[Sehun]

From where I stood, I could sense everything.

The scent of her blood wafted to every corner of the Room, sending shivers of fear down everyone’s spines. The increasing speed of her heart rate, the erratic thumps of her heart travelled to everyone’s ears, switching on their warning bells.

I didn’t need her eyes to dart to me for I was by her side in a split second, my legs carrying me to her on their own accord. I heaved her into my arms, resting her lolling head onto my chest.

“S-Sehun…” Her voice was weak, as opposed to her ever-increasing heart rate whose sounds continued to invade my eardrums. “H-He took–”

“Oh Jaehyun!” My head snapped up to him, my eyes flaring and the rage ignited my inherited superiority. “How dare you!”

“Oh, I dare.” He replied, his tone light as though a single ounce of fear never seeped into his system. “If I have dared to put the King down like this, how could I be scared of taking away the Princess’ ability?”

“You!”

He chuckled, and I noticed his fingers tightening their grip around my father’s neck. As I looked upon him, a million questions ran through my head. Why, appa, why aren’t you fighting back? Why are you letting him put you down like this? Whatever happened for you to be like this?

Why?

“My dear nephew, do you feel pained to see your father kneeling like this? Do you believe that I’m the one who’s keeping him in this position because at this very moment, your King is on the brink of death.”

D-Death? Appa is dying...?

“You’re l-lying!” I yelled, tears beginning to form at the back of my eyes. “Appa can’t die!”

“Oh, but he is!” The man gleefully informed, too gleefully for that matter of fact. “You see, this terrible gash on his head has been–”

“No, you couldn’t have.” Uncle Hanxi’s deadly whisper echoed within the Room. “You couldn’t have!”

“But I could have,” He replied, a hint of smugness in his tone. “And I did.”

Uncle Hanxi’s wail of anguish made me jump and as my mind whirred for reasons as to why he responded like that, a soft sniffle alerted me to the girl in my arms; Sera, too, was crying. Sounds of varying degrees of screams and wails travelled to my ears, no doubt that the others have caught on to what the Great Vampire Healer had realised. I whipped my head to Yixing-hyung, hoping that he’d be able to answer the single burning question in my head.

His eyes were red, swollen, and his face was contorted into a mixture of fury and sadness. His mouth then formed the fatal word.

“Silver.”

I could no longer think straight.

[Sera]

I knew what he had done.

I knew what had happened before chaos erupted, before fangs elongated, before eyes turned dark, before hearts raged, before the numerous fights broke out, before unnecessary blood was spilt, before tears were shed, before wails of anguish echoed off the Room’s walls.

Before all hell broke loose.

[Sehun]

“Oh Jaehyun!”

That was the last thing I remembered screaming before I vanished. Before something washed over me, wrenching my consciousness from me as I struggled to keep it within me but my effort was for naught as it forcefully took it from me.

I remembered nothing after that.

I can’t see anything. Yet, spots of light began to appear on me and I found myself standing over a boy whose doe eyes stared at me, the emotions of extreme fear and resignation swimming in them. My breaths were ragged, my fangs painfully stabbing my lower lip, my palms hurting from my long nails. My hands were stained with blood, and one slight whiff greatly sent me reeling.

What… W-What just happened?

Why am I about to kill Kyungsoo-hyung?

[Kyungsoo]

I stared up at him, his glazed eyes looking down on me, a smirk so smug etched on his face. I gulped, fear of death surging within me. There’s no way I can survive this, there’s no ing way I’d live.

Not when my opponent is the Prince.

His eyes met with mine.

I blinked and instantly found myself thrown backwards, a vice grip on my throat. His fingers wound themselves tightly around my neck, nails digging painfully into my flesh.

“S-Sehun! What the hell–”

My breath left me, the air in my lungs being pushed out as he slammed me against the wall. The back of my head ing hurt, causing me to see stars yet the moment I rested my eyes on his, I knew what had happened.

I’ve seen this plenty of times, I’ve experienced it some times. And there’s no escaping it once it got you.

There’s no freeing yourself.

Fine, so be it. You want to play, Oh Jaehyun?

Let’s have fun.

Unleashing my ability, I aimed a well-placed kick to his stomach. He grunted loudly, fingers unwrapping themselves from my throat and I dropped to the floor. I barely had time to catch my breath when the wind began to blow and I knew something was coming.

I hurriedly punched the floor, splintering the lacquer and