didn’t do anything. I know she’s jealous and I will talk to her, but first, I need to talk to you because there was something you wanted to ask me?” Jaehee took a sip of her coffee and looked at Soyeon expectantly.

Soyeon stopped giggling and nodded. “Yes, I do. Yesterday, Jiyeon was attacked by a group of Shadows.”

“What?”

Soyeon motioned for Jaehee to not ask anything else and continued, “As you saw earlier, Jiyeon is fine. One of our Guardians almost died, but she’s getting better as well. What has me intrigued though was the Shadow that helped Jiyeon. He’s a warlock and Eunjung told me he’s not one of your men.”

Jaehee frowned. “Did you get a name?”

Soyeon nodded, “Yeah, Eunjung said his name is Taeyang…?”

“Oh yes, him. He’s not a bad guy, but I never expected him to actually help protect Jiyeon.” Jaehee mentioned as she thought back to the time when she interrogated the guy. “I guess he kept his promise. Is he the one you were able to heal? Your questions earlier were about that right?”

Soyeon once again nodded. “Yes. It shouldn’t be possible. Holy Nova should have pushed him away like it did to the other Shadows, but instead it healed him. He too was surprised.”

So his human side protects him from the light… Jaehee looked down at her cup of coffee and thought back to the day she had interrogated Taeyang. His background check only revealed certain information about him, so the interrogation Jaehee had done was to see what kind of reactions she could get out of Taeyang.

Surprisingly, he had opened up quickly about telling her where and how he grew up. Jaehee at the time wasn’t sure if he had done it out of fear or honesty. By now she knew Taeyang was being honest and wanted to keep everything open so that Jaehee could trust him. From him, Jaehee had learned that Taeyang was half Shadow and half human. His father was a Shadow and the one who raised him. Taeyang’s mother was a human who left his father because her family pressured her into leaving the man.

Taeyang had grown up with all the customs of the Shadows and considered himself one to the fullest, but he had a soft spot for humans because he was in part one of them. Learning this about Taeyang at the time had given Jaehee hope about her future. To know that a Shadow and a human could have an offspring and the child still be able to adapt fully into the darkness that was part of them, made Jaehee excited at the time.

Taeyang would be a perfect example for her to use whenever she proposed to her father the idea of removing the rule set forth thousands of years ago to all the heirs. Jaehee smiled as everything came back to her and Soyeon finally tapped the taller woman to break her trance.

“You seemed lost in thought.” Soyeon mentioned.

Jaehee shook her head and offered Soyeon a smile. “I’m sorry. I was thinking about what Taeyang told me the day I interrogated him. The reason your spell healed him probably has to do with the fact that he’s half human…”

“What? Really?!”

“Yes…but…it’s still odd.”

“Because he’s a warlock?”

“In part yes, but…” Jaehee scratched her head, “I thought the light only affected those who believe in it. Taeyang knows of its existence but he believes more in the darkness.”

Soyeon sipped her coffee and thought about everything she knew of the light. The light and its supreme being watched over everyone that was human because humans were the light of the world. So even though Taeyang had faith in the darkness, the light still blessed him because of his human side. 

The lines between light and dark can blurred…I should know best… Soyeon looked at Jaehee who was staring back at Soyeon and offered her a smile.

“The light watches over everyone who is human no matter what their beliefs are. His human side explains everything. I have to say that I am satisfied with this answer.” Soyeon took another sip of her coffee and slightly nodded.

“Good. I’ll have to let him know about that then. I don’t know if he thought about it or not.” Jaehee mentioned and gulped down the last bit of her coffee.

“Well, thank you for sating my curiosity. I believe you need to-” The sudden ringing of Jaehee’s phone interrupted Soyeon.

Jaehee’s eyes went wide at the sound of her ring tone so she reached down to get her phone out of her backpack. Junseop’s name and number was on the screen so Jaehee picked it up. “Hello?”

“Jaehee! Your mom tricked us! She fooled us into helping her cross over into the North and sent us back!”

Jaehee frowned at Junseop’s words and her eyes scanned the table in front of her. “Wait, slow down oppa. What do you mean she crossed over into the North?”

“Just come to the temple! We’ll explain everything in detail here.”

“Okay-” Jaehee didn’t get a chance to say anything else because Junseop hung up the phone.

“Is everything okay?” Soyeon asked the taller woman and Jaehee shook her head.

“No. It seems like things on my side are getting more complicated. I have to go but it was nice seeing you again Soyeon. Have a good day.” Jaehee grabbed her backpack, bowed at the High Priestess, and headed off in the direction of the school to go get her car. Soyeon stood up and bowed at Jaehee as well and watched her as she walked away from the café.

It was nice seeing you as well… Soyeon thought before grabbing her cup of coffee and heading back to the alley where Qri was waiting for her so that they could take a portal back to their headquarters.





Sangchu was infuriated by what the High Priestess had done. His duty to her was more than to be her driver; he was also her body guard and the King had entrusted him to keep his wife safe at all times. But after what TaeIn had done, Sangchu felt betrayed by her. TaeIn obviously had planned this out even before she asked for everyone’s help.

Junseop was angry about the situation as well but he feared more for what could happen to TaeIn. After arriving back at the temple, he had sent everyone else in the group home and called Jaehee to come over so he could tell her what happened. Junseop was certain that Jaehee would ask them to return to the North and bring back the High Priestess.

“How…could…she…do…this…to…me!” Sangchu shouted through the swings he was doing with his mace. The stone railing of the staircase could only handle so many of his powerful swings before it cracked.

“Calm down Sangchu! Yelling and hitting the railing is not going to help!” Junseop yelled at his husband but the warrior only glared at him before slamming his mace on the ground.

The rumbling of a car engine alerted the two of them and they ran towards the sound. The sight of Jaehee’s red mustang brought some relief to Junseop and it helped calm Sangchu down just a bit. Jaehee stepped out of the car and ran up to both of them and began asking them what happened.

It didn’t take long before she was informed of her mother’s actions. Jaehee was surprised by what she was hearing and couldn’t believe that her mother decided it was best to go in alone. Her mother was not one to simply jump into a fight. TaeIn was the most powerful Shadow Priest in the world, but when it came to fighting she always had others do that for her.

“Jaehee, you have to allow us to go back and find her. She’s in grave danger out there by herself!” Junseop’s worry was obvious in his voice and mannerisms.

Jaehee struggled with her thoughts at the moment. After hearing everything, she understood why her mother had decided to cross over into the North. TaeIn’s main concern was finding Kyurhee and making sure Jinyoung didn’t harm Kyurhee. Jaehee was also certain that her mother wanted to kill the man; something that Jaehee couldn’t blame her for doing and actually welcomed it.

The current leader of the Shadows also understood why Junseop wanted to go back and find the High Priestess. If they couldn’t bring her back, the least they could do was aid her and make sure that no harm came to TaeIn.

Jaehee sighed and placed a hand on Junseop’s shoulder. The shorter man looked up at Jaehee and awaited her answer. “Junseop, Sangchu, I want the two of you to remain here. No one is going to cross over into the North anymore.”

Junseop and Sangchu looked at Jaehee with shocked expressions. Jaehee’s answer sounded ridiculous to both of them. They couldn’t believe the Princess would risk her own mother’s life like that.

“Are you serious?” Sangchu asked and Junseop expectantly waited for Jaehee to answer.

Jaehee looked at both of them with a stern face and nodded. “Yes and any action taken against my word on this will be considered treason.”

Junseop opened his mouth to protest but Sangchu stopped him. The two of them bowed at Jaehee and then turned around to head back towards the temple. Jaehee looked at the two men walk away and sighed. I’m sorry guys, but sending you back to find her would be a waste of time. I’m sure mom would just trick the both of you again and send you back.






In an isolated cave on a cliff side of a mountain, Park Jinyoung sat eating a meal to nourish his body. He had not exhausted himself during the battle and the few wounds he had received had already been bandaged up. Jinyoung had sent spies down the mountain to follow Kyurhee’s group and inform him of what they were doing.

So far the only information he had received was that the group was following the tracks he had purposely left behind on the mountain. Jinyoung continued to take bites out of his meal until a messenger came running into the cave. The man bowed before him and then spoke. He informed Jinyoung that Kyurhee’s group had already passed the final checkpoint and in a few hours would reach the cave.

Jinyoung grinned and dismissed the man. He continued eating until he saw the orb he had sat next to him glow. In rural mountainous areas like the one he was in, cell phones had no signal and were rendered useless, but communication orbs like the one he had allowed him to talk to anyone no matter where he was. The person trying to communicate with him would have to have one as well.

Jinyoung picked up the orb expecting to see Lord Kwangsoo’s face but instead he was met with the face of one of his informants. He curiously looked at his informant and waited for the person to talk.

“Two of the men in Kyurhee’s group have returned to the South. The High Priestess has now crossed over into the North. She’s alone and determined to find Princess Kyurhee. This sir is the perfect opportunity to capture her.”

A grin spread on Jinyoung’s face and he thanked his informant. The glow on the orb disappeared so he placed it back down and called one of the men waiting outside of the cave for any order he had for them. The man came into the cave and bowed at Jinyoung.

“I want you to head back to the border and inform the group there to find and follow the High Priestess. I want them to lead her in the opposite direction of our location.” Jinyoung instructed the man. The Shadow bowed and turned around to head out of the cave and deliver his message.

The death knight then turned back to the orb and proceeded to contact Lord Kwangsoo. When Kwangsoo appeared on the orb, Jinyoung bowed his head and then smiled. “My Lord, the Queen will soon be headed in your direction. Take the opportunity to capture her.”

The smile on Lord Kim Kwangsoo’s face was the last thing Jinyoung saw before the glow of the orb faded.






The entire school day had gone by and when the girls met up in their usual spot after their final class, Gyuri was furious. Jaehee had missed the entire day and had not even called her or texted. Because of her anger, Gyuri did not spend much time chatting with the other three and decided to just leave the school grounds and head to her internship.

Jieun and Jiyeon had noticed the frustration in Gyuri the entire day and when the girl was finally gone, Jieun took the opportunity to express her thoughts. “It seems like their relationship started off on the wrong foot. It’s so sad because Jaehee unni is in love with Gyul.”

“They probably just had a small disagreement. I’m sure they will work it out Jieun. You don’t have to be so negative.” Jiyeon told her best friend.

Jieun shrugged. “I hope so. I on the other hand have the best boyfriend ever!”

“Rub it in some more will ya.” Jiyeon playfully shoved Jieun and the girl stuck her tongue out at her friend.

“It’s not my fault you can’t seduce the one you like Dino!” Jieun looked over at Eunjung and smirked before running away from Jiyeon who started chasing Jieun. Eunjung shook her head and followed after the two girls.

Jieun giggled uncontrollably as she ran from Jiyeon who was yelling at her. Jieun stopped when she came across Taeyang who looked at both of them with a confused face. She grinned at her boyfriend and then jumped into his arms as Taeyang caught her.

“Save me from that evil Dino!” Jieun cried out and Jiyeon panted as she stopped running. Eunjung came up behind Jiyeon and waved at Taeyang who smiled at her.

“What dino?” Seungri asked as he came up behind Taeyang. The older man set Jieun down and Jieun gasped when she saw Seungri.

“Seungri! What are you doing here?” Jieun asked him and Seungri smiled at Jieun.

“Hyung told me that you and Jiyeon attend the same school so…I came to see her.” Seungri told Jieun and then walked up to Jiyeon who was also surprised to see him.

Seungri pulled out the bouquet of flowers from behind him that he had brought for her. Jiyeon gasped at the gesture and Seungri offered her a charming smile.

“These were the most beautiful flowers I could find, but their beauty is nothing compared to yours.” Seungri kept the smile on his face as he handed Jiyeon the flowers. Jiyeon was surprised by the flowers and blushed at Seungri’s words. No one had ever done such a gesture towards her.

Jiyeon grabbed the flowers and took in the wonderful scent of the roses. “Thank you Seungri.”

Eunjung was furious. No, it wasn’t just anger flowing through her, it was jealousy. She didn’t know who this guy was but he was obviously trying to charm and flirt his way into Jiyeon’s heart and Jiyeon was not holding back how flattered she felt by his actions.

“I know it might be presumptuous of me, but I was thinking that you would like to go out on a date with me. I mean, would you like to go out on date with me?” Seungri hopefully asked.

Jiyeon gasped and wasn’t sure what to say. On one hand, she enjoyed hearing the compliments Seungri was giving her, and the flowers were a nice touch, but on the other hand, she knew Eunjung would not approve. In fact, she wasn’t even sure if Eunjung would let her go.

Jiyeon, you like Eunjung. Why would you even want to go out with this guy you barely know? But he’s been really nice so far and is giving me the attention Eunjung doesn’t. He’s also handsome and seems like a nice guy. A little cocky but he might not be so bad. I don’t know what to do!


“Jiyeon! Just say yes!” Jieun excitedly shouted out officially breaking Jiyeon away from her thoughts.

Jiyeon turned to look at Eunjung who was giving Seungri a death glare and then she turned to look at Seungri. The guy had not even noticed Eunjung and his gaze was only directed at Jiyeon. Jiyeon tightly shut her eyes and bit her bottom lip.

I’m sorry Eunjung…

“Okay Seungri, I will go out on a date with you.” Jiyeon answered and the grin on Seungri’s face could not get any bigger. Jieun clapped excitedly and looked up at Taeyang who smiled at her and nodded in excitement.

“I knew you would say yes! Is tonight okay? I will pick you up at your house.” Seungri asked and Jiyeon nodded.

“Yes, tonight’s fine…I guess.”

“Excellent, just let me know your address.” Seungri told her and she proceeded to tell him as he jotted it down on his phone. 

Eunjung had clenched her fists so tight that her knuckles had turned white and her body was shaking. The restraints started moving and the tightness around her body reminded her to calm down and she unclenched her hands and stopped shaking. Seungri, Taeyang and Jieun had all already turned around and were walking towards the parking lot while Jiyeon waved back at them.

Jiyeon sniffed the flowers once more and smiled. She turned around to face Eunjung and stepped back when she saw the look on Eunjung’s face. “Eunjung…?”

“You cannot go out with him. I will not allow it.” Eunjung told her through gritted teeth.

“But I already said yes…”

“YOU CANNOT GO!”

“Eunjung!”

“You’re allowed to date to anyone Jiyeon! It’s forbidden!” Jiyeon was taken aback by Eunjung’s comment.

“You’re the one who can’t date me! It’s forbidden for you but I will go out with whoever I like!” Jiyeon yelled back at Eunjung.

Eunjung clenched her fists again. “I won’t let you! I won’t let you go out with anyone especially him! He probably just wants you for your body-”

Eunjung’s jealousy was breaking out through her words and Jiyeon could not take it. She raised her palm and slapped Eunjung as hard as she could and left a red mark across the Guardian’s left cheek. Eunjung placed her hand on her cheek and looked at Jiyeon who was panting hard.

“Don’t even go there Eunjung! At least someone wants me!” Jiyeon yelled at her. Eunjung reached for the phone in her jacket and dialed Boram’s number.

She asked the hunter to come to the school and pick up Jiyeon to take her home. While the two of them waited for Boram to arrive, they kept their distance. When Boram arrived, she could feel the tension between the two from the parking lot and apprehensively approached Jiyeon.

The young girl offered Boram a slight smile and quickly followed the hunter back to her car without saying anything to Eunjung. Boram worriedly looked over at Eunjung as they headed towards her Jeep. Eunjung looked over at Boram and then turned away to look down at her phone.

A familiar name and number as on the screen. Eunjung moved her thumb over the call button and pressed it on the touch screen. After a few rings, the person on the other side picked up.

“Eunjung, what’s up?”

“Jaehee, can I meet up with you?”

“Um…yeah, just let me know where.”

“Actually…can I go over to your temple?”

“…The temple…really? Okay, I’ll wait for you here.”

“Thanks.” Eunjung hung up the phone and headed for her motorcycle.






On their way up the mountain, Kyurhee felt as if they were being watched and followed. She couldn’t sense any Shadows around, besides the ones in her group, but her instincts told her that they were not alone on this trail. The last of the tracks ended near a high cliff and the small trail ahead of them seemed to end abruptly. Everyone noted the lit torches sitting on the side of the mountain and they were sure that there was a cave at the end of the trail.

Kyurhee turned to everyone. “It seems like there is a cave right where the trail abruptly ends. We must approach it slow and carefully. I don’t want anyone falling over the cliff. It’s a long drop.”

Everyone nodded at the Princess and the rogues, except for Kyurhee, went into stealth mode. She and Jongkook crouched and slowly made their way up the trail with the stealth rogues following behind them. Kyurhee and Jongkook peered into the cave and noticed that a spot near the entrance had a torch lighting it up and a small rug and few dishes were laid out on the floor.

The darker part of the cave led deeper into the cave and if anyone was hiding in there, then Kyurhee knew they would be where no one could see them. She stepped inside the cave with Jongkook following behind her. Once they entered the dark part of the cave and their eyes adjusted to the darkness, they could see exactly how big this place was.

There were trails leading into different openings and from Kyurhee’s left a sudden gigantic hand came out and grabbed the Princess. Kyurhee didn’t even have time to reach for her daggers before she was pulled in the direction it came.

“Princess!” Jongkook shouted and started running towards the direction she went. The rogues unstealth and were then jumped by the enemy rogues. Before Jongkook could get any further, a warrior with a big shield appeared and knocked Jongkook back.

The warrior and rogues began battling the enemy that had appeared out of nowhere. It was obvious to them that they had been led into a trap by the same group who had attacked them the day before. Jongkook thought he had his hands full with one warrior but when another and a warlock appeared, he knew that perhaps he would not make it out of here alive. The rogues too had their hands full not only with enemy rogues but with warlocks and priests.

When the hand that had gripped around Kyurhee and dragged her further into the cave disappeared, she landed hard on the ground and barely managed to roll out of the way of the sword that was swinging down her way. Kyurhee got to her feet and pulled out her daggers only to see the same death knight from before staring her down.

“It’s so good of you to join me here Kyurhee. You don’t know how long I’ve waited to be alone with you.” This time Jinyoung’s voice was distinctive. He was no longer hiding it from her and Kyurhee’s thoughts about him being the one who attacked had been confirmed.

“You bastard! I knew it was you who had attacked us!” Kyurhee yelled at him and launched herself at the death knight. If she was going to die here, at least she was going to take Park Jinyoung with her.

Jinyoung easily dodged her attacks and then blasted her with his Howling Blast spell. Kyurhee flew backwards and crashed on the hard stone wall. Jinyoung walked towards her and his sword seemed to glow brightly with excitement.

“Now now, why do you have to attack me? I’m not trying to kill you. Your friends yes, but you’re valuable Princess.” Jinyoung told her and Kyurhee gritted her teeth and stood up.

“Die you bastard!” Kyurhee yelled at him and ran towards him. Jinyoung grinned and moved his left arm to reach for her and grab her, but Kyurhee disappeared before his eyes. She appeared behind him and attacked him with her daggers before disappearing once more and now she was in front of him.

Jinyoung laughed as she used one of her strongest attacks. He was struck by her daggers a few times but his blood did not flow out as it was frozen by Ice Fortitude. He reached once more to grab her but stopped when he heard a commotion headed his way.

“Kyurhee!” Yonghwa shouted out and roundhouse kicked a rogue that was behind him. The rest of her group came running out behind Yonghwa and took out those who chased them.

Kyurhee was glad to see her friends and once more launched herself at Jinyoung. Her daggers clashed against his sword as the others dashed towards him. Jinyoung let out a cackle.

“CAPTURE THEM NOW!” He yelled out and another wave of enemy Shadows appeared from the darkness of the cave and jumped on the rogues and the warrior.

All five of them struggled to free themselves but couldn’t. Kyurhee looked around and saw how greatly outnumbered they were. Jinyoung moved his hands to remove his helmet and then grinned at Kyurhee.

“It all ends here Princess. Capture her.” He ordered the Shadows and they launched for Kyurhee.

Kyurhee used her vanish ability right as everyone jumped to tackle her and they ended up falling on top of each other. She reappeared at the entrance of the tunnel that lead to this part of the cave and started running towards the exit. The Shadows got up from their pile and began chasing after her with Jinyoung following behind them.

On her way out of the cave, Kyurhee was attacked by more enemy Shadows and she began fighting her way through them. Kyurhee stopped at the edge of the cliff and took a look down below. Falling meant certain death and right now it was a risk she was willing to take. She would rather die than let Jinyoung capture her.

A rogue appeared from behind Kyurhee and wrapped his arms around her neck. Jinyoung pushed his way through the crowed and headed towards the Princess. Kyurhee saw him and elbowed the rogue holding her. The rogue took a few steps back and before Jinyoung could grab Kyurhee, she grabbed the rogue and jumped off the cliff with him.

Jinyoung’s eyes went wide as he saw her drag the rogue with her and fall off the cliff. He and everyone else looked over the edge and didn’t see anything but part of the side of the cliff and the top of the fog that had formed in the lower area.

“Noooooooo!” He yelled out and turned to his men, “GET DOWN THERE AND FIND HER EVEN IF ITS JUST HER CORPSE LEFT!”