Sighing in frustration, Seolhyun shoved her hands into the pockets of Chanmi’s hoodie and scanned the night sky. Stars broke up the darkness, some shining more brightly than the others. The last time she’d seen the dark sky had been a week ago. She’d been behind the dining hall, holding Chanmi’s cold body.

Chanmi.

She swallowed the rising tide of sorrow and regret before it consumed her again, by focusing on something that had been nagging her since the funeral. Why in the world would Jonghoon have the symbol of the God of Peaceful Death tattooed on his arm? And wasn’t he the same God that old book had claimed was responsible for killing Solaris and the First Elpis?

“You okay?”

Every muscle in Seolhyun’s body locked up. She reminded herself that it was only going to take nine hours to get to Inwangsan, nine hours stuck in a car with the girl she loved, the girl she’d practically begged to love her in return.

This was going to be easy. Yeah, really easy.

“Seolhyun?”

She turned around. Hyejeong was tucking her suitcase into the back of the Jeep, watching Seolhyun over her shoulder. It was really hurt to just look at her face. “Yeah, I was just thinking.”

“Is this all your stuff?”

Nodding, Seolhyun kicked the toe of her shoe along the asphalt. She needed to act normal or this was going to be the longest car ride of her life. “Does Jisoo know you’re leaving for weeks?”

A few seconds passed before Hyejeong answered. “Yes. She’s doing okay, thanks to Jennie.” She shut the rear door. “She wanted me to tell you that she’ll be taking care of Lisa while you’re gone.”

Seolhyun faced her, keeping her eyes trained on Hyejeong’s shoulder, which was one really nice shoulder to lean on, when she spotted a silver chain around her neck. It disappeared under her sweater. Odd, Hyejeong never wore jewelry. “Tell her I said thanks.”

Hyejeong nodded as she headed around to the side of the vehicle, but then she stopped so unexpectedly that Seolhyun bounced off her back. She turned and caught her arm, setting her right. Their eyes met for a fraction of a second, and then she dropped Seolhyun’s arm.

She stepped back. “I don’t know what you were thinking.” She broke off, glancing toward Yonghwa, who waited at the entrance gate of the Ephensy.

“We just wanted to get some drinks from the cafeteria.” Seolhyun swallowed, but the lump in didn’t go away. “We were going to watch movies.”

“Are we ready?” called Yonghwa. “We should be leaving now if we want to reach Seoul before noon.”

“Yeah.” Hyejeong turned away, but then faced Seolhyun again. “Seolhyun?”

Slowly, she lifted her eyes to hers. That turned out to be a mistake of epic extent. A different kind of hurting opened up in her chest.

Hyejeong’s gaze drifted across her face. “I’m… so, so sorry about Chanmi. I know how much she meant to you.”

Seolhyun couldn’t look away, couldn’t say a word.

Hyejeong glanced over her shoulder and when she turned back to Seolhyun, her eyes shone bright silver in the dim light. “Don’t… don’t ever do anything like that again. Please. Promise me.”

Seolhyun wanted to ask why she’d care even if she threw herself in front of a Demon, but those words didn’t come out. “I promise.”

Hyejeong watched her a moment longer, and then broke away. After that, they climbed into the car. Seolhyun took a seat in the back while Hyejeong slid into the one in front of her. Yonghwa drove and the other Guard took the seat next to Seolhyun.

Leaning her head back against the seat, Seolhyun closed her eyes and wondered how she’d ended up in the car while Jimin got the private jet with Jonghyun, Heechul, and the Council members. They’d flown out this morning. Myx, even Linuses, usually didn’t get seats on the planes, but an exception had been made for Jimin.

Car rides typically turned Seolhyun into a whiny five-year-old, but she was too tired to really complain about it. With all the sleeping she’d been doing, she probably should’ve been wide awake for days, but she drifted off quickly.

She woke up about two hours in when they stopped to get gas in the rest area. The Guard went into the shack of a gas station, while Yonghwa headed to the convenience store. Seolhyun climbed out to stretch her legs. She strolled around the rear of the Jeep and found Hyejeong leaning against the bumper.

She looked up when Seolhyun stopped beside her. Her eyes were nearly the same color as the moonlight. “If you want to get something to eat, Yonghwa or the Guard will get it for you.” She rolled a bottle of water between her hands.

“I’m not hungry.” Seolhyun moved past her, hopping up on the rock and placing one foot in front of another. “So… has Heechul confirmed that the Linus was responsible for the first attack?”

“There’s no way to really confirm that, Seolhyun. We believe so. Another round of searches is being conducted, to make sure Kyra was the one.”

Seolhyun reached the end of the path. “I guess now I understand why the searches were so important. They missed her, and look what happened. The Guards at the bridge, they probably didn’t expect anything when she showed up.”

“No. And the Demons are obviously getting smarter. She was on and off the campus a lot, making her a prime candidate. And her tags weren’t visible.”

Turning to face her, Seolhyun found Hyejeong staring at her.

She glanced away as a strange, almost sad look crept across her face. Pushing off the bumper of the car, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “You and Jimin seem to be getting along a lot better.”

Seolhyun frowned at the change in subject. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Hyejeong stopped in front of her. “That’s a huge improvement from wanting to stab her in the eye.”

Even though Seolhyun stood on the rock, Hyejeong was still taller than her. She tipped her head back, meeting her pale gaze. “Why do you even care?”

Hyejeong’s brows rose slightly. “It’s just a statement, Seolhyun. Has nothing to do with me caring or not.”

Seolhyun felt her cheeks burn as she nodded stiffly. “Yeah, I think I grasped the whole caring and not caring topic.” She hopped off and inched around the gas pumps.

Hyejeong followed behind her. “I saw you two at the funeral. She was there for you. I think that’s good. Not just for you, but for her. I think you’re the only person Jimin cares about besides herself.”

Seolhyun stopped, wanting to laugh. Confused by what Hyejeong was getting at, she started walking again. “Jimin always cares about herself. That’s about it.”

“No.” She followed her movements, meeting up with Seolhyun at the edge of the pumps. “She rarely left your side. Jimin wouldn’t allow anyone, not even me, near you.”

Seolhyun whipped around, surprised. “You stopped by to see me?”

Hyejeong nodded. “Several times, actually, but Jimin was determined that you needed time to come to grips with everything. That doesn’t sound like someone who cares only about herself.”

“Why would you come see me?” Seolhyun stepped toward her, hope and excitement building inside. “You told me you didn’t care about me.”

Hyejeong fell back a step, clenching her jaw. “I never said I didn’t care about you, Seolhyun. I said I couldn’t love you.”

Seolhyun flinched, cursing herself for the stupid window of hope she’d allowed to open. Smiling tightly, she headed back to the car and slammed the door shut behind her.

Unfortunately, Hyejeong followed her. She got in the seat in front of Seolhyun and turned around. “I’m not trying to fight with you.”

Her temper and hurt feelings took over. “Then maybe you should try not talking to me. Especially when you sound like you’re trying to pawn me off on another girl.”

Hyejeong’s eyes snapped alive, flaring in the darkness. “I’m not trying to pawn you off on someone. You were never mine to do so.”

Seolhyun leaned forward, fingers digging into her thighs as she spoke in a whisper thick with pain. “I was never yours? You should’ve thought about that before you stripped me almost in your room!”

Hyejeong in air sharply, then her eyes shuttered to a dull gray. “It was a temporary loss of sanity.”

“Oh.” Seolhyun gave a harsh laugh. “Did your temporary loss of sanity last several months? Did it make you say all those things to me at the zoo? Did it–”

“What do you want me to say, Seolhyun? That I’m sorry… for leading you on?” Hyejeong paused, visibly trying to hold in her anger and frustration. “I am. Okay? I’m sorry.”

“I didn’t want you to say that,” Seolhyun whispered, stomach tumbling over.

Hyejeong closed her eyes and shook her head. “Look, you don’t need this right now. Not after everything with Chanmi and with us going to the Council. So, just stop.”

Before Seolhyun could respond, Yonghwa and the Guard returned, putting an end to this. She threw herself against the seat and glared at the back of Hyejeong’s head. Seolhyun knew Hyejeong could feel her staring holes into her, because she sat stiffly with eyes forced front.

After seven more hours of hell, they to a winding road lined with towering pines and spruce trees so thick it reminded her of a Christmas tree. They were deep in the mountain of Inwangsan. About a mile in, a fence poked out, surrounding what she assumed was the perimeter of the Seoul Ephensy.

Seolhyun snorted. “Nice security.”

Hyejeong turned halfway around. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Seolhyun ignored her and leaned forward, seeing nothing more than a wire fence and trees. Maybe it was one of those fences that electrocuted people, because she’d really expected more than this.

Then she saw the Guards standing in front of the fence, armed with what looked like dangerous weapons. Her eyes widened as they leveled the guns at their vehicle. Yonghwa slowed down as the four Guards approached them cautiously.

“Seolhyun, take your hair down,” Hyejeong said quietly.

Seolhyun didn’t understand why, but the seriousness in Hyejeong’s tone told her not to fool around. She unraveled the messy bun, letting it fall around her face. Yonghwa rolled down all the windows, and at once, the Guards peered inside the vehicle, searching each of them… for visible tags.

Seolhyun shrank back, but met the tan-skinned Guard’s intense gaze as he looked her over once, then twice. The tags felt like they were burning under the mass of heavy hair. She wasn’t sure what they would’ve done if they’d seen the scars. Shoot her?

Not quickly enough, they gestured at the one Guard who remained back. The tall gate shuddered and creaked opened.

Seolhyun let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “Am I supposed to keep my hair down the entire time I’m here?”

Hyejeong glanced back at her, lips forming a hard, tight line. “No. But I’d rather you not provoke the grumpy Guards.”

Seolhyun could understand that, she guessed.

They rolled through the gate and went another half a mile down the road before the trees started thinning out. She leaned back as the Seoul Ephensy finally came into view.

Well, the similar, gigantic wall made out of white marble welcomed them.

After passing another set of Guards, they finally entered the grounds. It didn’t look much different than their Busan branch. There were statues of Gods everywhere, except where in Busan stood among the sand, here rose up from the greenest grass Seolhyun had ever seen.

The first building she got to see was a mansion, the kind she didn’t expect to see in the middle of the mountain. She counted five stories, several all-glass rooms, and possibly a ballroom with a skylight dome by the time the car stopped in front of the sandstone lobby.

Seolhyun started to follow them, but Hyejeong stopped her. “Seolhyun, hold on a second.”

Her fingers froze on the handle. “What?”

“Don’t do anything here to draw unwanted attention.”

“I don’t plan on it.”

“I’m being serious, Seolhyun.” Hyejeong’s eyes met with hers. “No one here will be as forgiving as your uncle or stepfather. I can imagine that they won’t go easy on you when you have your session. Some of the Council… well, they’re not fans of yours.”

An ache throbbed in Seolhyun’s chest in response to Hyejeong’s clipped, professional tone. She had no idea where the tender Hyejeong had gone, the one who’d sworn to always be there for her, the one who’d gently calmed her when she’d freaked out in trainings. Gods, there were so many more moments, but all of them were gone.

Hyejeong was gone. Like Chanmi, but in a different way. She’d lost both of them.

She faced the window, sighing. “I didn’t expect them to. I’ll behave. You don’t have to worry about me.” She started to open the door again.

“Seolhyun?”

Slowly, she turned to her. Hyejeong wasn’t so guarded in that instant, and a deep, unsettling pain reflected in her gaze. There was more, almost like an uncertainty. But she pulled it together, like slipping on a well-worn mask of indifference, shuttering any and all emotions.

“Just be careful.” Her voice was strangely hollow.

Seolhyun wanted to say something, anything, but activities outside the car made that impossible. Servants descended on the Jeep, opening doors and retrieving luggage. dropped open as one, a light-haired boy about her age, opened her car door. A black circle with a slash through it had been tattooed onto his forehead.

Seolhyun glanced at Hyejeong and saw her gaze still fastened on her. She gave her a strained smile before climbing out. Seolhyun couldn’t help but wonder if the doubt she’d seen in her face had anything to do with it.

She was given a room on the fifth floor, one that connected to Heechul’s room. Or at least, that was what Myx doorman inside the mansion said before stepping back into the shadows. She really had no clue, so she just followed the blond boy.

They crossed the grand lobby. To their left was the entrance to what appeared to be the ballroom, but the twinkling lights didn’t hold her attention. Right in the middle of the room was the very same statue that stood in the Ephensy lobby in Busan.

Furies.

in a sharp gasp, Seolhyun hurried around the statues to catch up with the Myx servant. They went up several steps, and she couldn’t deal with the silence any longer. “So… um, how do you like it here?” She asked as they stepped into a narrow hallway with several paintings.

The boy kept his eyes fastened on the carpet.

Okay… so was there some sort of ‘no talking’ rule here. Seolhyun glanced at the paintings, mentally listing the Gods as they passed them; Zeus, Hera, Artemis, Hades, Apollo, Demeter, Thanatos, Ares– wait. Thanatos?

Seolhyun stopped to get a closer look at his painting.

He had wings and a sword. Thanatos looked like a pretty rocking angel, actually. But he shared the same mournful look the cemetery Thanatos had had on his face as he gazed upward. Why would Thanatos, who wasn’t one of the major Olympian Gods, have his picture here among them?

An opening door drew her attention from the painting. She glanced over her shoulder. The Myx servant held the door open, eyes downcast.

Seolhyun pursed her lips, scanning the dull-white walls within. A closet would have been too nice of a description for this thing considered a room. She walked in as the servant placed her luggage inside the door.

There was a bed, a twin size bed covered with an itchy-looking brown blanket and one flat pillow. A tiny bedside table offered a rusty lamp. It took Seolhyun two seconds to cross the room and peek inside the bathroom. It was the size of a coffin.

Her eyes fell over the dirty mirror, and rust stains surrounding the drain in the shower stall. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” she muttered.

“They expect you to sleep in this room, on that bed?”

Jumping at the unexpected sound of Jimin’s voice, Seolhyun’s hip slammed into the washbasin. “Gods!”

Jimin stood at the foot of the bed. It’d only been a day since she’d seen her, but strangely, it felt longer than that. Her hair was down, curving around her chin. And she wore jeans and a plain black sweater.

Seolhyun was kind of glad to see her. “Yeah, this room .” She left the bathroom.

Jimin strolled to a door on the other side of the bed. She reached down, throwing the lock. “I guess that’s not the closet?”

“Nope, that’s the door to Heechul’s room.”

She arched a brow. “They gave you a servant’s room?”

“Nice.” Seolhyun looked around, discovering there wasn’t even a closet in the room, or a dresser. “Why did you lock it?”

Jimin threw her a mischievous grin. “I can’t have Heechul just walking in on us. What if I want to snuggle on these cold Seoul nights?”

Seolhyun’s frown increased. “We don’t snuggle.”

She dropped her arm over Seolhyun’s shoulder like she usually did, and the scent of mint and something wild tickled Seolhyun’s nose. “How about we cuddle?”

“We don’t do that either.”

“But you’re my cuddle buddy. My Elpis cuddle–”

Seolhyun punched her in the side.

Laughing, Jimin steered her toward the door. “Come on, I want to show you something.”

“What?”

Jimin removed her arm and captured Seolhyun’s hand. “The Council is starting their first session at one today. I think we should go watch it.”

“That sounds boring.” Seolhyun let Jimin drag her out of the room, though. It wasn’t like she had anything else to do.

“We could always practice?” Jimin pulled her into the stairwell, taking several steps at a time. “I’m feeling bored. I haven’t thrown fireballs at anyone’s head lately.”

“That sounds more interesting than watching a bunch of Genuines claim how great they and their laws are.” Seolhyun scowled.

Jimin raised a brow at her and then continued down the steps. In the stairwell they passed several servants in drab clothing. Each of them looked down. Seolhyun watched them lift their heads once they’d passed them.

“Come on. We’re going to miss it.” Jimin tugged on her hand. “Anyway, the Council session should be interesting. It’s a hearing.”

“I thought mine was the only hearing?”

“No.” Jimin led her around the west side of the mansion. “There are several hearings. You are one of many.”

Seolhyun started to respond, but they stepped around back and her lips clamped shut. A labyrinth of waist-high marble walls separated them from the Greek style coloseum. Bright flowers, all in full bloom, sprung from the vines that covered everything in front of them in a mass of vibrant red and green. “Wow.”

Jimin chuckled. “If you stay on this pathway it leads straight to the Council.”

Seolhyun glanced down several of the walkways that branched off the main one. “Is it a real labyrinth?”

“Yes. But I haven’t checked it out.”

“Looks kind of fun, don’t you think?” Seolhyun looked at her. “I’ve never been in a labyrinth before.”

A real smile replaced the smug one. “Maybe we can come to play in the labyrinth.”

Seolhyun got kind of lost in the scenery for a while. How in the world did the Genuines manage to keep these fragile flowers alive all year round? It had to be magic, old magic. The deeper they moved down the pathway, the thicker the vines grew and when they neared the end, Jimin slowed.

“We have to sneak in,” she said. “We aren’t really supposed to be listening to the Councils.”

“And if we get caught?”

“We won’t.”

Trusting Jimin felt strange, mainly because Seolhyun did… trust her. Not in the same way she would have placed her life in Hyejeong’s hands, but almost there, almost.

Behind several thick columns made of stone, Themis, the Goddess of Justice, stood at the entrance to the coloseum. She was quite formidable with that sword in one bronzed hand and balanced scales held high in the other, but her presence seemed kind of ironic to Seolhyun… that the Genuines knew nothing of balanced justice.

The building was something straight out of ancient Greece. Hidden as the Seoul Ephensy was, they could get away with designs not normally found in neighborhoods boasting Starbucks and fast food joints.

She followed Jimin and they slipped through the side entrance used by the servants. Most of the Myxs they passed sent their eyes to the ground as they carried plates of appetizers. Seolhyun had a hard time looking at them, harder than she’d realized she would. Back home, they rarely saw so many. They were kept separate from them, as if the Busan Ephensy didn’t want them to see what the other side was truly like.

The icky feeling in the pit of her stomach was hard to acknowledge. Jimin led her past several small doors. “Stairs– more stairs? Would it kill them to put a damn elevator in one of the buildings?”

Jimin shrugged. “Maybe they think the Gods would be unhappy with elevators.”

“That’s stupid.” The long car ride had made Seolhyun’s legs feel like jelly.

“We only have to go up six more. I promise.”

“Six?”

“Come on,” Jimin urged, tugging on Seolhyun’s hand. “We’re going to miss it.”

With surprising effort, she refocused on Jimin’s back and started up the stairs again. The line of Jimin’s shoulders seemed unnaturally tense.

At the landing to the sixth floor, Jimin inched open a door. “You ready?”

“I guess.”

“We have to keep back, but we should be able to see everything from here.” Jimin motioned her through.

Seolhyun stepped onto what turned out to be a balcony overlooking the Council below. She started forward, but Jimin pulled her back.

“No.” Her breath stirred the hair around Seolhyun’s ear. “We have to stay back against the wall.”

Seolhyun wiggled free. “Can I sit?”

Jimin smiled gamely. “Of course.”

Seolhyun slid down the wall and stretched out her aching legs. Jimin did the same, managing to be as close as possible. She elbowed her, but Jimin only grinned. “So what’s the big deal?”

“Aren’t you at all interested in the Council hearing?”

Seolhyun faced the Council below, fiddling with the string on Chanmi’s hoodie. ‘Interested’ wasn’t the word that came to mind, well, ‘terrified’ seemed more accurate. Leaning forward, she scanned the crowds through the gaps of the balcony railings.

A sea of red, blue, green, and white moved around the floor, taking seats with others who wore the same colored robes. She looked at the white robes and saw a redhead moving with the grace of a ballerina through the mass of Genuines.

“Jasmine Park,” Seolhyun whispered. She made white sheets look good.

Jimin leaned forward. “You know her?”

“Rose is her sister. Do you think she’s here with Jasmine?” Seolhyun paused, remembering how Rose had fought beside her. “I… I’d like to talk to her.”

“She didn’t come, but she did stop by your room after… everything.”

“She did?” Surprised, Seolhyun turned to Jimin. “That’s surprising. Did… she look okay?”

“Her arm was broken and she was a little bruised up, but she’ll be okay.”

Seolhyun nodded, back to the balcony below as she watched Jasmine sit down and smooth the robe out around her. She kept looking around, looking for someone. Before Seolhyun could really study any more of the Council Genuines, she realized that non-Council members were also in attendance.

Toward the back, sat Heechul and a ra