eight

Sehun only needs to take one look at Kai to guess what had happened. “The date didn't go as planned, huh?” He asks, crossing his arms and leaning against a column.

Kai scoffs, “Here I am, doing my best to be nice, but everything got ruined by the Furies. Honestly, I think I need to keep them on a chain, otherwise, they just keep causing trouble for everyone else.” He runs a hand through his already very disheveled hair and sits heavily down on the throne. He'd come after dropping her off to make sure that the Furies were doing exactly as he had commanded. The three winged women stood quietly with their heads down by the gates as Cerberus kept one head focused on them, eyes narrowed in a fierce glare even as he continued his guard dog duty.

“Well, it seems they're being obedient,” Sehun replies, glancing at the three. Even he felt a little bit scared of them. Then he notices Cerberus begin to bark loudly, bounding towards them. Something isn't right.

Kai stands as Cerberus gives another single bark then looks at the three women standing by the gates. He walks over as Cerberus trails behind him and as soon as he stood close enough, the women seemed to waver in the air before turning into smoke. Kai lets out a frustrated groan and punches the wall behind where the image of the women were, the rock crumbling around his fist. “Damn it!” He shouts. His voice echoes in the cavernous room. “I knew they wouldn't be standing here so obediently.”

Sehun flinches slightly at the volume and hurries to stand by Kai. “So, what now?” He asks tentatively.

“We find them.”

"And by that, you mean me," Sehun sighs.

***

As soon as Kai had dropped me off at home, I'd grabbed Tia and had her run a bath for me. I couldn't stand the feeling of sticky sweat any longer. While I waited for the bath to be ready, I pour myself a glass of water and stood on the balcony overlooking the courtyard. I feel the cool breeze wrap around me and sighed in content.

Thinking back on my close encounter with the Furies, I wonder why I couldn't see them. If I'm a Descendant, I should be able to see them, shouldn't I? I feel like there are a lot of things I can't see in the Underworld as I am right now. Another thing too, I tried to make flowers grow just as Kai had shown me and yet, not once has a flower bud even formed. A sense of uselessness tugs at my heart but I push it aside, trying to ignore just how much it frustrated me. After all, my only goal is to prove to Kai that I'm not useless, and it certainly seems like he's warming to me far quicker than I'd thought.

I remember how affectionate he's been lately and my heart warms a little. So do my cheeks. I lean on the balcony balustrade as I think about Kai, fanning my face with my hand. I think he's forcing himself to be nice – or at least, appear nice on the surface; no one can simply just go from reacting negatively to someone as soon as they even step into the same room to practically becoming their lover. I could only wish. I'm sure deep down, Kai is still sceptical about my existence.

“What are you thinking so deeply about?” A voice asks from behind me.

I don't even have to turn to know that it's the Fates. I choose to ignore them and remain staring down at the trees and bushes.

“Dear, we can see from how you tensed up that you can hear us,” they say, coming up to stand on my right. “It's Kai, isn't it? Huhu, we know. We know just how you feel about each other too.”

I turn to face her, the singularly most beautiful woman I've seen thus far with all three of the sisters’ features combined, my curiosity itching to know what they're talking about. “What do you mean by that?”

“Like we've said before, I think you already know the answer, in here,” they say, pointing at my heart. They take hold of my wrist and tie a golden-red thread around. “This thread is special. Should you ever stray from your path, it will guide you back. Of course, the one thing you should follow first and foremost is your heart. Okay, dear?”

“It's… the mythical red string of fate, isn't it?” I ask. What else could it be if the Fates personally gifted this to me, but I don't quite understand their reasoning behind it. Guide