“Why aren’t you in your room?”

Jimin glanced over at Hyomin as he leaned against the stone wall, watching the garden. By the time the Moon Council meeting was over, the small outdoor area had been completely transformed, and now it was empty, yet brightly lit. Jimin didn’t want to think about what was going to happen soon, but he want to think about anything else, either.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked lightly. Hyomin raised her eyebrows, looking at him coldly, and then she moved forwards, leaning against the wall opposite him.

“You like her enough to pine this pathetically?”

“It’s not like I had a lot of pride in the first place,” Jimin shrugged, looking over at the garden. He decided to change the subject. “You voted me out of the Council room.”

“I did,” Hyomin said. “You killed someone.”

Jimin nodded.

“I’m sorry.”

His voice cracked and his eyes burned, but he didn’t care anymore. He didn’t know who he was apologising to. Hyomin, or the man he’d killed, or his family, or to whatever greater power might be out there. 

“I just can’t believe you have no control. That there’s nothing more you could have done.”

Jimin didn’t say anything, just kept staring at the pedestal in the middle of the garden, a glimmering dagger sitting atop it. It was so bright, a sharp contrast against the pitch black sky. He wished that sky could him into it, leave him floating around with nothing but his own thoughts to deal with. Surely even they would die out eventually, and there’d be nothing left of him. No power to carry onto the next child who deserved innocence. No pain anymore.

“Am I wrong, Jimin?”

Jimin glanced over. Dahyun hadn’t appeared that night – he’d been hurt. No one should have that power over him, but more than that, he shouldn’t have that power over anyone.

“No,” he answered quietly. “I can sometimes stop it. Sometimes.”

“Do you think you could have, then?”

“If I could, all those people would be alive,” Jimin spat, shocked for a moment by the strength of his own words, how they echoed with those of Dahyun. It had torn him open, that day, but it felt different coming from her. The pain helped him heal. “Don’t you think I want a mother, Hyomin?”

Hyomin swallowed, then nodded thoughtfully. “I suppose so.”

They were quiet for a few seconds, a weight hanging in the air.

“You should go back to your room,” she said, standing up properly. “There’s no point being out here anyway. They decided you wouldn’t be present for the ritual.”

“I suppose that makes sense,” he said dully.

“I think I might feel sorry for you,” Hyomin said. “If you weren’t handing so much power to the Foxes.”

“I don’t need your sympathy.”

“Good. I’ll see you around, Jimin.”

Jimin nodded – more to himself than anything – as Hyomin walked away. He wanted to see Dahyun again. He wasn’t prepared to have a final memory with her, but if he needed to, it should be as late as it could. Not days before. He looked up at the sky, where the sun would be nearing the middle if it was still there.

He didn’t want to be just sitting in his room when the time came. But he didn’t want to see it, either. Every option was…

“Jimin,” said a familiar voice, and he jumped, looking up at the dark-haired girl who’d appeared in the garden.

“What are you doing here?” He asked through a strangled chest. Dahyun just smiled, saying nothing, and he looked around quickly – no one there, though surely she’d have already made sure of that. He took her arm softly, leading her away and into one of the smaller rooms accessible in the hallway. It was pitch black, no one bothering with candles in here, but they were used to that.

“How are you?”

She asked it before he’d even properly closed the door, and he froze for a moment before pushing it shut.

“I should be asking you that,” he said, and he heard her steps on the cold floor, felt her presence beside him.

“I’m not great,” she said with a sad little laugh, and he looked over, only just able to see her by a shine in her eyes. He stepped towards her, lifting a hand to touch her but pausing just a moment before he did.

She apparently noticed, took his hand and shifted it to her cheek. He let out a breath.

“This isn’t safe,” he whispered.

“I’m not so sure what ‘safety’ is at this point,” Dahyun answered with a small smile in her voice. “How are you?”

Even he managed a smile at her repetition. “Better now.”

He felt her cheek shift as she smiled properly. “Me too.”

Jimin returned the look, even though they couldn’t see one another, and stepped closer again, resting his forehead against hers and pulling her closer. His hand shifted from her cheek, and then he was holding her against him – an embrace, he supposed. He’d never done this. He’d never expected to.

He tried not to shiver when he felt her arms around him, too.

“I don’t want to lose you,” he said quietly. “I’ve hardly even gotten to know you.”

“I know. It isn’t right. None of this is right.”

“You are,” he said softly. “What’s supposed to happen to you isn’t.”

She was quiet, thinking about something in his words, and he just enjoyed the feeling of this proximity for a moment.

“It’s going to happen,” she corrected, pulling away slightly. “There’s nothing we can do about that.”

Jimin nodded sadly, ignoring the burning in his chest. “I know.”

She kept a hand on his shoulder as she let go of him, frozen there. He still kept thinking it was dangerous for her, but he couldn’t bring himself to keep away.

“I should go back. Soonkyu must be looking for me.”

“How did you get away?”

“I took a chance,” she said, and he could imagine that she was shrugging. She dropped her hand, ending all contact between them. “I’m afraid, Jimin.”

“Me too,” he said, wishing he could help her, that there was anything they could do. “I don’t know what to do.”

He could just hear her breathing, and then she was a step closer, her hand on his neck and then his face as she felt his location, and a moment later – and just for a moment – he felt her soft lips on his.

“Goodbye, Jimin,” she said, turning and moving away rapidly.

“Goodbye,” he rushed out the word as he heard the door open and close behind her. Then he was alone, with nothing left but a rapid pulse.

“What time is it?”

Tzuyu was moving through the halls at a rough walk, and she hardly even looked at him, let alone answer his question. He was only faintly convinced of the head gesture asking him to follow, but he did so anyway – she was moving towards the gardens, and for some reason he wanted to be there right now, in spite of every part of him that shouldn’t. He moved quickly, trying to catch up.

“Anything you want to talk about?” he deadpanned when he was moving by her side, and she sighed.

“Yes,” was all she said, her voice hard. Jimin nodded boredly; he might push later, when he didn’t have better things to think about. As they reached the garden, he saw the guards – were they there for him? Predicting that he’d try and interrupt?

He wasn’t so sure he’d do that. It seemed like a daydream, but Dahyun had decided. It was going to happen.

“I need to talk to Jiyong,” Tzuyu said to one of the guards. “It’s urgent.”

“He’s busy,” the guard said back. “This is more urgent. Take the Moon Bearer away.”

“Jimin, go in.” Tzuyu said quickly, stepping towards him. She looked intense – so intense, it was as if time had slowed down as she stared him hard in the eyes. “It’s okay, Jimin. Do you understand?”

He blinked, glancing back at the rapidly approaching guards.

“Go in!”

He shouldn’t, and he didn’t understand. But he did it; he ducked away from one of the guards who tried to grab him, tried to keep his power in check in case they achieved it, and, moving fast, he rushed past them, turning to the centre of the garden.

Dahyun was standing on that pedestal, looking at him with an unreadable expression. Around her, in a circle, was the entire Council, some of whom were looking at him and other were focused on their hands, all resting on the edge of the stone.

“Stop trying to grab him! It’s fine! The Eclipse was fake!”

Jimin turned back quickly, and even the guards paused.

“What?”

“Just go!”

He didn’t think any more, rushing forwards. He looked around for the entrance to the spiral maze that led one to the centre, but he abandoned that fast, running through it and feeling the candelabras falling all around him.

“Just...” He looked around, at the people all looking at him now. “Let me be with her.”

“Jimin,” Dahyun said softly, her voice trembling just slightly as she looked at him with concern in her eyes.

“Please,” he said quietly, looking down. “Just let me be with her.”

He hardly saw it, in his peripheral vision, when Jongin looked at Soonkyu. “It’s a lost cause anyway, High Mother.”

“No,” she said quickly.

“He has a point, Mother Soonkyu,” another said gently, one of the Sun Council – both Jimin, Jongin and Dahyun looked over at her quickly. “Let the girl die with someone she cares about.”

“This was exactly what caused the last eclipse,” Soonkyu said coldly. “They were together. If we have any chance, this man needs to be far, far away.”

The Sun Councillor pursed her lips, glancing away in submission, and Jimin noticed how those closer to him had shuffled away. Probably to avoid his dangerous power, but he couldn’t help but think how it cleared a path onto the pedestal.

He glanced behind him, to where Tzuyu was – but she was gone now, the guards looking on at Jimin darkly now that he had councillors on his side.

And maybe he wouldn’t in a moment, but that didn’t stop him. He moved forward, stepping fast onto the pedestal, stepping towards Dahyun who closed her eyes in a wince, but still stepped towards him, into his arms. She held him tightly, with all the tension and the fear and the guilt that they were both feeling, and he closed his eyes just for a moment, before he felt someone grab his arm, trying to pull him away.

“Step away from her!” Mother Soonkyu shouted, eyes wild with rage, and she succeeded at tearing him away, just slightly, until Dahyun’s hand took hold of his other arm. He turned to her for a moment, seeing how her face trembled, and he was overcome with guilt for a moment until Soonkyu tugged again, making him lose his balance as he nearly fell from the pedestal.

And then he felt it. That rising tension in his chest, that strange high as his sense all blurred and the dark power grew stronger within him. He blinked as it faded out, seeing Soonkyu fall to the ground, limp, seeing in his peripheral vision as everyone gasped, stepped back, stared in pure shock.

Slowly, Jimin turned to the other person who had been holding him. He couldn’t even feel his heart when he saw her, hardly even felt the decision being made as he rushed to catch her, cradling her body in his arms, staring at her face and desperately waiting for some movement, some sign that for some reason, for any reason, it hadn’t worked this time.

“Dahyun?” his voice sounded distant, shaky, but then again everything seemed shaky right now. The ground was slipping and sliding, and the skyline was wobbling, and Dahyun was still, and his eyes were weeping. “Dahyun!”

His fingers tightened, one gripping her shoulder and the other her arm, but she didn’t react, didn’t move.

The cold, dead sky chilled his back as he cried, pulling her lifeless form tighter against him.

a/n- There's one more chapter to go. Thank you for reading, and I'm sorry, and definitely please wait for the final chapter.