-Tao’s POV-

We were all in the breakfast room, wallowing over Kris’ departure and waiting for Jinhae to gain consciousness. It had been two days since he went, but we haven’t been hearing any news from him. It was starting to worry us all, but all that’s left to do was wait. It had been getting through my nerves and the fact that Jinhae was sick made things even worse.

I was told by Lay to go and get her in her room for dinner since we knew how she could get when she was distraught. She didn’t like to eat or do anything, but just sit there and be sad. We knew she was sensitive and no one dared to question her behavior when she was being like that since we all felt like it, too.

She hadn’t gone out of her room since the Oracle Minister left. She must have been thinking about a lot of things and we didn’t want to disturb her. Many times that day, we have stopped either Lay or Lu Han from going to her. They wanted to comfort her, but it would be of no use due to the circumstances and once again, arguments have erupted at the salon. If it weren’t for Kris’ mother then no one would be talking to anyone at the moment. Lay and Lu Han’s misunderstanding over Jinhae seemed to have made a turn for the worse and they weren’t talking to each other at all.

Lay was especially being a pain, telling Lu Han that he was being unfair when nothing was ‘unfair’. I didn’t know what the word meant to him, but he kept insisting on it and he was projecting his ire for the Telepathy Noble to the innocent parties, going to the extent of accidentally making Xiu Min freeze the whole floor in the dining hall. It was a disaster since we didn’t actually have the Flame Noble to thaw the floor and maids were slipping here and there. We were guests, but we were being troublesome. Thought the lord and lady of the manor assured us that they understood, I still couldn’t get over the embarrassment.

I went to check on Jinhae, knocking on the door, but no one answered. The second time I did, I was already growing suspicious. She could get disheartened about matters, but she doesn’t go to the extent of ignoring us. Thinking that she was just asleep, I opened the door, but then, I didn’t find her anywhere. In a surge of panic, I alarmed everyone, telling them that she was missing, but a couple of moments later, we found her curled up on the cold floor, soaking wet, shivering and barely conscious. Up until the moment, we didn’t know how she ended up like that and what really happened to her.

“This is the second time we’re overseeing matters,” Chen muttered sulkily.

“It isn’t anyone’s fault, but we should be more careful from now on. We’ve been turning a blind eye to all these matters and heaven knows how Kris would take this once he’s home,” Lay said, being sensible for once.

Xiu Min shrugged. “His reaction to this event is the least of our concerns. Why hasn’t he been summoning us through the crystal?”

“Do you think something bad happened to him?”

I shivered, but what other explanation was there? I shook my head. “Mayhap he’s already in the process of retrieving the ancestral heirloom and is proving to be difficult.” I didn’t want to think of anything else except that it’s difficult. Getting down to the specifics was burdensome.

“What do we know about Udaranna?” Lu Han asked us after keeping his silence and sighing every infinitesimal moment.

“It’s the lair of the dragons,” I answered.

“Yes and?” he prompted.

“It’s the home of the legendary black dragon that is hungry for…” Chen answered promptly at first then his voice trailed off. He shook his head, straightening up, his eyes widening. “You don’t think…” He couldn’t even finish what he wanted to say. It was a dreadful image and we all flinched at the thought of it.

Xiu Min shook his head. “No. I don’t think so.”

“Yeah,” someone else said from the doorway.

We all looked at where Jinhae was standing, leaning against the wall and looking pale. She had been barging around rooms lately.

“You’re awake,” Lu Han hyung said, immediately standing from his seat as she stepped into the room, staggering. He held her fast and no one missed Lay’s reaction when she ended up in a near-embrace with Lu Han. I rolled my eyes. He still had the nerve to sulk when Jinhae was ill, not that the direction of his anger was towards her.

She smiled weakly. “I’m fine.”

Lu Han straightened her up and led her to the couch. “You don’t look like you should be up and about.”

“The bed’s making me even sicker.”

“But you have to rest,” he urged as he sat next to her.

“I know. Can’t I rest while I’m with you guys?” She looked around, an ailing smile spreading across her face. No one objected so she looked at Lu Han then grinned. “See?”

He rolled his eyes. “You’re not going to have your way around the next time,” he told her gently. One could clearly see the affection in his expressions as he stoked her hair.

“You’re so uptight, Lu Han. Loosen up now, will you?” she said.

Lay smiled at her. “How are you feeling?”

“A little bit lightheaded, but I’m okay,” she answered with a smile, too. It was so difficult watching the three of them like that, all smiles whenever she was looking and throwing daggers at each other when she wasn’t aware.

“Do you want anything?”

She sniffed, every movement she makes slow. “Peaches.” She then smiled at him as if they were enjoying a private joke.

Lay stood up and winked at her. “I’ll get you peaches.”

“Thank you, Lay.”

I assumed the seat on her other side and took her hand, giving it a light squeeze. It felt clammy and cold against my skin. “You made us worry.”

She leaned against my shoulder and sighed. “I’m sorry. How long have I been out?”

“Roughly two days,” Xiu Min answered. “You should have seen how you looked like when we found you in your room.”

Her brows lined. “Two days?” She seemed staggered about it. “I’ve been out that long? H-how exactly did you find me?”

I looked at her seriously. “You don’t remember?”

Lu Han tensed. I could still remember how he looked like when he saw her.

She shook her head. “What exactly happened to me?”

“We don’t know, but you looked like you drowned or something. We found you in your room, but you were drenched in water as if you’ve been left in the cold for hours,” I explained.

“Ah! Yeah.” She nodded as if it was a natural thing.

“What were you doing anyway?”

“Nothing. The crest on the floor just suddenly leaked with water and soon the whole room was swimming in it. You should have seen it.” She chuckled. “I was asking for help, but I guess you didn’t hear me since I couldn’t hear my voice either and it was so weird because suddenly, I was with my father in that even weirder place.”

“What?” we chorused.

“I said –”

Lu Han stopped her. “We know what you said, Jinhae, but with your father?”

She nodded. “Yeah. Why?”

Lu Han hyung looked angry now. “He took you to the Lake Fortress?”

“If that’s what that place is called then I guess it’s a yes.” She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“So that’s why you were so beat,” Chen interjected.

“That’s exactly how I feel.”

Lu Han shrugged. “The Lake Guardian knew the consequences of taking a living being into the lair of the Guardians and yet he compromised your health. It doesn’t make sense especially that you are her daughter.”

To our surprise, she laughed. “I’m okay. What are you getting so worked up about?”

“I’m worried – I mean, we were all worried. He couldn’t just take you like that. That place the life out of you.”

We all arched a brow at him including Lay who was about to enter the room with a plate of peaches in his hand.

“We just talked.”

“About what?” Chen asked and he was quick to add, “If you don’t mind me asking.”

I rolled my eyes at him.

“Appa just asked after me, how I was. That’s pretty much it.”

“Did you ask about Kris?” I asked.

She smiled. “Of course. I worried as hell and I guess it is why he suddenly appeared.”

It was quite odd that a Guardian would take our side. He didn’t have anything to lose, but telling his daughter who was on our side was an act of betrayal to his fellow guardians. “What did he say?”

“He’s going to be fine. He’s favored by the ancient vessels.”

“He? You mean the first Flight Noble?”

She smiled. “I thank the past for making things so. Apparently, you are your own ancestors. Did you know that?”

Lay placed the plate on the ornate side table and began peeling the peaches. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You are the first set of heirs to the elements and you are the last ones, too. You don’t remember because you were reborn,” she said matter-of-factly. She laughed then. “You also lived in the human world, you know. That’s funny.”

“That’s not written in the history,” Lu Han commented and we all agreed with him.

“But it’s written in the memories of the Oracle Minister.”

“He couldn’t have existed that long. The first heirs appeared during the war. It was a millennia ago,” Chen countered.

At that, Jinhae’s smile fell and she looked at all of us, torn between pleading and agony. “I didn’t know I would have to tell you this, but I have discovered something which is directly on the fine line of bad and good news.”

“What are you saying?” Lu Han pressed on.

“The minister is a half blood like I am and it is true that he had been in existence since the war. It was his youth, if you’d like to put it that way. It was his generation and as half bloods, we bear a curse.”

That made me react violently, but I didn’t show it outright. “Aigoo, Jinhae-ah. What are you saying? You’ve been nothing but a blessing to us all. Why say that you’re accursed?”

“Because it’s true.”

“Now, now, mei-mei. Are you trying to scare the daylights out of us again?” Xiu Min asked.

She shook her head. “Half bloods shouldn’t be, do you understand? Guardians shouldn’t mingle with mortals, but as stubborn as they are, it happened.”

“Which means that it’s destined,” Lu Han said.

“No, Lu Han. My mother was cursed because of that union. Half bloods are the fruits of betrayal and thus the curse.”

He looked hurt when she said that, but we can’t do anything about it. He merely looked away.

“The curse being?” Lay snapped.

She chuckled. “Don’t be like that, alright?”

“What is it?” I asked.

She grimaced. “We’re half-immortals. We might experience the pains pure Elyxians do, but it’s not going to take a toll on our beings. We might get tired, ill or injured, but that would pass. Unless we are deliberately killed then there’s no dying for us. Eventually, we would stop aging just like the minister did and we’d live on in that form –”

“Enough!” Lu Han suddenly burst, his eyes glistening.

We all knew what that entailed. Eons stretched out before Jinhae and she would watch us all perish. Just like the minister, she would not be able to settle down. She would be living a lonely existence while she witnesses everything come and go. It was painful for us to know that, a painful fact we must all swallow.

She looked down. “I’m sorry.”

“You’re lying,” Lay said.

She shook her head. “You know I’m not.”

“I won’t hear of it,” Lu Han said then left the room.

“I’m sorry, guys. I was shocked when I knew about it, too, but it’s fine, I guess. I’ll watch you all grow old and compar