“I don’t have to say those words, do I, Princess? You and I both know we are not fans of big words.”

But I miss you.

“I do not need your words, Kim Jongin. I don’t need your promise and I know you won’t stay with me forever. Just be with me for now. Even for one second, it will be enough.”

I won’t leave you, ever.

“I think… I may have liked you… a bit more than I thought I could.”

Lies.

Those words were nothing but lies… 

Kim Jongin, Yoon Sena, 2015

(23)

Two weeks later

Seoul, South Korea

                  I woke up with terrible headache. My muscles were numb and I felt weak. After waking up, I stared at the ceiling for a long time before people noticed that I had regained my consciousness. They were more ecstatic than I was and frankly speaking, I was probably the only one who regret coming back alive. I was given a second chance at living and I knew I should not waste it on Kim Jongin.

                  “Sena! You’re finally awake!” Chanyeol smiled tearily. There were light marks of scars on his arms, which was visible because he wore sleeveless shirt in the hospital. Kyungsoo sheepishly nodded at me, his forehead bruised and his lips torn. Yixing, the sweetest of the bunch, wore a thick bandage on his head, and still, he managed to put on a brave front and squeezed my hands comfortingly. Chanyeol chirped in, “Luhan was about to go insane if you didn’t wake up soon. Thank God!”

                  “Fool!” Kyungsoo hit Chanyeol’s head roughly, “That is not the way to welcome her back!”

                  I forced a laughter, but it sounded like I was forced to swallow food and it was now stuck onto my throat. My eyes twitched when I saw the two bickered about the norm and manner of formal greeting. It dawned on me that they were the only ones who came, minus Taeyong, Tao, Sehun and Luhan. I was so used to counting them by numbers that I felt strangely empty by the loss of one. “Where are the rest of you?”

                  Yixing looked at me, and what seemed to be a reflection of my eyes at first now turned to an emotion of his own. Tears came into my eyes upon the realisation that death was closer to me than I thought it was. I clenched my fists so hard that I could feel my palm bleeding from the force. I lost another. It was so bitter. “Who is it? What happened?”

                  “It’s Tao,” Yixing looked down at my hands and covered them with his. I imagined a quiet boy who was shy at first and seemed to have a hard time blending in with the others. He was getting on quite well with Chanyeol and Kyungsoo and was a dear friend to Yixing. His death must have been a hard blow because they had been together for almost all their lives. There was a serene, composed smile on Yixing’s face, “He tried to fight off the Shadow fighters and fell onto the sea with bloods all over him.”

                  It was not that hard to guess what happened next. Sharks.

                  “I am sorry. I was stupid to trust him,” I did not have the courage to face them but I had to let go of this guilt. I lost Tao and Jongin. I had to stand up and be strong. Right now everyone thought that they could step on me because I was a little girl. Unfortunately, part of me had died on that day. I would never be the same person again. I clenched my fists in newfound determination and stared at Yixing, “Where is Sehun? I need to talk to him urgently.”

                  “I am here,” Sehun showed up at the door, limping a bit as both his legs were still injured from the shots. Luhan appeared from his back with a huge grin and headed over to my bed. I stared at him unabashedly. He was bald now. And there was an ugly stitch that ran from the top of his head to the area behind his left ear. Those Shadow fighters must have wounded his skull. At first he did not notice my stare, but then he consciously touched his scar and looked down at the floor shamefully, “Ah… It’s just…”

                  “I’m sorry,” was all I could say. It was my fault I was not strong enough to protect this clan. I was too selfish to be a worthy leader for Seiryuu. “Sehun, come here. I need to talk to all of you. Someone call Taeyong here, please. It’s important. And where am I? Is this SNU Hospital?”

                  “Am here,” Taeyong’s hoarse voice was heard when the door was opened and closed with a click. We were now alone in the VVIP room, me and my Elites, missing two of us. Taeyong, unlike the other Elites, suffered minor injuries on his arms and chest. He placed the fruit basket down on the table and stood at the bedside as the two chairs were occupied by Luhan and Yixing, “You are in Ewha MMC. We can’t bring you to a hospital as famous as SNU or press will start asking questions about it.”

                  “That’s good, too,” I shrugged it off and stared at all of them. “Guys, I’m mad. I am very, very mad. I admitted that it wasn’t the smartest move to run away to Singapore, leaving our headquarter unattended. I was so stupid to have trusted Kim Jongin as my protector, and to underestimate the length Byun Baekhyun was willing to go through to plan the Third World War. It was my fault, but now I am going to make it right. I will make everything right, so let me tell you first and foremost; should any of you betray me the way Jongin did, I would not hesitate to kill you off myself and display Seiryuu’s cruelty to the world.”

                  “We have never had such thoughts, Sena. Trust us,” Sehun said almost exasperatedly. I gave him a glance and nodded. To trust or not to trust had never been a choice. Right now, I had to depend on them and use their abilities to my advantage. “I know, I just want to make sure, Hun. That was just a warning, not a suspicion, so rest assured I will not treat with cold shoulders as before unless you really have such plans in mind to betray me. I am not ungrateful, guys. I reward what should be rewarded and I punished who should be punished. Do you understand?”

                  It was a chorus of ‘yes’.

                  “Now we know that Grandfather is back and he wants me, for my blood or whatever it is. You know the myth, don’t you? My blood increases lifespan and gives suitable vessel immortality, and apparently my Grandfather is crazy enough to believe that it’s true,” My voice did not shake once when I was explaining, and they all seemed to listen very attentively. “I have to do what I need to do to protect myself, you, and everyone else in this clan, therefore, you must announce this to the whole of Seiryuu: capture the Elders for me. I will behead them publicly in the Lunar New Year.”

                  Chanyeol gasped. “Sena, they are the Elders! We can’t just behead them because we want to. What would the others think?”

                  “Let them think,” I coldly replied, “I don’t care, Yeol. I have gathered enough evidence of their betrayal. After this, the Elders shall be no more. This should teach everyone who intends to start a rebellion what it’s like to go against me. After that, we won’t be putting a defensive stance anymore. Gather all men and women of appropriate age to train. We shall crush Byun Baekhyun once and for all. Let them know the taste of revenge from the Dragon’s anger. I will not tolerate them anymore!” 

A/N: Now head over to the sequel:  

Book 2: Blood of Seiryuu