Dahyun was glad she was walking this route alone. She took the time to replenish her healing potions. There were no key ingredients in the forest, so she made do with what the pharmacies and supermarkets had. If she had gotten the mixture right, they would be half as potent as the ones she’d brought with her. So she had made twice as many. 

When the effects of the vampire venom left her, she would take the time to perform the necessary rituals to summon the correct ingredients. Her money was running low, but she would find ways to make more. There was enough to leave Korea by sea, according to the internet. She had used the plane when she had come here, which had been a terrifying experience. The highest she had ever been before was a mountain, which had itself been on the shorter side, but no less frightening to her. 

She had changed into her normal clothes, her coat over it, but her feet bare. If she needed to run, it would be better to do so without shoes. Her school uniform was being used to cushion the glassware in her bag. If she was attacked by again, her potions were sure to survive. She couldn’t say the same for herself. 

The sky was turning dark. Winter was truly coming. She felt the chill of it underneath her clothes. It was that chill that kept her alert. She was even more watchful now, almost paranoid. Any emotion that seemed wrong made her tense. In her hand was a dagger of black grief. Aside from fear, it was one of the debilitating emotions. Few could fight its grips. Dahyun wasn’t one of them. She might have to try and change that. Long-term exposure to small amounts would help. To a degree.

Then her phone rang. She let it ring once, already having an inkling for who it was. 

“Hello?” 

Nayeon’s voice filled her ears. “You’re coming, right?”

Dahyun smiled. She could see the girl’s stern gaze on the other side of the call. “Yes. Can’t you hear me?” She dropped the illusions over her footsteps. 

“Now we can.” 

A heaviness settled over her chest. Her footsteps had been silent, even for the vampires. So if she ended up having to sneak out, she’d be able to. There was little doubt in her mind about the ending to this evening. She would be leaving them. They would want her to go after she explained why she was here. A part of her longed to stay. She pushed it down. 

“See you soon,” Dahyun said. She hung up. The dagger of grief disappeared from her hands. She felt pain and her eyes burned, but it passed. Then she started walking again. 

The anticipation of the eight girls lit up the air around the house. Her legs felt weak. She wanted to turn away. This was her last chance to get far away before they realised she was gone. She even stopped to consider the option. 

“Dahyun, if you don’t come in right now, I will come after you!” She heard Chaeyoung shout. 

Tears threatened to fall. She held them back. Remembering Momo’s words, she took a deep breath. She let her feet brush over the ground as she neared the door. Without delay, the door opened to reveal Sana and Momo. She saw the relief on their faces. How long would that last? 

“Hungry?” Momo asked. “We ordered pizza.” 

She was, though she had the feeling that if she ate another meal in this house, the desire to stay would strengthen. How had she come to this point? Unwilling to leave a house full of vampires. “I’m not hungry,” Dahyun lied. Sana’s plea returned to her then.

Just don’t lie to me.A

That same girl nodded. There was no suspicion in her eyes. Sana hadn’t noticed the lie. “You look cold, come on.” She walked out and hooked her arm through Dahyun’s. Momo did the same on her other side. Dahyun wished she didn’t have to leave. 

They went in. The other six sat down either on the floor, on the sofa or the chairs. The sofa had space more than large enough for three. Sana and Momo sat, Dahyun still in between them. Everything was too comfortable, too warm—she deserved none of it. 

“Any questions?” Dahyun asked. 

“We’ll save that for later,” Jihyo said. She wore a reassuring smile.

Dahyun clenched her fists, forcing the calm within her to come to the forefront. It made her vision blue. She knew her eyes would be the same colour. She didn’t bother hiding it. “I don’t know where to start.” 

“You could try the beginning,” Sana said softly. 

Taking another breath, she let herself tune out the expectant faces of other eight people. She wouldn’t be able to start, let alone finish speaking, if she had to watch those expressions as they changed. 

“I don’t know when the fighting began exactly, but when it grew to levels that could no longer be ignored, we knew it was time to act. All I will say about that is that no side was wholly in the right.” Dahyun looked down at her hands, clasping them together so that they would not shake. “We dispersed into the human world four years ago. That is, my clan, the people who are connected to the emotional world.

“We were the main targets of the hunt—myself and another. The others knew that we were the youngest in the clan and thought we would be the easiest targets. I suppose they were right, as T…Teresa and I were captured. We’d only been in hiding for a year. Our captors, emotional and mental fairies, had discovered a way to extract emotions. We were the first to experience this process."

Dahyun tried not to dwell on the memories that came to her. Her mind felt cold. The emptiness had risen to the forefront.

"We existed between the worlds, but didn’t feel anything," She said. "You begin to feel again over time, I still don’t know how. Our mistake was to assume we were strong enough to escape as soon as we began to feel again.” She closed her eyes. Had they waited, Teresa would still have her life. “Teresa killed one of our captors, but we were overpowered before we got any further. They took our emotions again. Teresa remained conscious in that time, managing to gather enough of herself that she could maintain her physical strength, in addition to her mental. I,” she trailed off. 

Honesty. That was what she owed them. But she wouldn’t tell them the terrible details. Not the ones that would only lead to pity. Pity would cloud their judgment. What she said now would need to show them what she was really like. 

“I did not share that determination. I couldn’t handle not feeling anything. It was foolish of me. Cowardly too. But when I woke up, I did everything in my power to ensure she would be the one to survive.” She chose not to tell them how. Not to tell them the emotions she had given Teresa, ones she would never be getting back. “As you can see, I failed.” Her eyes burned. This was the story she had never wanted to tell. “Our second attempt to escape was also cut short. Rather than take our emotions, they used the opportunity to employ a new breakthrough.

“They had found a way to force emotions into the emotional world again after they’d been brought out of it. Consuming emotions as food ha