Glossary

Jinki gasped for air, scrambling up to sit as his consciousness slowly drifted back in.

“Take it easy, brother.” Taemin said, Jinki’s back, his power rolling off his palm in small blue waves, calming Jinki.  “They used a psychedelic to knock us out, it should take a few moments.” He moved his palm to Jinki’s nape, “There, feel better?” he asked.

“Yes,” Jinki said, feeling the unusual sensitivity of his mind dwindling. “Jonghyun?” he asked immediately, looking for the other. Before he had out, he had felt Jonghyun slipping down from the saddle, falling.

“I am here,” and as soon as Jonghyun kneeled down in front of Jinki, he was pulled into a hug by the other. He smiled, Jinki’s back, “I am fine,” he said softly.

“Where are we?” Jinki asked as he looked around their confinement, the light filtering through the small windows situated so high almost close to the ceiling, illuminated their surroundings dimly. Seeing how worn out the high stone walls were, he guessed they were confined inside a storage room of sorts. “And do we know who they are? They did not look like my father’s men.”

“They are not the my father’s soldiers either,” Jonghyun confirmed.

“So you were right, there are people who live in Shaerir.” Kibum commented, “But why would-” he paused when he heard the loud screech of the door being pushed open.

A dozen men infiltrated the room and immediately restrained them, tying their hands with the pieces of rope they carried.

“Move.” One of the men grunted as he pushed Jinki in the direction of the door. They walked a narrow and long winding path through the forest which eventually unfurled into a village. The sun had set a while back, and they could see the numerous lamps that lit the many homes in the village. At the center of it was a huge tree with different colored stone embellishments that went all around it. As soon as they stepped into the village they saw a few people follow them and the rest gather around the tree. The five of them were pushed down on their knees in front of the tree.

A few minutes later, a sturdy looking man walked from in-between the crowd and sat down on one of the stones in front of them. “Who are you?” he asked them in a low voice.

“We are just travellers passing through,” Jinki spoke up.

“Travellers?” The man scoffed, “We never get travellers here, I’ll ask you again, who are you?” He gestured to one of the men behind their prisoners.

Jinki felt a strong kick on his shin, making him stumble forward, “Like I said,” Jinki breathed out, “We are just mere travellers, we mean-”

“He’s lying! They definitely are here to get another offering.” Someone from the gathered crowd spoke out loud.

Jonghyun’s eyes widened at that, They think we are my father’s men. Soldiers from the Kingdom of Qatem. He informed Jinki using his powers, speaking to Jinki through his thoughts. “We are not from Qatem, nor are we here to take anyone’s life.” Jonghyun spoke up, trying to clear the misunderstanding.

“Why should I believe you?” The man said folding his hands across his chest. “Men from across the barren land, Khaeyr, have only brought death along with themselves.” He got up, “Every being from the northern realm is our enemy.” He motioned to the men standing guard, “Take care of this.”

“Wait,” Jonghyun exclaimed, feeling the situation slip away from him. “I know you’ve been wronged, and your hostility is expected, but we aren’t those men. We… “ he hesitated looking at the others, “We are here to end the beast… that demon. We are not here to harm your people.” Jonghyun pleaded, as he felt the tip of a sword press into his neck.

“Wronged is too small to define what has been done to us.” The man turned around, “You knowing about the beast proves you are one of those filthy scoundrels, stealing our children… our people, so that you can fuel your sinful souls.”

“Listen to me,”  Jinki heard Jonghyun’s voice in his mind as well, he could see how frantic and distraught Jonghyun was, making him lose control over his power. “I can prove we are not.” He saw Jonghyun stumble towards him, his tied up hands held out in front of him as he moved on his knees.

Jonghyun opened Jinki’s shirt revealing the mark on his chest, doing the same to himself. “Look,” he said, “We are not those men, we are not here to hurt you.”

Jinki heard a murmur arise in the crowd, he saw the man retrace his steps, grabbing a lamp from one of the guards, and crouched down in front of them. By the gods, Jinki heard him mutter under his breath as he examined the mark on him and then move on to Jonghyun.

“Bring them,” The man finally said before he walked away.

They were led to a rather large mansion, surrounded by high fences which had guards at every door, the r