Technically Sehun knew he didn’t have a curfew. Generally speaking most people, barring a party (though M did seem to have an exorbitant amount of them), went to bed before midnight. And the night watch started its patrol right around that time. But there was nothing that said Sehun had to adhere to any kind of timetable, and that was of great help at the moment.

Because he needed to see the palace’s head physician and he needed to do it as covertly as possible.

Although nothing, as Sehun was becoming increasingly familiar with, ever went according to plans. And the palace’s infirmary, which should have been deserted, save for a couple of sleeping patients, was lit up and filled with exactly two people.

“Don’t look so disappointed to see me,” Xiumin said.

“I just wasn’t expecting you,” Sehun rushed to respond. In fact he had not been expecting to find the doctor he’d been seeking, bent over Xiumin’s knee as the solider sat on a high bed and leaned back on his hands. “Are you hurt?”

“Sort of.” Xiumin gestured to his sun tanned leg where a series of angry looking black stitches stood out. There was a accumulation of blood surrounding them that made Sehun feel a little nauseous at just the sight of. “I went to visit my parents, and my brother and sister-in-law the other day. They just had a baby and I wanted to pay my respects to my new nephew. I just forgot that my niece recently started walking, and I ended up tripping over her. Ripped my leg open just under the knee and probably traumatized her for years. I pulled the stitches about half an hour ago on accident. I’m just getting the wound looked at.”

The doctor made a clicking sound with his tongue and wiped the blood away with a clean, sanitized cloth. “You’ll be happy to know that the stitches themselves seem to be intact, if a little aggravated. You’ll be sore for a while in the area, but you’re fine.”

“Thanks,” Xiumin said, hopping off the high bed. “I’m going to go to bed now.”

Sehun made a face. “Shouldn’t you go lurk around Luhan or something?” He didn’t mean for it to come out as rude as it did, but he did mean the words. In the time that Sehun had been at the palace in both an official and unofficial capacity, he’d barely seen Xiumin leave Luhan’s side. There were plenty of guards in the palace, the palace itself was probably safer than any place in M or K, not to mention Luhan himself was extremely powerful and capable. So Sehun didn’t really see the point of having Xiumin constantly following Luhan around.

Fortunately, Xiumin didn’t seem to take his words badly, and he said, “Luhan’s gone to bed already. He might have only woken up today, but whatever he went through left him pretty tired. It might have been acceptable for me to watch over Luhan while he slept before, but it isn’t any more. He’s married now and that duty falls to the king, and Tao, who I guarantee you is pacing outside their bedroom door as we speak.”

“Oh,” Sehun said.

Xiumin continued, “And I lurk around him, as you so eloquently said, because that’s my duty. Regardless of his majesty’s marital status, he’s my charge. He is my duty, and I take my duty very seriously. It goes hand in hand with my honor. But furthermore, Luhan is my friend. My best friend. He’s been my friend for far longer than a decade and protecting my friends is just what I do. I value my friend’s lives over whatever I might look like protecting them.”

Sehun hated how much embarrassment was flushing through him.

“You’re free to go,” the doctor said, patting Xiumin on the shoulder. Then he turned to Sehun and asked, “Is there something I can help you with, Ambassador Oh?”

It always grated under his nerves a little to hear his official title. It was a title that didn’t quite feel he’d earned, and more like Commander Suho had given it to him in a desperate bid to pacify everyone. Maybe just to pacify Luhan. Sehun didn’t think it was lost on anyone that next to the king, Luhan held the second most power in M.

“Ah, yes.” Sehun cleared his throat and brushed past Xiumin to step closer to the doctor. He let his voice drop low and said, “I was told by Lay that the palace morgue is kept here?”

The doctor tapped the floor under them. “There’s a separate set of rooms used for examination of the dead for determination of death. We keep the bodies there, until burial. It’s directly underneath us.”

“I need to see a body,” Sehun said, focused on keeping his tone even. “It would be the body of a young girl, recently brought in from the countryside. She would have died from something extremely unusual.”

The doctor returned kindly, “The only bodies we keep down there, son, are those of the palace soldiers and staff who happen to die while in the line of service, for whatever reason. Bodies from the countryside are not brought to the palace.”

“You’ve got four bodies down there of people who didn’t die in the palace,” Sehun said. Then he brought his hand up to reveal the ring that was fitted awkwardly on his index finger. It was the king’s seal, the king’s personal ring, and Lay had given it to him a little reluctantly, making him swear on his life to not let it out of his sight. He’d be expected to give it back the next day, but for the time being it was a master key, getting him in and out of anywhere he wanted. “I have the king’s permission, and I think you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

The doctor grumbled, “This is unexpected,” but led Sehun down one level to the room where the bodies were kept.

“This is the girl,” The doctor said, reaching into a cooling unit for a handle, then pulling out the slab she was kept on. “The other three are male. They’re just over there. What exactly are you looking for? I can’t imagine you would be interested in looking at a body for any reason, Ambassador Oh.” The doctor paused before the body was pulled out more than a few inches, only the feet visible. “This isn’t the kind of thing a young man should see.”

“I know what I’ll be seeing,” Sehun said, steeling himself for the reveal. “I know what kind of condition she’s in.”

“Aright.” The doctor gave a hard pull and suddenly the girl’s body was out in plain view.

Sehun gave a startled jump and began coughing in revulsion. He kept a hand covering his mouth and nose as his eyes watered.

The sight in front of him was horrific, and nothing like he’d ever seen before. He had read about the kind of condition she’d be in, and heard about it from Lay as well, but this was ….

“Cause of death?” Sehun could barely ask.

The doctor pursed his lips in thought, then said, “Likely everything.”

“Huh?” Sehun drew his eyes away from the body. “Everything?”

The girl barely looked like a girl anymore. The form was there, but all of her hair had wilted away, almost with some of her facial features. Her skin was nothing but sticky looking ash, and if Sehun reached out to touch it, he was afraid it would crumble beneath his fingers. Some of her bones were exposed, and she smelled like sulfur. In some ways she looked like a burn victim, but there were oddities in the patterns of blackness across her skin, and the way her skull was partially caved in.

“Organ failure, if I had to pin it down,” the doctor decided. “Heart failure. Lung failure. Heavy brain damage. Take your pick, Ambassador. Regardless, this girl died a very painful, very cruel death.”

What terrified Sehun the most was the confirmation of what he’d most feared. When Lay had set him up in front of the medical section he’d been initially bored, and hadn’t taken his task very seriously. But as he’d started to browse through the titles, and eventually read some of the material, he realized the severity of what Lay had him looking for.

And what he now had in front of him, this girl, who probably looked exactly like the three other men in the morgue, was the mirror of one specific text he’d read and nearly wet himself over.

“Doctor,” Sehun said a little breathlessly, “this girl had an ability, right?”

“All four did.”

“Okay.” Sehun ran a hand through his hair. “Thank you.”

“Ambassador.” The doctor stopped him with a heavy, worried look. “Can I expect to have a greater influx of bodies into my morgue?”

“I don’t know,” Sehun said, but he wasn’t being honest. He knew exactly what the answer was. “But I think the king’s already sworn you to secrecy, so I don’t have to ask you not to tell anyone about what we just saw.”

“Is it contagious?” That caught Sehun off guard, especially when the doctor pressed again, “Am I at risk to catch whatever this is?”

“I--”

“I don’t care about myself,” the doctor rushed to add. “But I spend a good deal of time around my grandchildren. I can’t risk giving whatever this is to them.”

It was still unclear how much the king and Lay and the others involved wanted people know about what was going on, even trusted people like the palace’s most senior doctor, but Sehun couldn’t help himself in replying, “Are any of your family members gifted?”

“No.” The doctor shook his head. “My eldest son was, but he died a while ago.”

Carefully, Sehun replied, “Then you have nothing to worry about.”

But was that really the truth?

Sehun left the infirmary with a heavy heart, trying to fight back chills over what he’d just confirmed. He needed to speak to Lay. He needed to speak to Luhan or the king or someone with authority. But it was late, well past midnight, and it would have to wait until morning.

He was almost to his room, feet dragging when his eyes caught the flickering forms of two people, hands clasped. They were mostly in the shadows of the night, streaking across a nearby hallway. Sehun still wasn’t familiar with the complete layout of the palace, and probably wouldn’t ever be in the way that Luhan or Xiumin were, but it looked like the two were headed down towards the queen’s gardens.

Luhan had shown him the gardens once, explaining that they had been the king’s mother’s, and that she had cultivated them from almost nothing into the huge space that was there now. There was a manageable hedge maze, plenty of places to picnic, and every variety of flower that grew on Exo. The palace gardeners kept it up now, as Luhan had no interest in the garden at all, but the space was supposed to be a sacred place.

And now two people who were likely not supposed to be together, were heading off to make out. Or worse. Sehun only guessed they weren’t supposed to be together because M had odd standards of propriety, and who was acceptable for who. M had official courting, too, which seemed crazy in Sehun’s opinion.

But who was Sehun to pass judgment?

Sehun likely would have let the entire matter go if he hadn’t recognized the second person’s outline in the poor lighting, highlighted by the ring on the man’s finger that gleamed no matter the visibility. The king-consort’s ring.

It was Luhan. It was most certainly Luhan who’d just passed ahead of him, pulled along by another tall man who strode with confident steps.

But Luhan was supposed to be in his bed. Asleep. Xiumin had said as much, and Sehun really severely doubted that Xiumin would lie about such a thing. Or that Xiumin would lie about Luhan at all. Not with how serious he took his duty.

That said, Sehun also didn’t think that Luhan was in any danger. After all, he’d been going willingly with the man leading the way.

Maybe Luhan was with the king. It had been hard to properly judge the man who’d been by his side. He’d been tall, but that was about all Sehun was sure about. Maybe the king and Luhan were going out for a little peace and quiet. They didn’t seem overly romantic, and they were very much not in love with each other, but it was possible. Even people who were not in love, could enjoy moments with each other.

The proper thing to do probably was just to go back to his room. Luhan hadn’t been screaming or fighting, and it was none of Sehun’s business what Luhan was doing. But he just couldn’t let it go.

So he followed as silently as he could, staying as far back as he dared.

They were going out into the garden. Sehun had only a slight amount of time to process that before Luhan was taking the lead, pulling the other man through the main entrance of the maze.

In only a short few minutes Sehun lost them. The maze was probably difficult enough to navigate during the day, but at night, with only the barest of lighting, he was more feeling his way than seeing it. Luhan obviously knew where he was going, but Sehun did not.

He was just about to give up, and desperately try and retrace his steps, when he heard, “Are you sure you’re okay?”

A few more steps forward and Sehun realized he’d found them after all, and they were at the heart of the maze. The space was pretty big, big enough at least to house a sizable fountain, and lit by a series of electric lanterns.

Ducking back a little to avoid being seen, Sehun squinted. He could see Luhan sitting on the edge of the fountain, his fingers trailing absently into the clear water. And in front of him, reaching a hand out to brush the fringe against Luhan’s forehead was …

This was nothing but trouble. Big trouble. Because Sehun was absolutely sure that he could identify the other man as Kai.

“You shouldn’t have come.”

Kai flashed a dazzling smile. “Now where have I heard that one before?”

Luhan was dressed in a night coat, but Sehun could easily make out his pajamas underneath. Kai was dressed substantially better, but Sehun knew neither of them should have been out so late, and certainly not together. Not with their history. Sehun was sort of starting to understand why M encouraged chaperones with couples. At least in some cases.

“I mean it,” Luhan said tersely.

“I was scared,” Kai said, his voice strong. It was a clear indicator that he believed they were alone and safe. “You were caught in some sleep you couldn’t wake up from, and I couldn’t get in to see you. Do you have any idea how crazy out of my mind I was with worry?”

“I was okay,” Luhan said, reaching up to tug Kai’s hand away. He didn’t let it go, however, linking their fingers. “I’m always okay. You know that.”

“One of these times you won’t be,” Kai argued back, and Sehun seconded that. When Luhan had eventually woken up, sitting up in bed easily and startling each and everyone of them in the room at the time, Sehun had felt a sense of relief in his chest like none other. Baekhyun had woken much sooner than Luhan, and hadn’t been able to offer any help as to what was happening and why. They’d all been simply hoping for the best, not sure what to do.

If Luhan hadn’t been okay, Sehun wouldn’t have been either.

“And don’t say you didn’t get to see me,” Luhan said, startling Sehun out of his thoughts. “You came. I have proof.”

“Oh?” Kai asked, quirking an eyebrow. “What kind of proof?”

“The flowers.” Luhan used his free hand to splash some water up playfully. “No one else would have been able to bring me those Midnight Blooms. They’re our flower. Xiumin thought Kris brought them, and Tao thought it was Sehun. But I knew it was you the moment I woke up. They were the first thing I saw.”

It was so very wrong that Luhan and Kai were without a chaperone, so many things were bound to happen that shouldn’t have had the chance, but Sehun couldn’t deny the chemistry between the two of them. They way they looked at each other, and the electricity between them was undeniable.

Kai said, “You remember that day we found the whole field of them? The entire ground was blue. It was blue for miles. Still to this day, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I remember,” Luhan said with a grin, letting Kai pull him up to his feet. “We laid down on our backs and stared up at the sky for what felt like forever. You held my hand, and that was the day you told me that you loved me for the first time.”

Kai returned the smile. “I made love to you in that field.”

Sehun felt like an interloper. He wanted to leave, to give them the privacy they thought they had, but it was so hard to get his feet moving. He seemed rooted in place.

“I was never more in love with you than in that exact moment,” Luhan confided. “I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you that back then.”

They were going to kiss. Sehun was certain of it. Kai was leaning in and Luhan was … ducking away.

“Kai,” Luhan said sternly, releasing his grip on Kai’s hand. “You know we can’t.”

Sehun let out a breath of relief, and that relief startled him. At first he’d assumed that the relief had been due to Luhan’s marital status, and the scandal their being caught would cause. But with a bit more thought, he realized a little shamefully that he was relieved because he didn’t want Luhan to be kissed at all. At least not by anyone but Sehun himself.

Sehun was very, very unfortunately aware of his growing feelings for Luhan. But he reasoned with himself that there was no way he couldn’t have ultimately ended up with a crush on Luhan. Luhan was beautiful and intelligent and kind hearted. He was a good listener, patient and understanding. Not to mention loyal. He was all the things Sehun wanted in a partner, and infatuation was quickly turning into something more.

“Fine,” Kai said, turning away.

“Don’t be like this,” Luhan said right away. “We agreed--”

“I know what we agreed!” Kai’s voice rose, maybe to dangerous levels. “I know, okay. I know.”

“Then why are you angry?” Luhan rounded him to stand directly in front.

Kai wondered, “How can I not be angry? I’m desperately in love with you. And you’re married to someone else.”

Luhan’s shoulders slumped. “I married Kris because I needed my country to be stable enough to accept the end to a war that some of them have known for the better part of their lives. I married him because I’ve always been expected to marry him, and I know what an obligation is.” When Kai gave a gruff huff, Luhan hurried to say, “The only thing that should matter is that I didn’t marry him because I’m in love with him. You know I’m in love with you.”

“Then say it,” Kai urged.

Luhan sighed. “Why did you wake me up? Why did you pull me out of bed? You know Commander Suho had Kris’ correspondence. You knew I was up and awake and no worse for wear. If you knew that we were going to end up talking about the same things that hurt us in the same way, why did you even bother?”

A gasp escaped Sehun, quite of its own volition, the second that Kai reached out and tugged Luhan into a fiercely passionate kiss.

There was a burst of jealously in Sehun’s chest, but quickly it gave way to appreciation. They were so in love. They were almost desperately in love, and it was evident in the way they were kissing. There was no mistaking the way Kai cradled the back of Luhan’s head as he deepened the kiss, or the way Luhan’s fingers clenched and unclenched sporadically.

Just as Luhan was pushing up into the kiss, and Kai’s hands were starting to wander along Luhan’s hips, Sehun’s ears picked up a soft whistle.

Apparently Luhan’s did as well, and he pulled away, lips glossy from the kiss and his eyes wider than usual. “That’s the shift change whistle,” Luhan said, taking a deep breath. “I have to get back. Tao’s been known to check in on Kris and I when the first shift change of the night happens. If he finds me missing all hell will break loose.”

“Luhan.” Kai reached for him, but immediately Luhan was moving away, shaking his head.

“That kiss was a mistake.”

“It wasn’t,” Kai denied. “It is never a mistake when we kiss. Luhan, I would do anything, and I mean anything for us to be together. I love you. I am in love with you. And I can’t just stay away. I can’t. I’ve been trying but it isn’t working. I’m just making myself crazy.”

Luhan asked, “What’s the alternative? We sneak around? I’m unfaithful to my husband and you risk putting K in a bad situation again? How is that fair to us? Or right?”

“Do you want me?”

The blunt question threw Sehun. It was only then that he realized how much he was clinging to every word spoken, and the situation at large.

“You know I do,” Luhan said, no hesitation. “I want to wake up with you every morning, and go to bed with you each night. I am deeply and undeniably in love with you, and you should never doubt that. But being in love with someone doesn’t mean you get to be with them. Sometimes, just having that love has to be enough.”

Kai took an audibly deep breath and then released it. “Do we ever get to be together? Is it ever just me and you?”

Luhan put his hands on Kai’s shoulders and pressed a kiss to Kai’s forehead. “I love you very much, Kai. But I have to go back now. I have to go back to my husband, and you have to go back to K, before anyone realizes either of us is gone.”

“Okay.” The look of defeat on Kai’s face made Sehun’s gut clench up. “Give me your hand and I’ll teleport you back into your bedroom. No one will ever know you were gone, least of all your husband. He sleeps like the dead, you know. But that’s probably a good thing.”

Sehun breathed a bit easier as the moment was over, but just as he turned to leave, he heard Luhan said, “And for the record, because you have always respected the content of my visions, and what I choose to both share and not share with you, I have had visions that pertain to our future. The things we do now are constantly changing that future, and I don’t really understand it myself, but I have seen some possibilities. And yes, in some of them, we get to be together.”

Sehun moved away before he heard any kind of response. His mind was heavy with the uncompromising truth that Luhan’s heart would always belong to Kai. But in some other way, one that he wasn’t completely sure he understood, he was relieved.

It was another half hour before he found his way out of the maze, getting turned around several times in the process, but when he got back to his room he was substantially sleepy, and was able to fall asleep relatively easily.

It wasn’t hard to get everyone together the following day. Well, easier than expected, considering the king’s time was in high demand and it was more than a little inconvenient for Kai to ferry people back and forth with his ability. But he had to share what he had learned with everyone, and there was no getting around the importance.

As they gathered together, the twelve of them still a little awkward around each other, Sehun wasted no time in explaining what Lay had asked him to look into.

“You’re all aware by now of the … illness that’s been spreading?” Sehun questioned. “The one only striking those with Mama’s gifts?”

Commander Suho cleared his throat and stood, announcing, “I didn’t want to say anything until I was sure, but there have been six accounts of this in K so far, and with your four, that makes ten total. Ten is a suspiciously high number when the only people being targeted are those who have gifts.”

With narrowed eyes, Lay asked, “Were any of these six people those have recently been near or in the Deadlands?”

Grimacing, Suho said, “All six, coincidentally.”

“Then we need to investigate this,” Chen said, sitting up in his chair a bit more sternly. “There were already plans to send some of us out to check the area. This just presses the matter.”

“But we have abilities,” D.O. argued. “That would place us in danger.”

“Would you rather we just ignore whatever is happening?” Luhan challenged.

“Hold up!” Sehun gave a loud whistle, raising his hands. “I need to say this. I found something important.”

The king gave him a stead nod. “Go ahead.”

Sehun moved to stand in front of the rest of his peers, making sure he had their full attention. Then he said, “Lay had me looking into some texts that he suspected might have information that could help us.” He intentionally left out mentioning the archives, and where they were located. Lay hadn’t explicitly asked him not to say anything, but Sehun got the feeling he also didn’t want it public knowledge.

“And?” Kai prompted. “You found something?”

“I did,” Sehun verified with a nod. “If you’ll recall, there have been people born with abilities stretching back to almost the beginning of our recorded texts. Sometimes there were a lot, and sometimes there were only a couple. In one particular instance, no one was born with an ability for over a generation.”

Luhan said, “That’s true. But we’ve never understood why, or for that matter, why some of us are born with gifts, and some are not.”

“I found some interesting information about that,” Sehun continued. “The generation before there were no people with abilities born, there was a plague. A lot of people died and they died in a very specific way.”

“Let me guess,” Xiumin said. “Black patches of illness on the skin that spread until the person died.”

“Got it in one.”

“But why haven’t we heard about this before?” the king challenged.

Sehun reminded, “This plague, and the generation that followed, happened a long time ago. Before the Forbidden City existed. Back when technology was at its barest, and before we had the recording techniques that we have today. But there’s no doubt, the illness that’s referenced in a book Mama drew Lay to, began by targeting only those with abilities, before moving on to the general public a few months later. When the new generation was born, from those who survived, they were the first generation to be born without any of Mama’s gifts. It wasn’t until they had children, that the abilities began to manifest again.”

Kai tapped his chin. “Luhan, you’re always going on about Mama being this sentient being. Are we therefore concluding that these shadows who are a threat to both her and us, are also sentient? Because if I were trying to get to Mama, and I was having trouble, I’d take out the guardians who were supposed to be protecting her, before anything else.”

Slowly, Luhan admitted, “The thought has crossed my mind. Mama is weakening, but she’s still protected. We’re less so.”

“Then we put it to a vote,” the king said, standing. “We vote on going out to the Deadlands to look for proof of these shadows, and to investigate if this is the origin of this new illness.”

Suho chimed in, “If we find a correlation between these shadows and the illness, we need to be prepared to take action. For right now it looks like the illness is attacking people with abilities indiscriminately, but there’s no way to know for sure. But it’s true going out there is bound to be dangerous, maybe even life threatening if some of us go. So we vote, because when we’re in this room, and we’re talking about protecting our future, there are no distinctions between us. We’re all even, we’re all equal, and we all have a say.”

Immediately Tao raised his hand, saying, “I’m in favor of going to check the Deadlands for proof. It might be dangerous, but we’re all that’s standing in front of Mama and protecting her at this moment. We have to do something, because if this illness is anything like the one that hit before, all of us with abilities will be dead within a few weeks, and a good deal of the general public will follow shortly after.”

Surprisingly, though Sehun knew they all understood the severity of the situation, everyone raised a single hand. They were in perfect agreement, which was probably more than any of them could dare to hope for.

“It’s agreed then,” the king said. “But who will volunteer to go? It’s unlikely that myself or Commander Suho will be able to do so.”

“I’ll go ,” D.O. said, nodding to the king. “Kai can come with us, in case we get into trouble and have to make a hasty retreat.”

Kai arched an eyebrow. “Thanks for that.”

Baekhyun and Chanyeol were also confident enough to volunteer themselves. “Four might seem like a lot,” Chanyeol defended, “but we might run into trouble, and the extra backup might pay off. Just in case.”

Personally, Sehun thought it simply came down to Chanyeol and Baekhyun not wanting to let the other out of their sight, but Chanyeol’s logic was sound enough.

“If that’s settled,” Luhan said with no small amount of relief in his voice, “Then I want to go to the Forbidden City.”

“What?” the king demanded, turning to look at him.

Luhan corrected, “I want to go back. I’m very aware that Tao and Kai have already gone. And whether you believe they experienced some shared hallucination or not, I truly believe that they made contact with Mama. She asked for me, after all.”

Slowly, realization dawning on Tao, he said, “Oracle, right? Mama, or the representation of Mama that Kai and I saw, kept asking why we hadn’t brought the Oracle with us. You are the Oracle.”

“Mama’s called me that before,” Luhan revealed. “She’ll often call me Oracle. She calls Baekhyun a Scribe. Some of you are Keepers. Others are Witnesses. I haven’t worked out all the different categories she’s sorted us into, or what they mean exactly, but I’m meant to go to the Forbidden City. That much is very clear.”

“And it’s very not safe,” the king said, letting his hand cover Luhan’s in the only show of affection Sehun thought he’d ever seen them share. Aside from a couple spins around the dance floor. “I can’t let you go there.”

“Neither can you stop me,” Luhan said unabashedly. “My connection to Mama has always been strong, until very recently, of course. As she’s weakened, I’ve weakened with her. But more importantly, it’s gotten harder for her to communicate with me. She sends me desperate visions because she doesn’t know how to get through to me, but those visions hurt, and I can’t take many more. But Tao, he and Kai ran across a form of Mama who was able to communicate with them. If I go, I could speak with her, and we’d have our answers.”

Tao interjected, “She was speaking, and we were hearing, but she wasn’t making much sense. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was acting more like an artificial intelligence, than our creator. She was glitched in a way, and that’s not the worst of it.”

Kai took his cue, telling Luhan, “What happened at the end of our very short visit, was not good. Something bad was happening, something she didn’t expect, and she flung us away. We got tossed out of that dream or vision or alternate reality or wherever we were, and not gently, either. I was barely able to get a lock and get myself and Tao out of there the minute we were awake. Even if you go to the Forbidden City, Mama might not be there anymore. Or able to contact you.”

“Doesn’t matter,” Luhan said, and Sehun believed him. “I have to go anyway. I’m going. No matter what any of you say.”

“Luhan,” the king said warningly.

“Kris.” Luhan’s voice dropped low. “Mama was asking for me. She needs me. And I don’t want to end up twitching on the floor, coughing up blood because she needs to communicate with me and she had no other way. I … I am being very honest with you in this regard. I don’t think I can take another vision. Things are different now. Trust me.”

The dark look on Kris’ face was borderline furious. “I don’t like it.”

“You don’t have to,” Luhan said simply. “Just respect my choice to go.”

The king was stubborn when it came to Luhan. That was what Sehun had learned about him more than anything else, but even Sehun didn’t know how the king was going to deny Luhan. Especially when Luhan had more than enough power to force his way.

“You take Xiumin,” the king said, unflinching in his ultimatum. “If you go, you have to take Xiumin. And Lay.”

“Thank you,” Luhan said softly.

“Last order of business,” Suho announced, motioning towards Baekhyun. “We need to discuss what was found by Baekhyun and Chen a few days ago.”

“Will this explain why Baekhyun is all lit up?” Luhan asked.

The bright gleam to Baekhyun’s exposed skin was something that Sehun had been doing his best to ignore. He knew that something had happened, something when he and Chen had gone to explore the cave that the book had originally been found in, but he didn’t know what that something was. Regardless, there was a soft, almost luminescent glow to Baekhyun’s skin that made him look radiant and unearthly.

“Somewhat,” Suho said, bringing a fair-sized box to the front of the room, next to where Sehun was standing. “This is what Chen and Baekhyun found.” Suho opened the box and Sehun could see five perfectly round orbs nestled in soft cloth.

“Each has a symbol on it,” Baekhyun explained. “I saw my symbol on one of them and reached for it. The second I touched it I lost control of my ability. It amplified without any extra effort on my part, and I couldn’t stop it. I was just along for the ride.”

Chen added, “I touched Baekhyun while this was happening and I felt his power surge through me. And then I lost control, too.”

Baekhyun gestured to the open spot. “A few minutes after I touched the orb with my symbol on it, it shattered into a million tiny pieces.

“There are only six,” Tao said with a frown. “Or five now. Which six symbols?”

“Mine,” Bekhyun answered him. “Commander Suho’s is also here, along with Chanyeol’s, Kai’s, Sehun’s and D.O.’s.”

“Why only six?” Tao wanted to know. “There are twelve supposed guardians.”

Baekyhun reminded, “This box was hidden. Even from me. And yes, there are twelve guardians. So if we have six orbs here, chances are there are six more still hidden.”

Luhan stepped closer to take a better look at the give remaining objects. “Then the purpose of these orbs is to boost our power?”

“To give us a fighting chance to defend Mama?” Baekhyun supposed.

“Temporary or more?”

Baekhyun shrugged. “Too soon to tell, but the spike in my ability is exceptionally great. Maybe even worriedly so. It hasn’t faded yet, either, no matter how hard I’ve been trying to get it to.”

Luhan reached out to touch Baekhyun, but stopped short. “Which of my abilities would spike if I touched you?”

“I don’t want to risk any of them,” Baekhyun returned. “Don’t touch me, okay? Don’t risk it.”

“But what if--”

Baekhyun shook his head. “I’ve thought this through.”

It was odd watching Luhan interact with Baekhyun. They seemed to understand each other with only the fewest of words spoken. They were obviously connected, but the level seemed to be profound in a lot of ways, and beyond everyone else’s comprehension.

“I’m going to the Forbidden City,” Luhan said, rounding back on the rest of them with his jaw set. “I’m going to speak with Mama. I will get us answers about this illness. I promise.”

“That isn’t the worst of our problems right now,” Baekhyun insisted, holding up a glowing hand. “This is.”

Sehun could see the fear flash across Luhan’s face.

Luhan voiced in agreement, voice cracking, “You’re right. You’re all lit up like a beacon. A beacon, Baekhyun. You’re in terrible danger.”

Chanyeol shot out, “What kind of danger?”

“We’ll figure it out,” Baekhyun said, but it was clear he wasn’t so sure.

“What kind of danger!” Chanyeol demanded.

Luhan pursed his lips for a moment, then said, “The shadows will instinctively be drawn to Baekhyun now, even more than before. He’s essentially a homing beacon. It’ll be enough to draw them out from where they’ve been hiding. They’ll be on the move.”

Carefully, Chen inquired, “What’ll happen if they get to Baekhyun, with him like this?”

Luhan shuddered. “The same thing that’ll happen to us all if we don’t figure this out.”

Flatly, Baekhyun offered, “We’ll be eaten alive.”