“Somebody’s jealous,” Jongwoon said early one morning in the dining room. I turned my head and sent him a glare.

“And somebody needs to keep their mouth shut.” Jongwoon laughed, knowing my threat was completely harmless. I would be the last person to harm him. A smile lingered on his face even after the laughter had faded away, but it was far from genuine. It was the smile he used whenever he tried to convince me he was fine when he was far from it. A smile he used to fool others, but I knew him too well. His smile, his laugh, everything was an act to put my mind at rest, and it only made me worry more.

“I’m not the one glaring daggers at the kitchen door where Sungmin and his own fledgling are sharing a meal.” The pureblood didn’t even need to drink blood anymore, yet he was still swallowing it down for his precious fledgling. Did he, too, lead the fledgling to cellar to pour a little wine into every glass? Did he share his wishes to be part of the world once more? Or let him in on the view from the attic window?  I let out a huff, and turned my seat around so that the back faced the kitchen door.

“There,” I said, leaning back and crossing my arms. “Now I can’t even look at the door.”

“So you admit to glaring at it?”

“No,” I seethed, using my glass as an escape.

“At least you aren’t the only one looking at those two with green eyes,” he reasoned, as if that was supposed to make me feel better. Instead I bristled at the words, wondering just who would be looking at the two like that. It wasn’t the priest, was it? Sungmin mentioned his strange interest in the fledgling, but that was only because he was trying to prove Sungmin’s identity as a pureblood, right?

“And who’s the other one?” I asked. He raised an eyebrow, before grinning.

“Donghae.” It was my turn to look at him in surprise. Donghae was interested in Sungmin? That didn’t make any sense. The two barely interacted, but then again, it wasn’t like I was around Sungmin all day and night.

“Don’t’ worry, your fledgling isn’t going to be taken away by the big, bad Donghae,” Jongwoon assured, sounding far more amused than me. “It’s the new guy, Hyukjae that Donghae has his sights on.”

“You’ve got to be joking,” I muttered. “Hyukjae? As in the same guy who greats everyone with a lame pick-up line?” My brother shrugged, still looking pretty confident in his assumption.

“Donghae might be the slightest bit interested.” I finished my glass, glancing over to the caretaker, who, just as Jongwoon said, was glaring at the door while talking to Siwon. I noticed immediately his narrowed eyes and stiff posture, the way he had to try not to put too much force behind his words.

“Are you sure that’s interest and not just murderous intent?”  My brother didn’t have the chance to answer as at that precise moment, the topic of our conversation walked right out of the kitchen. Sungmin turned to offer a brief smile to Jongwoon and me, but Hyukjae sent me the nastiest glare he could manage. I had to wonder exactly what had Sungmin been telling him, because as far as I knew, without me, those two probably would have been dust that first night. The other noticed his look and smacked the fledgling’s arm, before sending an apologetic look my way. The two left the dining room a moment later.

“I think I’m going to call it a night,” I said, rising up and stretching out. Sunrise had already started peeking through the drapes in the dining room and I had no need to stay up.

“Alright.” Jongwoon gave me a small hug before picking up our glasses.

When I got to my room, I fell face-first onto the bed. Too much had gone on in the last two weeks. Master sent the scouts out the day after that whole incident with Sungmin and the seal breaking. His interest lied in understanding why the vampyre and dhampyre were working together. I had to admit, just the thought of it was weird, given vampyres’ territorial nature. Even if both of them had noticed the scent of a pureblood, which to begin with already made the scenario unlikely, one would have stepped down before fighting over the food. On top of that, neither would track the pureblood into a house. I didn’t really pay attention to the intruders, but I didn’t get the impression they were newly Changed. The scratches on Hyukjae were proof enough of that. No newly Changed fledgling could control their claws, but only one so close to their Change would be stupid enough to enter a house. And figuring that out was the scouts’ primary task.

Around the same time, my room had become solely mine once again. Hyukjae was a new fledgling and needed some guidance, or some excuse like that. But then I doubted Sungmin planned to stay in this room for the rest of eternity and it wasn’t like I actually missed having him stay in here. But since he left, the nightmares had gotten worse. If I didn’t find my brother dead, then it was Sungmin, or one of the humans unfortunate enough to cross my path within the vampyre den. A few times I caught myself in a panic waking up, searching for bodies that weren’t there.

Since Hyukjae joined, he and Sungmin were practically inseparable, and Henry on most days joined them. But from day one, Hyukjae just seemed to hate my existence. Sungmin also kept his distance, either because of his fledgling, or because of my temper that day. If that wasn’t enough, Siwon was constantly coming to me and asking questions about the curse that had been placed on Jaejoong. Most, I had no answer for, and each day made the situation grow that much more strained. Adding to that my mixed feelings over what Siwon told me about Jongwoon, and I had a recipe for insomnia, anxiety, and a need to just let it all out.

There was one other person I could talk to, especially about my brother’s Change, and that happened to be the only other one there that night: Master. Being so weak, the pureblood rarely ventured out of his room. On occasion, he would join us for dinner, but the Donghae tried to keep him resting in his room. At this time, that was probably where I would find him. Part of me wanted to go to his room, and demand answers, but the part of me still wanting to see him as the villain in our nightmare held me back. If I learned that he Changed Jongwoon to save his life, would I be able to look at him with the same hatred my brother shared? Would I still be able to find justification for those years I had spent cursing his name?

I sat up and rubbed my hands over my face, dragging blunt nails over my skin. I needed to do something, get some sort of answer. We were all going around in circles. Jongwoon didn’t want to move on, and Ryeowook was too caught up in regret to think of anything beyond using his own life as payment. I wondered if he had planned to solve everything with his death before we left six years ago, or if it was the desperation he felt in these last few weeks that drove him to the thought. Deciding on something, I got up and headed back out of my room. I walked slowly through the halls that reflected the maze of thoughts in my mind. I came to a familiar door, and rapped on it, eliciting a quiet “come in.”

“What brings you here, Kyuhyun?” Master asked from his bed, while I shut the door behind me. He straightened himself up against the pillows, peering at me curiously.

“The priest told me,” I stated in a firm tone. Instead of looking at me in confusion, he just looked exhausted. “He told me about Jongwoon’s Change and-”

“Did you tell Jongwoon?” he asked, interrupting me in a voice I had never heard from him. Afraid was the first word I would use to describe the sound of his voice. Afraid, but also resilient. His fear was a weakness buried in thick walls of concrete and one tiny key could bring those walls crashing down.

“No, but-”

“Then don’t.”

“But didn’t you-”

“What good would it do to tell him?” he asked, not letting me get a word in. Anger tinged his voice, but he remained the picture of calm, lying upon his white satin covered bed.

“What do you think it would solve?” He rephrased, this time giving me a chance to say something, but I couldn’t do anything more than open and close my mouth like a fish.

"It doesn’t change the fact that he is a dhampyre, does it? Or that I still love him.” He breathed out, ruining his composed image as the briefest expression of pain touched his face. “Your brother needs someone to blame for everything that happened and by telling him that his beliefs are wrong, your only accomplishment would be confusing him.”

“You know he believes that you were the reason he was attacked? I’ve heard him some nights, hating you for dragging him into this world. Are you really going to continue letting him think that?” He averted his eyes, looking away to the window where the sunlight colored the curtains a bright orange. Long fingers gripped the blanket. By his reactions it was obvious that the answer was no, but when a soft “yes” escaped his mouth, I heard more than just his attempt to convince me of the lie he created. I heard his need to convince himself.

“Why?”

“Because it is my fault.”

I took one last look at him, reading his heartbroken expression, before I walked out of the room. It took me three seconds to make an impulsive decision that would jeopardize everything. There had been enough lying, enough of this supposed protection to twist everything around, and I didn’t know what to believe anymore. I doubted Jongwoon knew the truth himself. If we untangled the stories, what would they look like? At my brother’s door, I knocked once, not even bothering to get permission before I strode in.

“Kyuhyun, I thought you were going to bed?” Jongwoon asked from his bed. His eyes studied me curiously for a moment. He closed the book he had been reading and set it on the nightstand as I came to sit on the edge of his bed.

“You really don’t remember anything about the day you were Changed, do you?” Surprise and confusion crossed his features and then he shrugged.

“You know as much as I do. Why?” I swallowed my nerves, looking straight at him. Sitting here, I second-guessed my decision. Was it really the right thing to do? I couldn’t handle my brother falling apart again, and he was only starting to recover from that last argument with Master.

“What if... I knew what happened that night?” He laughed and shook his head, smiling like I had just made some sort of joke. How much I wished I was.

“How could you? You weren’t there.” I shrugged, then crossed my arms.

“You know how Sungmin saved Hyukjae by drinking the rest of his blood?” Jongwoon nodded and raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever wondered if that same thing happened to you?” He sat up, looking even more suspicious of my words.

“No, I haven’t,” he said slowly, drawing out each syllable. “Why?”

“Because that was what happened to you. You got attacked by vampyres and then Master saved-”

“I can’t believe it,” he said with an unamused grin, his eyes betraying his anger. “So you’ve had a sudden change of heart? Or did he put you up to this?” I was taken aback by the harshness in his voice, along with the way his entire body tensed.

“That’s-”

“What could he possibly have that you would want? Huh? I didn’t think my own brother could be bought over.”

“Look, that’s-”

“Or did he just spin some little sob story about-”

“Jongwoon, just shut up, and listen,” I said, going so far as to raise my voice. His mouth snapped shut.

“Master didn’t say a word about it, until I asked.” Jongwoon looked as though he wanted to argue my claim, but I didn’t give him the chance. “If the priest never told me, he wouldn’t have said a word. Master specifically told me not to tell you.”

“That’s because it’s a lie,” he argued, but I was already shaking my head before he finished speaking.

“If it was anyone else, I would agree with you, but Master isn’t one to lie. Besides that, do you think the priest would lie about this? He wouldn’t have anything to gain by lying.” To my dislike, he only lied back down, and rolled over to face the wall.

“I don’t want to think about it,” he mumbled. I knew that he was trying to escape having to say that maybe he had been wrong.

“Shouldn’t we at least consider the possibility that Master isn’t such a cruel guy?” This had him turning cold, black eyes upon me with a deadly glare.

“Don’t even begin to think he’s any sort of good guy,” he warned, icily. “Do you have any idea what I went through here?”

“Do you?” I countered, crossing my arms. “Did you even try to understand him, or the ways around here? Or did you keep yourself locked in your room, refusing to live a moment longer?”

“Should I have had to?!” he snapped, sitting up to meet me eye to eye. “Vampyre attack or not, I’m still here, and whether he had good intentions at first, doesn’t change the fact that he still forced me to become his sponsa!”

“Forced you?” I heard the phrase so many times. But the man lying in bed with barely enough strength to stand, didn’t look like he could force anyone to do anything. “There must have been a choice. There is always a choice.”

“Yeah, a choice between being his sponsa, and your death!” he shouted with wide eyes, before slapping a hand over his mouth in disbelief. My own mouth fell open, and my chest tightened with what should have been a thunderously pounding heart, but instead I heard only silence.

“What?” I asked. But it was impossible for me to mistake his words. “He would have killed me if you didn’t agree?” Jongwoon pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, creating almost a shield to protect himself, but I couldn’t say from what.

“He wouldn’t kill you,” he started. He spoke the words slowly, as if to keep from choking on them. “He would have just let you die.” I looked back to what I could remember of my Change, and how I woke up seeing the brother that went missing for two years. He looked as though he had been crying for the entire day, but it didn’t matter to me at the time, because he was alive. Everyone else, even Dad, had given up on him, thinking that his depression had relapsed, and we just needed to move on, but I couldn’t. Something inside me said that he was still alive, that he wouldn’t have just left me and Dad. It just wasn’t like him.

“You knew how I was Changed, and you never told me?” I asked, my voice coming out low, but without malice. The realization had me too surprised to even feel betrayed, but I knew it would poke its ugly head out later. I needed to hear everything now, before I was left wondering why, creating reasons that only one’s imagination could find realistic.

“I had been keeping an eye on you,” he began. I assumed he was going back to the day that it happened, the day I had been Changed. “At the time, Ryeowook wasn’t just my Master, or my clan leader. He was the only one I could call a friend, and he tried to help me get used to being a dhampyre. Sometimes he’d let me see you, long enough to know you were alright. But then one night you were out wandering around, doing god knows what, and right when you were crossing the street, a drunk driver hit you, almost killing you on impact. And he just drove away. Drove away, when you, my brother, was just lying there, not even moving.” He buried head into his knees, trembling ever so slightly. His next words came out in a whisper, so quiet and rough with emotion, I could barely understand him.

“Your pulse was just so faint, I could barely even feel it. I had only seconds to decide between you or my freedom. Do you really think I would waste time wondering what I would be putting you through, or what I would have to live with? I would’ve refused if it was my life, but he wanted to take yours away. You were dying. Dying, Kyuhyun! Do you have any idea how it felt to hold onto you and just feel the life draining from your body? I already lost Mom, I couldn’t lose you too, not when you were the only thing keeping me here.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” I asked once more, clenching the fabric of my shirt in my fists. Anger built inside of me and I wanted to use it, let it become the fuel to light the explosion, but I couldn't do it to him, not again. I refused to get into yet another fight with him.

But I knew my will wasn’t as strong as my emotions and I could feel it begin to crack.

“I-I knew you would blame me for everything,” he whispered, and I could hear his voice wavering as his body shook either from fear or something else I didn’t want to name. “For leaving that night, getting attacked, for your Change, the vampyre den, everything. You already do, I know you do. But I couldn’t handle hearing you say them.”

He caved to the pressure then, finally releasing soft sniffles, mumbling broken words like “I couldn’t,” and “Don’t blame me.” I pushed the anger further inside of me, then scooted closer to him and wrapped my arms around him. My chin came to rest on the top of his head. I knew what yelling at him in this state did.

“Shh, I don’t blame you. There’s no need to cry.” I hated this. I couldn’t even be mad at him, fight with him, because he wouldn’t be able to take it. His whole body trembled in my arms, but I held him as he continued to cry. As we sat there, I remembered Master’s words, about Jongwoon needing someone to blame. It never occurred to me that the only other person he could blame was himself. While I needed to straighten the stories, I only succeeded in straightening the path to who was at fault for our problems.

Master was right: I should have kept it to myself.

But the damage had been done, and the words said. I could only watch and hope everything didn’t fall like a house of cards.

The next few days were tense. Though Jongwoon didn’t lock himself away, he remained almost as unresponsive. Except towards Sungmin. The pureblood always looked at my brother with a sad sort of smile on his face, giving me a concerned glance every so often. I was sure the pitiful glances never escaped my brother’s attention. At this point I doubted they really mattered to him. Neither of us could really accept the truth of our Change, however, we both knew that at one point we would have to, and face the misunderstandings.

Neither of us would have thought it would have been so soon.

“You’re still glaring,” Jongwoon whispered, though I doubted the words slipped the attention of anyone else sitting at the table. Like most nights, we were all gathered in the dining hall for our ritual of drinking a single glass of blood. The conversations that came and died were so stiff and dry, that I felt like I was part of some blood drinking cult instead of having a nice, cozy dinner. To make things worse, Hyukjae kept sending nasty looks my way whenever no one else was looking. It also didn’t help that he was sitting so close to Sungmin that he was practically in his lap, and Sungmin didn’t look the least bit bothered by it.

Everything continued to be all fine and dandy up until we got to our last few swallows. The sound of glass shattering pulled everyone’s attention toward the priest. His hand hovered over the broken wineglass, as he had a faraway look in his eyes.

“Siwon?” Master prodded, looking more than a little concerned. His expression rivaled the looks of shock and worry on the other dhampyres faces.

“Someone or something has...” the priest trailed off, looking confused.

“Has what?” Donghae asked.

“Someone has... touched... the barrier.”

“Touched?” Master repeated. If the air was tense before, it was practically palpable now. No one wanted to deal with another possible intruder so soon after Sungmin broke our last barrier.

 “It might be the scouts, or another of our clan,” Donghae reasoned, standing up, but Master held his hand up.

“What do you mean someone touched the barrier?”

“I’m not certain. But somehow, someone possessing a great affinity for magyk has reached into the barrier, without disturbing it. I cannot feel any sort of negative intent from the person, but we should still take caution.”

“I agree,” Master said softly, looking to each of us, his gaze lingering on Jongwoon longer than the others. “Especially so soon after that last incident. Siwon, is the only one who can open the seal, and both Donghae and Kyuhyun should go with him.” Donghae sighed but the priest looked only mildly displeased now that his initial shock had worn off. The three of us hurried down the halls, heading to the sealed door. As we got closer, I was able to hear a very angry female’s voice yelling at the top of her lungs. We could even hear her banging loudly against the door, as if her voice wasn’t enough, putting everyone on edge. When the door was in sight, I could make out her words, and even place a name to the voice.

“You ungodly dhampyres, open the damn door before I break it down!” a certain apothecary shouted. I winced at the tone of her voice.

“Who the hell…?” Donghae muttered, but I only rolled my eyes.

“Who are you calling ungodly, Niko? And I don’t remember you switching teams.” I shouted, at the door, and heard a low growl in return. I was surprised she was at the door, let alone outside of her apothecary shop, but stranger things had happened before.

“Damn you, Kyuhyun. Here I am, trying to help you guys, and you won’t even open the door.” I chuckled and looked to Siwon.

“I know her, she’s safe.” The priest nodded, waving a hand over the seal, but when I opened the door, the two behind me hissed loudly and bared their fangs in defense. I had almost forgotten about the little detail that dhampyres hated vampyres with a fiery passion, and the feelings were mutual. The seal must have kept even her scent from passing through.

“So this is the welcome I get? Lovely,” the vampyress said, crossing her arms across her chest. She wore jeans, a black leather jacket, a fluffy red scarf, and a beanie, looking far from amused. A few black suitcases sat at her feet, along with a cat carrier.

“Why are you here, vampyre?” Donghae asked, not letting his guard down for a second. Siwon put the barrier up once more, eyeing Niko warily the entire time.

“Are they always this uptight?” Niko asked, looking to me. I nodded with a bit of a smile, while the other two growled once more. “Look, it would be pure stupidity to waltz into a dhampyre clan alone, with intent to do any sort of harm. I want to speak to your master.”

“There’s no way-”

“This way,” I said, interrupting Donghae. I grabbed a few of her bags, while she picked up her cat carrier, and followed me. I knew her presence meant trouble, but I couldn’t help but find the reactions of Donghae and Siwon amusing. They fell in step behind us, still on the defense in case the vampyress lost value in her existence. I knew for a fact that would never happen.

Before we even got close to the dining hall, three pairs of footsteps could be heard down the hall. Within seconds, I caught sight of the owners of those footsteps, along with a fourth dhampyre, who knew how to keep his feet silent.

“Woonie!” Niko shouted from beside me, setting her belongings down before racing down the hall. My brother didn’t even have time to prepare for the bone crushing hug launched at him. Struggling to breathe, he awkwardly patted her back with a strained smile on his face. “Oh my god, I’ve missed you so much!”

“Me, too,” Jongwoon muttered, looking to the other three for help. Henry and Hyukjae just looked surprised, while Sungmin only sent him a pitiful smile from behind his fledgling. She finally released him, grinning brightly, and set her sights on Sungmin. One shove and Sungmin’s only defense was knocked away, and he too, found himself being crushed in her arms.  When she finally released him, the vampyress latched onto my brother’s arm.

“We have a lot to talk about, hun,” she said sweetly, but with a certain firmness that said the talk was nonnegotiable.

“What the heck is wrong with her?” I heard Henry mumble and I visibly cringed at the glare she sent him. Hyukjae on the other hand put on a smooth smirk, running his fingers through his blood colored hair. We all knew that look. Even the priest and caretaker would have to admit she possessed unmatchable beauty. But Hyukjae was in for a surprise if he thought she would fall for one of his lines.

“Is that a mirror in your pocket?” he asked Niko, dropping his voice low. He probably expected something like a cute, girly giggle, but Niko was anything but cute or girly, and not the type to giggle unless it was over something morbid or magykal. Instead, she just burst out laughing, clutching her stomach and letting out ecstatic, high pitched peals of amusement.

“Sweetheart, you’re a couple centuries too young to be flirting with me.”

“But you don’t look a day over twenty-five,” he said, trying to save himself.

“I’m a vampyress, love, what do you expect?” The question hung in silence, except for the little snickers Sungmin tried to hold back. Even I had a hard time maintaining my composure at the way Hyukjae completely deflated, and went on the defense at the mention of vampyre. Henry even took a step back, not entirely sure what to make of the situation.

“Niko, weren’t you here to see Master?” I asked, bringing her attention back to her original task. She nodded, and tugged on Jongwoon’s arm.

“Care to me?” she asked. A simple, but warm smile touched his face, something I was glad to see. He nodded, placing his hand atop hers. “Sungmin, dear, can you grab my bag and Mr. Snuggles?” The fledgling nodded, and three distinct voices asked who “Mr. Snuggles” was. I took a few quick steps in order to fall in step with my brother and the vampyress. The others all followed behind, with Donghae and Siwon still careful of her every move.

“So why did you guys come after us?” I asked, looking to my brother.

“Master must have sensed Niko’s presence,” he said, shrugging, “and told Sungmin and Henry to make sure that everything was fine.”

“And you and Hyukjae tagged along?”

“Couldn’t let my baby brother get beaten up,” he said with a grin.

“As if you’d be much better off.”

“Neither of you would stand much of a chance against anyone stronger than a human,” Niko concluded, shaking her head.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I deadpanned.

“Anytime,” she said with a laugh. Before any more insults could be traded, we reached the dining hall. Without any introduction, Niko walked inside, stringing my brother along. Juggling Niko’s luggage, I closed the door behind us.

Master sat in the same place, at the head of the table, looking only mildly concerned that there was a vampyre in his hostel, but I didn’t miss the depreciative glance he sent to Niko and Jongwoon’s joined arms. Niko stepped forward, sliding her arm away from Jongwoon’s and gave a slight bow towards Master, which he returned, still seated.

“I apologize for not showing proper respect, Vampyress, as I had no notice of your arrival,” he said in a calm and neutral tone. His face didn’t betray a single emotion, showing no weakness in front of a possible enemy. Niko had on a similar expression of apathy. The formal, and polite way he spoke caught me off guard, especially since he knew she was a vampyress. But then I looked around to the rest of the members of the clan. Even if Niko was here to turn us all to dust, we would have a hard time defending ourselves. We had three fledglings, a priest, Donghae, and two brothers who, according to the vampyress herself, wouldn’t stand a chance. Appealing to her, would be the only way to survive.  

“I, too, apologize for the intrusion, but I have information that may be beneficial to you, with only a single request in return for discussing it with you,” Niko replied in the same polite tone. Underneath their formal facades, I knew they were still on two different sides of the usual war.

“And what would that request be?” he asked, carefully enunciating each word.

“My apothecary shop where I have been staying has been protected by my nephew’s clan. Do to certain circumstances, I am without that protection. I only want a place to stay until it is safe for me to return to my shop.” Master clasped his hands together resting his elbows on the table, considering the deal.

“What if this information isn’t as you assume it is? I need a good reason, not just for myself but for my clan, in order to house a vampyre under this roof.” The vampyress squared her shoulders, lifting her chin slightly. I had always seen her as the eccentric vampyress who loved old movies, experimentation, and had an apparent attraction to young, good looking, men and the occasional woman. To witness this side – the cold, calculating negotiator – seemed unreal.

“I am also knowledgeable in magyk and can perform an assortment of enchantments, rituals, and incantations.”

“You’re a shadow mage?” he asked, and Niko narrowed her eyes. Her entire body tensed up in anger, and I could see a few of the other dhampyres shift into defensive positions. Probably remembering the situation she was in, Niko relaxed a moment later, letting most of her anger dissipate.

“Please do not insult me by associating my ability with that of one of those creatures,” she said in a low tone, but once again maintaining her composure. The pureblood held his hands up in surrender.

“Do forgive me, but I didn’t know of any vampyres being acquiring magyk through other means.”

“Of course,” she said smoothly, curving her lips in a semblance of a smile.

“However, I have a priest in my clan, who possesses adequate magyk abilities.”

“Nothing like Niko’s.” Everyone turned to look to my brother, who stared rather defiantly at Master. “Siwon is adequate, but he lacks the extent and knowledge that Niko has. Besides that, she’s a vampyress, and her nephew’s a bloodking. If there’s a cure to a bloodking’s curse, she would know it, or know how to find it. And if not because of her use to the clan, then allow her to stay as repayment for taking care of Kyuhyun and me.” Brown eyes studied Jongwoon. The silence was uncomfortably long, as Master had to decide whether he could trust not only my brothers words, but the safety of his clan with a vampyress under the roof.

“Very well,” he said after a moment. “But only because of Jongwoon’s request. As for your information, I will speak to you tomorrow in a more private setting.”

“Understood,” Niko stated, then dramatically sighed. “Glad that’s all over. Come on, Woonie! Mr. Snuggles probably wants his kitty treats!” She grabbed Jongwoon by the arm, and practically dragged him out of the room. I rolled my eyes at her antics. There was the Niko I knew. The other clan members slowly filed out of the room, dinner already long forgotten. I began to follow them out, but Master called for me alone to stay.

“Can I really trust her?” he asked me, and I turned around to see him resting his head on the palm of one hand, looking exhausted.

“She scares me half to death sometimes, her nephew is the same bloodking who captured Jongwoon and me a few months ago, and she has enough magyk to put up a strong fight against our entire clan. But she’s one of the only people I would trust with my brother.” Silence followed my answer, but then he smiled. It wasn’t a bright or even warm smile, but rather one of relief.

“Thank you, Kyuhyun.”