--

10

--

The meeting with your sister made your heart a little bit lighter, but your mind was heavier, thinking about all of the unanswered questions you had for your sister. Joon said that he wouldn’t be able to talk to the knight about visiting your sister again for another month and a half.

“Speaking of which, there’s a full moon tomorrow. You’ve never seen vampires in the full moon, have you?” Joon asked as he helped you get ready for bed. You stared in the mirror and pouted. The past few days, you’d been trying to work up the courage to ask Woohyun what happened that night he died, but every time you saw him, you would chicken out and walk past him with nothing more than a quiet ‘hello.’

“No. Are they scary?” Joon laughed as he finished brushing your hair and ran his hand through it, admiring how it seemed to flow off of his fingers.

“The opposite of scary. You’ll see when you get up tomorrow.”

--

The thoughts wandering around in your head made it harder to fall asleep, and when you finally did, it felt all too soon that Joon was shaking you awake again. You could feel his claws digging your arm and whined.

“Joon, that hurts,” you said, rolling over to the other side.

“Sorry. Stuck with claws for the day. Get up already. Dongwoo is outside waiting to take you out tonight.” You sighed and sat up in bed, rubbing at your eyes. Joon blinked at you a few times before his eyebrows threatened to disappear into his hairline.

“Joon? Is something wrong?” You stared at him before he pointed at your face. Your hands flew up to your face as you felt around, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. “What? Is there something on my face?”

“Your eyes. They’re grey.” You scrambled off of your bed and past Joon, forcing your eyes open as you bent over the vanity to take a look. Your eyes were a light shade of grey, turning almost white on the edge of your iris. You pouted slightly.

“I like dark blue better than this,” you said, poking at the mirror.

“That didn’t happen last time,” Joon said, looming over your shoulder. You turned around, lip still jutting out in a pout, making Joon laugh and cradle your face with his claws. “I guess your body is getting adjusted to living in Rivedon. Seungho said you were supposed to start changing gradually over the next few full moons until you reveal your true form. I guess this is a start.”

“True form?” you asked, looking apprehensive.

“I bet you’ll be even more beautiful than you are now. Hurry up and go bathe!” Joon shoved you towards the bathroom as your laughter rang out into the room.

--

You got ready as quick as you could, allowing Joon to dry your hair as you picked out your hair accessories for the day. Mir sent whatever he felt like to the castle, charging for the ones he felt like. Most of the time though, he gave them to you for free.

“I’ll leave you with Dongwoo for the rest of the day. Call if you need me, but I’m pretty sure he can do a pretty good job of taking care of you.”

“Are you advertising for my suitors now? Do they think I listen to you?”

“Well, it never hurts to- Hey. Hey.” You laughed and got on your tippy toes to kiss Joon’s cheek before opening the door and slipping outside, giving him a small finger wave. Joon sighed and rolled his eyes.

“There you are. I was beginning to think you were going to waste the night away in your room,” you heard Dongwoo say from behind you. You giggled and turned around to make a complete stop.

His shirt hung loosely off of his body, the top few buttons ed to show off his collar bones. His sleeves were rolled up, showing off the muscles in his arms. His skin was impossibly pale, almost the color of the moonlight that illuminated his face. You could see his canines peeking past his lips, and his eyes glowed a beautiful emerald, almost the same color as your sister’s eyes.

“What? Never seen a vampire in the moonlight before?” You were speechless. He was impossibly beautiful.

“I... I think you’re even prettier than me,” you said in a daze. Once your words reached your ears, you snapped out of it and shook your head. “Not that I’m super pretty or anything,” you added, furrowing your eyebrows.

“Nonsense, you’re beautiful, even more so in this moonlight,” Dongwoo said, pushing himself up off of the wall and reaching out to trace your jawline. “Well. Let’s get going. Myungsoo was supposed to have you all to himself today, but he traded today with Sunggyu, and Sunggyu is still sleeping so...” Dongwoo grinned at you, revealing more of his fangs before grabbing your hand and dragging you down the hallway.

--

Dongwoo took you everywhere to see the sights around Rivedon. He kept going on about how he didn’t even live there, and he knew more about it than you did. You retorted with the fact you spent all of your time training and learning the history of Rivedon and the land of the dead.

“Speaking of which, I should be at lessons right now,” you said, turning to take a glance back at the castle. Dongwoo shrugged and helped you up to the top of the hill. The two of you had stopped by your favorite place to eat, and Dongwoo requested a picnic basket be made for you.

“Well, Seungho can get over it. It’s not ever day suitors will come by to woo you. Though, if they’ve ever seen you, I don’t know why they wouldn’t.” The both of you laughed as he spread the blanket over the ground and sat down, patting the spot beside him. You smiled and sat down next to him, admiring the view of the castle and town.

“This is beautiful,” you said as Dongwoo shuffled beside you. He started to unpack the food and stopped to give you a look of disbelief when you stomach growled.

“I see how it is. You’re more excited about the food than being up here with me, with this gorgeous view of the castle of Rivedon in the moonlight. I see how it is.” You protested as Dongwoo turned away from you. You reached out to grab his arm, but he wouldn’t have it.

“Nope. No. Uh uh.” You sat back and made sniffling noises, jutting out your bottom lip. Dongwoo made the mistake of taking a glance at you and felt his resolve shatter on the spot.

“Oh, okay. It should be illegal for anyone to make puppy dog eyes like that,” he said, narrowing his eyes at you. Your sad expression immediately vanished as you started to laugh and pick up some food he unpacked for you.

“I’m quite good at what I do,” you said in between bites of food. Dongwoo sighed and shook his head, giving you a fond smile. The two of you watched the sights in silence until Dongwoo asked you a question.

“So. Myungsoo aside, if you had to choose a vampire to get married to, I stand a pretty good chance, don’t I?” 

You pursed your lips in thought. “Yes. You and Sunggyu.” Dongwoo nodded slowly.

“Then why do you keep Woohyun around?” You scoffed a little bit. Dongwoo was curious, very curious by the way Woohyun looked and acted around you.

“He doesn’t seem like the type to take ‘no’ for an answer,” you said lightly, finishing off your food and touching at your lips with a napkin. Dongwoo grinned at you and leaned back on his arms with a sigh.

“You’re right. He probably won’t take no for an answer. And if it comes down to it, I even think he’d do a power challenge to knock out whoever you choose to marry.”

“A power challenge?” you asked, turning towards Dongwoo with a confused expression on your face.

“The Arch Mage taking a significant other is a big affair in the land of the dead. If someone is dissatisfied with who they chose, then they can challenge the Arch Mage’s choice to a battle. The winner of the battle is declared the Arch Mage’s new significant other, whether or not he or she approves.” You blinked a few times and frowned.

“So there’s a chance... So there’s a chance that I may not be able to end up with you, Sunggyu, or Myungsoo? Even if I choose one of you to marry?”

“If Woohyun is involved, then I would say yes. There’s a very good chance. For someone so young, he is very strong. Gyuri’s blood in his veins certainly gives him a leg up.” You sighed heavily and laid down on the blanket, throwing your arms out, one over Dongwoo’s lap.

“Why is he so strong then? After only... I don’t even know how long he’s been here.”

“A little over a decade, I believe. There are theories, but the one that seems to make the most sense revolves around the death of Gyuri. I don’t really know the details. Sunggyu knows more about it than I do, and really, only Seungho and Woohyun know what happened.”

You pursed your lips. You didn’t really want to pry into private business, but this new revelation with the power challenges struck you. There was a chance you would end up with Woohyun anyway, even if you didn’t choose him.

“Well, it’s a beautiful night. It’d be a shame to ruin it with a topic like this,” Dongwoo said leaning over so he was laying on his side, head propped up on his arm. “And I suspect that Sunggyu’s probably awake and wondering where you are.”

He scooted closer and wrapped his arms around you, burying his face into your hair. “But I guess that’s okay. I get you in another few days.”

--

Sunggyu’s eyes were glowing an angry blue as he gave Dongwoo an unamused look when he returned you to the castle. “She’s all yours,” Dongwoo said in a sing song voice before disappearing down the hallway.

Your eyes followed Dongwoo down the hallway before you shuffled nervously in front of Sunggyu. “Well... He told me you were sleeping.” 

Sunggyu sighed heavily and held the bridge of his nose. “One of these days, I’m going to kill him.” You snickered to yourself before Sunggyu rubbed his hands together.

“Well. Better late than never. I’ll just wake up earlier than him when it’s his day and take you out. How does that sound?”

“Nearly impossible,” you said as you grabbed his arm.

--

Sunggyu took you out for a walk around the woods since you’d already eaten with Dongwoo. The two of you talked about random things, and you felt bad that you wanted to ask him about Woohyun and Gyuri. He could tell something was on your mind, but he wouldn’t ask about it until you said something.

“I noticed that you liked to spend a lot of time at the castle gardens, so I had something planted for you. I heard you liked peaches.” He’d been asking around your favorite eatery, and the cooks and bakers commented on your favorite food and desserts.

You raised your eyebrows at him as he led you towards the castle gardens. “What did you...” The two of you stepped into the gardens, and there were two very large peach trees off to the side with a hammock tied in between.

“I think this is going to be my favorite nap spot from now on,” you said. Sunggyu chuckled and moved over to the hammock first, settling down on it and patting the empty space beside him. You hurried over and sat down, taking a few swings before laying down and propping your feet up on his lap.

“How scandalous. I can see you ankle,” Sunggyu said, tracing a circle on your ankle. You rolled your eyes and rolled over onto your side, marveling at how soft the hammock was.

“I’m wearing stockings, it’s not like you can see skin.” Sunggyu laid down next to you and chuckled, pulling you into his arms. You snuggled into his chest and sighed happily.

“You like it?”

“Mmhmm...” You yawned and closed your eyes as Sunggyu pulled you even closer.

“Now, what have you been wanting to ask me about all night?” You tensed up in his arms and frowned slightly.

“I don’t really want to ruin this moment,” you said.

“Go ahead and ask. I don’t mind.” You pursed your lips and opened up your eyes, tracing circles on Sunggyu’s chest.

“It’s about Woohyun and Gyuri...” Sunggyu raised an eyebrow.

“Oh? What about them?”

“Dongwoo said you knew more about what happened with Woohyun and Gyuri, I was curious about... you know... he also told me about power challenges and stuff, so I’m a little bit nervous...” Sunggyu sighed heavily and brushed your hair out of your face.

“Seungho is keeping a lot of information from you. I’m starting to wonder why now... I guess I’ll talk to him about it.” You blinked a few times at his chest as he thought about what to tell you.

“The thing with vampires is, though we live for a long time, we like to keep our exact ages a secret.” You raised your eyebrows.

“The reason being, that vampire blood is like wine. The older we are, the stronger, and more potent our blood is, the more power it holds.” You nodded slowly.

“So, the running theory about Woohyun is that Gyuri turned him but gave him too much. New borns have a hard time controlling themselves, and he probably overwhelmed her while she was in a weakened state. Seungho, of course, was bonded to Gyuri at the time, and the two of them fought. I hear Woohyun has some scars on him somewhere from the fight.” You thought back to Seungho’s statement of telling you to ask Woohyun about the scars on his back.

“Then, Woohyun started to get the attention of the land of the dead when he started training, and his powers started to advance drastically. And judging by his power level at his age, Gyuri was probably one of the oldest vampires out there.”

“How did he even get here?” you asked, eyebrows furrowed.

“He just appeared here one day, lost and confused. Not exactly alive, but not exactly dead either. Rumors say that Gyuri felt bad for him and took him in.” You were starting to feel a headache coming on, and shook your head, massaging at one of your temples.

“Why do your eyes glow blue in the moonlight? Dongwoo’s glowed green. I didn’t think too much about it to ask him.” Sunggyu noted your change in subject and held you a little bit farther away from him so you could look him in the eye.

“In the moonlight, it changes to the color of the power we specialize in. Vampires, like warlocks and witches, specialize in one element, while mages can use all four. I obviously specialize in water.”

“And green is for... earth?”

“And red is for fire, and yellow is for wind.” You pursed your lips and nodded, taking mental note. 

“So... can you lie on a full moon? Your eyes can’t exactly flash these colors if they’re glowing that color.”

“Not really. They turn black.”

--

Myungsoo found you asleep in Sunggyu’s arms by the time dinner rolled around in the hammock in the garden. He didn’t mind so much that you were spending time like this with his friends. He thought it was probably better for you to get your mind off of him for the time being.

He stood there and watched the two of you sleep, thinking again about his options until Sunggyu opened up an eye and sighed.

“It’s rude to stare when people are sleeping.”

“I wasn’t staring. I was thinking.” Sunggyu made a noise of acknowledgment before gently shaking you awake.

“Mm... five more minutes.”

“It’s time for dinner,” Myungsoo said, “unless you’re not hungry.”

“That’s a fight I’ll lose for sure,” Sunggyu said with a sigh as you rolled over and sat up, rubbing at your eyes sleepily. Myungsoo smiled at the lump in your hair and took a few steps forward to smooth it out for you.

You smiled at him sleepily with your eyes barely open before yawning and patting Sunggyu on the arm.

“We should do this every time we spend time together. That was the best nap of my life.” Sunggyu nodded in approval.

“I could definitely get used to that.”

--

You leaned on Myungsoo’s arm, eyes closed as he led you into the town. Your fingers were laced together as the two of you held hands, Myungsoo ignoring the looks he got from people as his energy lines showed on his face.

If you keep giving her energy, Myungsoo, it’s just going to get harder and harder to leave her, his mind told him as you lifted your head up and opened your eyes. You brought your hands up and smiled at the fact that he was still wearing the ring he took from you months before. You never took yours off, because he told you not to.

Maybe I don’t want to leave her, he thought to himself. You sat down and let out a famished groan.

You definitely won’t leave her if she keeps acting like that.

--

“Where have you been the past few days, Myungsoo? I think I went a whole day without seeing you at all,” you complained after Myungsoo walked you back to your room in the castle. He was laying on his stomach on your bed, and you were giving his shoulders a massage.

“Without you there, Byunghee takes training up a few notches. I’m actually tired. Sungyeol took a nap, went to eat, then went back to sleep already.” He groaned when you started to work away one of the knots in his shoulder. “Oh lord. I can see why Seungho was so mad when I made him lose that massage... These are heavenly,” he said into his arms.

“I used to do this for my sister all the time. She told me the High Priest overworked her a lot, so she got stressed out easily.”

“I see...” Myungsoo said quietly, eyes still closed. You smiled fondly at him. He always worked so hard and took such good care of you without asking anything in return. You might just stick it to the land of the dead and marry him anyway.

Not if Woohyun has a say in it, your mind reminded you. Your eyes went sad again, and Myungsoo could sense it because your hands stopped moving. He sat up and leaned on his arm, staring at you with a grin on his face.

“Stop worrying so much. No one likes girls with wrinkly foreheads,” he said, poking you in the forehead. You frowned at him, furrowing your eyebrows.

“You’re just going to make them worse.” He tutted at you, making your frown turn into a scowl. Myungsoo sighed and brought his face closer to yours.

“What’s wrong? You’re usually making some lame comment that would make me roll my eyes by now.”

“Nothing’s wrong,” you said, “I’m just... thinking too much.” Your voice got softer as Myungsoo’s face got closer. You could feel his eyelashes brushing your face every time he blinked.

“Stop thinking then,” he said softly.

“That’s kind of hard...”

“Not really.” He closed whatever distance was left between your lips. You felt your heart beating rapidly in your chest and the air leaving your lungs. His lips were so soft against yours, and true to his word, your mind went blank.

--

You were nervous. Seungho excused you from lessons for the time being, but your friends and your suitors were more than happy to tell you things you wanted to know.

But today was the first real day where you had to spend time with Woohyun, alone. You waited nervously for him at the bench in the castle gardens. He asked you to meet him there the day before, and you reluctantly agreed.

You were so absorbed in your thoughts that you didn’t notice him come up behind you until he cleared his throat. You turned and saw him standing there with a sheepish smile on his face. You didn’t know what to make of him. One second he was cold and ruthless, and another, he looked just like the boy you befriended one night in Armalis because he was on a ghost hunt.

“For you,” he said, handing you a rose. You noticed the thorns were gone on the stem and took it from him with a small smile.

“Thank you. It’s beautiful.” At least he was considerate enough to take the thorns off. You watched as he bit his lip nervously and extended a hand.

“Shall we walk?”

--

The two of you walked together in silence. It was awkward between the two of you, especially when Woohyun offered you his arm, and you had no choice but to take it. You took a few glances at Woohyun every now and then, and caught him stealing happy glances at you.

The two of you eventually made it to a small clearing in the forest next to a river. You sat down on the bank and dipped your hand into the water, shivering when you realized how cold it was. Woohyun sat down next to you, and let out a nervous breath.

“If... If there’s anything you want to ask me, I’ll answer you. I don’t want to keep secrets from you,” he said, trying to meet your eyes. You turned to look at him and thought for a moment. He couldn’t lie to you, not without you finding out.

“Woohyun...” He perked up and looked at you, eyebrows slightly raised. You tried not to snicker because he looked like a dog.

“What... What exactly happened, the night you died? You obviously didn’t die. Or you maybe you did. I just don’t understand how you’re here and moving.” Woohyun bit his lip and looked away from you.

“I don’t really know what happened either. I’m pretty sure I died. I held onto your hands until I felt my heart stop. Then nothing. Then, I was awake, and your sister was hovering over me, looking scared.” You blinked a few times.

“What? My sister?”

“Yeah. She asked me if I was okay, and how I felt. I couldn’t feel anything really. I could tell I was moving, but my heart wasn’t beating. Sort of like... a puppet? But I was controlling myself.” You furrowed your eyebrows.

“All I knew was that I didn’t belong there, so your sister had someone take me to Rivedon, but they couldn’t come with me after I crossed the border between the worlds. And that’s how I ended up here.”

“Wait. I don’t understand. So my sister knows you’re alive?”

“Of course. She helped me here.” Your head started to hurt again. What exactly was your sister keeping from you?

“And another thing. Why did you call me my sister’s name? It’s obvious that that wasn’t my name, despite how alike we seem.” It was Woohyun’s turn to be confused.

“What are you talking about?”

“She’s the most well known person in Armalis. There’s not a person there that doesn’t know her name.” Woohyun raised an eyebrow at you.

“No one in Armalis called her by her name. We all called her the Arch Priest. That’s how it always was. That’s why when I met you, I went to her to ask for your name. I had no idea she gave me her name instead. But that doesn’t really matter anymore, because I love you and I hope I can... Are you okay?”

You stared at Woohyun blankly.

Everyone called your sister the Arch Priest? So your sister always knew she was the Arch Priest? Your sister knew the legends. If she knew she was the Arch Priest, then she knew you were the Arch Mage. There was no way she didn’t know.

You stared into Woohyun’s eyes, hoping for a flash of color that never came.

Your sister lied to you?