It turned out that Jinki didn’t appreciate not being told about the dark sorceress right away. The moment the words left Jonghyun’s lips all remaining sleep from his consciousness faded away instantly. “How long ago? The ward needs to be replenished. I have to-”

           Jonghyun gently laid a hand onto his chest, pressing him back down onto the mattress. “A few hours. I already replenished it. Relax. Minho and I are fine.”

           Jinki let out a ragged breath, relaxing against the headboard. “Where is our apprentice?”

           “He is in his room making labels for the potions he made with me.” Still seeing the tension in his lover’s jaw he cupped it gently, moving his thumb over his skin. “I would have awoken you if I felt we were in direct danger, my love. No need to fret your pretty little head about our safety right now.”

           “I knew that the King was angry that I left, I never thought it would come to dark sorcerers, the ones I worked so hard to fight against.” He covered Jonghyun’s hand on his left cheek with his own. “If you two were harmed it’d be my fault. Pardon me for being on edge, my dear.”

           Slowly, Jonghyun’s hands fell from his jaw, but only to his shoulders as he threw a leg over Jinki’s lap. He played with his hair, the small curls on the base of his neck, and brushed their noses together. He smiled sweetly as Jinki’s hands fell against his hips, squeezing them gently. “Protection is in your very being, my love. You gave up your entire livelihood to be with me. You took Minho in and protected him, kept him with us when the orphanage wanted to refuse us. And I know you’ll want to protect us from whatever that sorceress wanted today, but you must realize that I will protect you.”

           “Gosh, you’re so beautiful,” Jinki whispered, causing a soft pink to color Jonghyun’s cheeks. “I thought I was working toward something good. Using my gifts to work toward a world where small children weren’t taken in the middle of the night, where entire cities wouldn’t be cursed with a magical plague. I put all of myself into my work and it never seemed to do much of anything. It hadn’t mattered that we knew what was coming. Hadn’t mattered if I would lay in my room in that tower, exhausted for days, weeks on end. It went on to occur anyway. I decided then, that I’d put myself into something else. Someone.”

           “I hated seeing how worn down you were when we’d meet at my place. It seemed each time a little bit of your fire was dimmer.” A sweet kiss was pressed to his lips, then the tip of his nose and then on his forehead. “I never wished for the past we left behind to reach us here. We left that Kingdom for a reason. I’m so sorry, My love.”

           “I think I know why I hadn’t foreseen this, Dear one.” His left hand lifted, touching the amulet around Jonghyun’s neck. “This protects you from my reading, but also it blocks my perception of your past and future. The same with Minho. I cannot see anything in your future, Jonghyun. All I see are blurry, gray shapes, fuzzy around the edges even if I focus on them. I fear I may have to ask you both to allow me to read you.”

           “Do you really believe it’ll help?”

           “I do.” Jinki ran his thumbs over Jonghyun’s inner thighs, palms warm against him. His gaze was lowered as he confessed. “The reason I haven’t been sleeping very well, dear one, is I’ve been having dreams. Visions. Only pieces, flashes of dark images. The past usually is easier to read for me. The events having occurred already takes out the conflicting nature of the way the future can always change. These visions are of the past, I know they are, but the only part of them I can decipher, is you.”

    “Me?”

           “I cannot explain how, but I feel as certain in this as I am in the way I can touch you right now. I have to know what my visions are trying to show me. I have to read you both.”

           “You are in no condition to do it now.” His brow was crinkled, worry etched into his features, into his body language. "These dreams have drained you significantly my love. I should have felt it through our bond."

           "Another consequence of the amulet. Even if only a little, it weakens our soul bond." He slowly kissed Jonghyun, pressing further to deepen the connection. After a few moments they parted, foreheads pressed together as Jinki spoke. “After dinner, we’ll have to explain to Minho what is happening and ask for his permission to read him. Then, I’ll need your help deciphering all this.”

           “You’ll always have me.”