SKYE’S POV

It took me several hours to get back to sleep. The dream had felt so real, like it had actually happened. After several hours of tossing and turning, Jiyong rolled over to look at me.

"You’re keeping me up. Just relax." Jiyong said, covering my forehead with his hand for a second. I nodded, feeling warmth flood through me and relaxing my muscles.

"Thanks." I murmured, slipping off into magic-induced sleep.

In the morning, Tao woke me by shaking my shoulder gently. I blinked up at him, smiling at his messy hair falling in his eyes. It made him look edgier, more dangerous.

"We have to start walking now." Tao murmured. I nodded, poking Chanyeol sleeping next to me. Jiyong was already up, having a deep conversation with Yoongi.

"Here." Jongin popped up in front of me, smirking when I jumped, and held out a plate of food. I took it gratefully, shooting him a slightly frustrated look for scaring me.

I started eating, sitting by myself while I looked around. The wolves no longer played around, instead sitting in small groups of two or three and talking in low voices. The Imugis were sitting together, talking also. The kitsunes were still asleep except for Jinki, who was talking with Jiyong, Yoongi, Suho and Kris.

"Guys, gather up!" Kris called in his low voice. Everyone looked up, sitting closer so the group of leaders were at the front. Baekhyun shimmered into appearance off to the side, watching carefully.

"We’ve been talking, and there are some things you need to know." Suho projected his voice, nudging Jinki forward.

"The kitsunes will travel with your group to join the Army, and we are now allies. We have no prominent enemies at the time." Jinki said. Yoongi stepped forward next, giving us all a firm look.

"The Imugis are also allied with you all. But we need your help retrieving our leader Namjoon, from Aurora of the Seelie Court. She is our enemy." Yoongi said. The wolves nodded, murmuring slightly among themselves.

"There are only four of now, but we’ll fight with you now. Our enemies are hunters, and we will bring them to the ground." Jiyong said, determination burning in his eyes when he looked at Seungri. The human was still alive, fighting for each breath. Suho nodded, stepping forward.

"We will assist you in finding and recovering Namjoon, and we need help fighting Fey and her pack, along with hunters." Suho said. Yoongi and Jinki nodded, and the leaders smiled at us.

"Tao, Chanyeol, Lu Han, Xiumin, Chen, come with me now to get Namjoon." Kris said. They nodded, leaving to stand by Kris.

"Jimin, Taehyung and I will go." Yoongi said. The kitsunes murmured among themselves until Minho and Jonghyun stepped forward with a nod. Jiyong joined them, and at the last second, I stepped forward too.

"Skye, it’s too dangerous." Chanyeol said immediately. I smiled, nodding.

"Yeah, for anyone who messes with me! I’m going." I said. Chanyeol nodded, and Seunghyun held out a long knife. I recognized it as Daesung’s and thanked him.

"I’ll use it well." I murmured. Seunghyun nodded, stepping back.

"Let’s go!" Kris called, turning and running in the direction of the Faerie hideout. I got on Chanyeol’s back, and he carried me for the time it took to get there.

By the time we reached the shimmering pool of water, Jimin, Taehyung and Yoongi’s eyes were flashing more than normal. Long claws spread from their fingertips, and when they exhaled, little flickers of flame out of their noses. To be honest, they were a little scary.

Jonghyun and Minho were wielding swords, and as outdated as that was, they looked quite intimidating. The wolves’ eyes were burning, little growls puffing from their chests as they stood outside the pool. After a few seconds, Yoongi stepped forward and was swallowed up.

The rest soon followed, and I breathed in the damp underground air. Roots brushed my head as I stood in the same narrow corridor, looking around for knights. There were none to be seen, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Do we have a plan?" Minho hissed after a few minutes of blindly walking through the tunnel. Kris nodded, looking back at Yoongi.

‘’Aurora will be keeping him in a lower level cell. We’ll sneak down there, get him out and sneak back up. No biggie." Yoongi said. Everyone nodded, Tao looking around behind us and flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Here." Lu Han said softly, pressing against a section of the wall. A piece rock moved, revealing a door that swung open. It led down to a spiraling staircase. We filed down single file, Tao taking the rear.

The door slammed shut abruptly after Tao passed through it, and we were plunged into darkness. The red, gold and green glowing eyes around me made my skin crawl, but Jiyong held out his hand and light spiraled from it, lighting our way. Chanyeol lit the torches on the walls, and we looked around as we reached the walls of cells.

"Namjoon?" Yoongi called softly. To avoid alerting any more knights, Kris motioned for us to split up and look through the walls of cells.

I walked through the cells, trying to look inside to see if Namjoon was in any of them. The air was musty and damp, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell. A sudden flicker next to me made me turn, seconds before a hand jumped over my mouth and someone hit my forehead, knocking me out soundly.

CHANYEOL’S POV

I heard a thump and what sounded like Skye gasping, so I wheeled around to where she had been looking. A feral feeling rose up in me, a desire to protect her and keep her safe.

"Skye?" I called softly. No one responded, so I stepped forward and tried again. "Skye?"

"Is that you?" Skye stepped out from next to one of the cells, smiling widely at me. I sighed in relief, trying to look behind her at the shape crumpled on the ground in the cell.

"Who’s that?" I asked. Skye smiled wider, stepping forward and grabbing my hand.

"Why do you ask?" Skye said. I shrugged, murmuring nonsense, and then led her back to the others.

"Did you find anything back there?" Kris asked softly. Skye shook her head, and Kris asked her what she had seen.

"Why is it important to you?" Skye asked with a playful smile. She looked back at me, and I narrowed my eyes when I saw a flash of green flicker over her eyes. It was gone in a second, I and I decided I was just being jumpy.

"Why don’t we keep looking?" Skye asked, jogging forward to take the lead. I shrugged, following her.

We soon reached a cell with a sleeping Namjoon in it, and I broke the lock triumphantly. Jiyong stepped forward suddenly, holding out a milky green pearly swinging on a chain.

"Where did you find that?" I asked in surprise, taking it and slipping it over Namjoon’s head. Nothing happened, but I suppose it takes a little while for it to work.

"When did you get so curious?" Jiyong asked with a smile. I shook my head, wondering why Skye and Jiyong were being so weird...

"Alright, let’s go." Kris said. Taehyung and Yoongi picked up Namjoon, carrying him while Chanyeol lit the way.

"Jiyong could you give us some more light?" I asked. Jiyong shook his head, still smiling at me.

"Am I just a tool to you?" Jiyong asked playfully. He and Skye shared a knowing glance, flickers of green lacing through both their eyes, I was sure of it this time! Then I blinked, and the green was gone. I frowned, walking back up to the entrance.

We all flashed through the water puddle, running back to everyone else. By now it was dark outside, and we all curled up to sleep.

"Here, Skye, sleep next to me and Jiyong again." I said. Skye and Jiyong shared a look, settling down next to each other on the ground.

"Why?" Skye asked.

"Can’t she sleep by herself?" Jiyong asked. I nodded, rebuffed, and went to lie down on the other side of the clearing.

As I drifted off, I reviewed Jiyong and Skye’s strange behavior. Even though they had wanted to sleep by themselves, Jiyong and Skye were separated by a good six feet where they were lying. And they had never answered a question directly...

I shook my head, convinced I was going insane from stress. I curled up, ready to drop off to sleep.

SKYE’S POV

I flicked to consciousness briefly, looking around. I was chained up in a small cell, in the dimly lit room I had been knocked out in. Jiyong was across from me, blood trickling down his face and eyes closed. What was going on?

Hearing two knights talking outside the cell, I gasped in fear.

"Lady Aurora had a fantastic idea, sending her and Meliorn in place of the human and half-demon. They’ll never suspect her, and she’ll be able to access the Army and capture an entire clan of Imugi in one go!" One knight said. The other nodded in agreement, and that was the last thing I heard before unconsciousness claimed me again.

Oh my gosh, two updates in a row on time! Who am I and what have I done with myself?! I hope everyone enjoys this update, please leave me a comment on how you like it! Thank you everyone, I love you all~

Saranghamnida, kamsamnida!

-Sujin

<3