“A party?” Taeyong questioned.

            I could see the questions forming in his head. A party at a critical times when everyone was worried and anxious. What exactly was I thinking – they must be wondering inside their heads. I snickered and looked at Luhan who shot me a confident gaze. I tilted my head at Joonmyun and Minseok who sat beside him. The bubble in my heart almost burst when I saw the smile tugging on Minseok’s face.

            “Well, not exactly a party if you’d call it that way. It’s just a welcome drink in a private bar.”

            “I love party! I can help you decorate the place and all,” Kibum was so enthusiastic it was starting to affect me. Jonghyun shot him a look of warning so that he would shut up but Kibum would not relent. He had a vibrant personality that persisted through the gloomiest of his days and that was admirable. He must have seen the glint of playfulness in my gaze and continued with a huge grin, “And where should the party takes place?”

            “I’m glad to see that at least one person is excited,” Joonmyun tapped the table with a small smirk. He turned to Minseok and Jongdae, his eyes focused on his two brothers. One looked genuinely happy that he was so welcomed in my headquarter while the other was suspicious but kept his mouth shut. After all, Jongdae owed Joonmyun something and he was better being silenced than when he voiced his thoughts out. “Minseok, Brother, do you have anywhere you would like to go to? Jeju perhaps? Okinawa? Beijing? We can celebrate anywhere for a few days, can’t we, Sena?”

            Chanyeol opened his mouth, but Kyungsoo subtly covered it before anyone else noticed. The two of them argued quietly in the corner. Taeyong wanted to say something, but when he saw the way my eyes narrowed, he blinked and looked down obediently. Luhan was, as usual, supportive. He fully trusted me whatever I did, such that his royalty swayed towards me more than he would to the clan. Yixing, the sweetheart who never fought or argued just stared at everyone with his helpless cluelessness. I took my time observing them before nodding at Joonmyun with a sweet smile, “Yes, of course we can. You can pick a place in our territory. A few days off wouldn’t hurt, would it, boys?”

            Surprisingly, Taemin was the first who replied with a convincing grin that was so unlike him, “I’m sure everyone would like a few days off. It wouldn’t hurt. And Byun Baekhyun has been pretty… civilised with our clan these few years. Surely the Byakko won’t try to attack when we’re taking days off.” It was pretty frightening how that façade he created did not fade off. His face, especially his smile, was so childlike, but there was nothing behind that mask that would suggest so.

            Minho, Taemin’s closest comrade, nodded solemnly. “No one would reject the idea. Kibum’s pretty pumped up and so are we.”

            “Jeju sounds good,” Minseok tried to sound casual, but the excitement in his eyes were vibrant like the colour yellow. Had it been two years ago, I would still regard him highly as the leader of Genbu and a fellow warrior, but it was quite difficult to see him as the man he was after what he did to me. I glanced at Joonmyun. He understood this very well because he, too, was shunned away by the clan he grew up in. All because of Kim Minseok.

            Kim Minseok, you’re not the only one who can play dirty… I could, too. And Yoon Sena took revenge very, very seriously.

April 2018

            “You don’t seem to have much to say, Hun,” I calmly tied my hair into a tight ponytail. The curl fell onto my shoulder gracefully. Sehun was gazing at my back, as I stared back at him with a small smile from the mirror. He was holding onto two suitcases while leaning slightly onto the door frame as the sunlight hit his lean figure. The light highlighted each feature he had. It was a sight I saw everyday, and yet there was always something different – a point that fascinated me endlessly. “You didn’t even react when I announced the welcoming party during dinner.”

            Sehun stood up and walked to my side slowly. There was this air of sophistication around him – one that he was gifted and born with. Unlike Luhan’s childlike features or Jongin’s nonchalant expression, Sehun’s face was always passive, and it was rather amusing. There was this mysteriousness that surrounded him most of the time, and like most girls, I was itching to peel it off. Unravel him. To see what had made him the person he was today. But Oh Sehun was even more complicated than Joonmyun. It was hard, as it was exciting.

            “I’ve gotten used to your antiques, Sena. I won’t try to interfere ‘less something bad happens, but I doubt it,” Sehun used his fingers to twirl my hair. A smile finally graced his lips. He looked almost unearthly when he did, and it wasn’t entirely a good thing, either. I turned around, no longer facing the mirror as I let Sehun put the necklace on for me. “I realise that for you to trust me, I would need to trust you, as well. It goes two-ways, isn’t it funny? You have the capability, Sena, so go do your thing. I’ll always be here, by your side, watching.”

            “And what if I fail? What if my calculation goes wrong?”

            “It won’t, Sena,” He reassuringly said and leaned in to secure the chain. I turned sideways, watching the flutter of his eyelashes and breathed in nervously. He halted and gazed at me at that very moment. It was so weird. So, so weird how three simple words from him could calm me down so easily. He did not need to ask, nor said anything fancy and yet I believed in him. For twenty years I lived a life of betrayals and lies and I always thought that I would never be able to trust anyone, and yet here he was. Gazing at me with the softest pair of eyes I had ever seen.

            “How could you be so sure when I’m not even sure of myself? Won’t you ask me about my plan?” I tried to be stubborn, but because of the close distance, I ended up whispering. The chain of the necklace slipped down from his hands, as if he was flustered, but he quickly caught it and put it on my neck. For a split second, only the sound of breathing could be heard. Steady, slow and heavy. Inhale, exhale. It was only peaceful with him around. Sehun was the one who could assure me everything was fine even when it wasn’t.

            “I know you, Sena. You are strong and smart… and beautiful,” It sounded like an unnecessary addition, but he said it anyway. He brushed away the bangs that covered my forehead and graced my cheeks with his rough, lean fingers. I looked up and was momentarily mesmerized by the diversity in his eyes – so vast and endless and vibrant. I didn’t know why I had never noticed his eyes before – for it was always my favourite feature to observe. “And you do things others would never imagine of. It might be dangerous, and it might be madly insane, but whatever it is you plan to do, you know very well it is for the best of our clan. So I trust that you would not fail.”

            “I trust you, too, Sehun – I think you ought to know now,” I gave him a sweet smile and escaped his touch as if it burnt my skin the longer I stayed. It wasn’t uncomfortable being so close to him – in fact it was the opposite. His embrace was the warmest even when his face was always so cold. I checked the clock on the wall and hurriedly grabbed my handbag to distract my train of thoughts, “The others have taken the early flights, haven’t they? Joonmyun, Minseok and Jongdae? And the Elites?”   

            “Yes, they have. They should be arriving soon,” Sehun followed behind, dragging our suitcases down the stairs. We went inside the capsule that took us through an underground tunnel which would connect us to the outer world. Seclusion, as Kim Joonmyun suggested, was the best strategy to defend oneself. Perhaps that explained why Genbu was so good in hiding and shielding. “Sena,” He called out one more time as I looked back uncertainly, “Be strong.”

            “I am,” I replied without a pause. A Dragon must be strong enough to claw and fly freely in the open sky, and that was what I was; I was the Dragon Heiress. I was strong. I could do this.

***

            Luhan was standing at the side of the swimming pool, half his face was covered in the sunset colour. His arms were folded, and his eyebrows furrowed to paint a worried expression on his face. I stood in the room, by the glass window, basking in the light I rarely got to enjoy, before opening the door and walked up to him. He glanced at me, and he suddenly heaved in relief. It was something only Luhan did – how he made me feel so special. It was a privilege to be loved by someone like him, but it wasn’t something I would like to take advantage of.

            If I did, I would be like Jongin, and the feeling of being used of – whether voluntarily or involuntarily would leave a very bitter feeling and a scar that would last for a long time. I was cruel, but not to people I genuinely trusted and called ‘friends’. Not Luhan. I had never counted the years we were together, but it truly felt like I had known him my entire life. He was a special existence in my life, and it wasn’t in a way that words could describe.

            “What are you doing outside, Gege? You should rest,” I shielded my eyes away because the light was blinding. The resort Seiryuu owned in Jeju Island had a private house with a clubhouse in the southern part where the current was stronger, located right at the top of the cliff. It wasn’t a spot that tourists would go to, and it was perfect. There was a large infinity pool facing the direction of the horizon where the sun was setting. “Everyone is tired and I think you are, too.”

            “I’m fine. Just a little bit restless,” His childlike showed a bit of restraint.

            “Because of our plan?”

            “That, and your safety, as well,” If it had been anyone else, that would have sounded like a lie. But the way Luhan said it sounded so sincere and it flattered and flustered me, no matter how many times I heard it. I looked at his manly hands, clenching and unclenching, before gazing back at his face, “This time it isn’t your Grandfather or Baekhyun, it’s Kim Joonmyun and Genbu.”

            “Gege,” I firmly called out, but it sounded very much like a light scolding. He raised his eyebrows and waited for me to reply, “A sacrifice is necessary. This concerns fifteen thousands of our people, and the future of the world. Would you rather see the clans embroidered in a cold war, or the Third World War? I certainly do not wish for anyone else to shed more blood after what happened in Singapore, but this is the fastest and the most effective choice. I have killed five Elders before, this time it will be the same.”

            “The clan have changed your once-warm heart, Mei,” Luhan sighed, “I don’t like it, but I have vowed to follow you for the rest of my life. I am sticking to that vow, Sena. I have to protect you, no matter what.”

            I flinched, and he must have noticed it as well. “You don’t have to follow me if you dislike doing this, Ge. I can free you from your vow. I’m sorry, but I can’t be that person you want me to be. I can’t forever be the little girl who is agreeable and naïve. I have to do this. I have to give up parts of my humanity for the sake of this clan, Ge. It’s inevitable if people hate me for it, but I would do the same thing all over again if sacrificing a small group of people bring the best for our clan.”

            “That isn’t what I meant,” Luhan quickly added on, grabbing my hands in panic. His height towered over mine as I looked up. In that moment we were silent, so unlike our usual self. “I like you, Sena. I love you no matter what you have become. It doesn’t matter whether or not you would believe me, but I’m always here for you. I will always be. The vow is just a vow, but it is my lifelong wishes. That’s all I’m asking for.”

            I smiled – a slow blossoming smile that prompted him to relax, “I trust you, Ge. In this world, there isn’t anyone I would trust more than you.”

A/N: Hey you lovely readers! No worries there. I have finished Blood of Seiryuu to the epilogue. I'm just too tired to write the next story (as mentioned in the last chapter). But I think I might start writing a Sehun story because right now he is the one I have most feel for.  Thank you for all the wishes and support! See ya next chapter(s)!