Glossary

Yunho paced around his study; first, it was Jinki and the prisoner they had captured who had gone missing and now it was Taemin and from the reports he had gotten their other two friends along with him. He had read reports of Taemin being spotted near the Forest of Asala. He had no clue what his sons were planning, and from the reports and the tracks they left behind, it appeared as they were headed for the southern realm. He had an inkling that it had something to do with the prophecy, somehow linked with the prisoner, or worse the prisoner was leading his sons to their deaths, to the Kingdom of Qatem.

He knew one day, the truth would have to be disclosed; that Jinki was born on the blood moon, but seeing that Jinki possessed no power, he disregarded coming clean about the truth; because his son was not the prophesied one, and as the years passed by he gave up any hope about the prophecy. He had met all the children born on the prophesied days, had watched over them as they grew up, but he did not see any prospect of the prophecy being completed. The whisperers gave up hope too; for they had not heard anything from the gods over the years about the prophecy or had any idea how the prophecy would work.

He sighed, he should have seen this coming, seeing how interested Jinki was in the prisoner, but he had done nothing, regarding it as just general curiosity anyone would have. He had failed himself, his wife and his sons too; he had promised to protect them, to always keep them from harm’s way, but now here they were, wandering around, God knows where in the southern realm... or worse they might not have made past the barren land that divided the realms and were dead already.

He exhaled, reinforcing his resolve, he couldn’t have such thoughts, his wife was relying on him, the whole kingdom was looking up to him, he trusted his sons to be able to hold their own ground, he had raised them strong, he knew they were intelligent enough to distinguish good from bad, and he trusted they had a very compelling reason to run away as they did. All he could do now was help them and protect them in any way he could. He asked the guard stationed outside his study to call in Siwon.

“You called for me, Sire?” Siwon asked as he bowed.

“I want you to send out more men after Jinki and Taemin and the rest of the men mobilized towards Qatem.”

“Sire?” Siwon asked confused, “You want us to initiate an attack on them?”

“Yes, I do. Keep them distracted so they do not go after my sons,” He finally let the exhaustion slip in his mein as he sat down, “I know we always defend ourselves from Qatem’s men, but this time I just can’t sit by. If Daehyun gets wind that both my sons are missing he would definitely go after them, use them against me, and I will lose everything… I do not want to face the situation where I would have to choose between my sons or the Kingdom, it would tear me apart, tear this whole world apart.”

Siwon bowed deeply, “I will have the men ready to march out in an hour, Sire.”

“We should get up know,” Jinki nuzzled against Jonghyun’s neck, “Or they’ll start complaining again,” Jinki smiled when he heard Jonghyun groan.

They had fallen asleep pretty late last night, indulging in the feelings they felt for the other, exploring this new shift in their relationship. It was exhilarating, to see the same emotion, the same affection mirrored in the other’s eyes. Jinki never knew he could feel this elated by another, he could feel this enchanted by Jonghyun, the euphoria of having Jonghyun so close to himself was intoxicating.

He kissed Jonghyun’s nose gently, he placed a soft kiss on Jonghyun