[CONTENTID1]Pink Camellia[/CONTENTID1]

[CONTENTID2]Chapter Twenty-Five[/CONTENTID2]

[CONTENTID3]

Seulgi strode through the hallways of her former prison with newfound enthusiasm. She hadn’t felt so excited in years. Her fingers were itching for revenge, dark magic thrumming through her veins and begging to be set free to cause chaos and destruction. It wanted to be unleashed at once. Seulgi passed a few clan members who were absurdly oblivious to her plan and didn’t pay her any mind. They would soon come to regret chaining her down and using her for a whole century. They would pay for their mistake. Filthy vampires.

A smirk played with her dark red lips. Seulgi would destroy Aeri and everything she held dear—she would start with the supposed love of her life or rather, her obsession. Seulgi rolled her eyes. There was no other way to describe it. Aeri was obsessed and her greed and selfishness would be her downfall.

Seulgi descended a stairway and walked towards a heavy wooden door. Not bothering to knock, she entered and found herself inside a dark room. Moonlight fell through the windows and illuminated the silhouette of a man sitting on the edge of the bed. She the light, watching him with an unreadable gaze. He didn’t react to her presence. The curse’s power over him must have increased further, as it was usually the case when it was in effect for a while. His lifeless eyes were fixed on the opposite wall.

“Did Aeri tell you to stay here?” Seulgi asked, striding closer and halting in front of him so that he was inadvertently looking at her. He didn’t answer, prompting her to sigh. “You must have pissed her off earlier. Her insufferable screaming could be heard in the entire building. I would have loved to shut that up.”

At that, his emotionless mask cracked, showing a glimpse of his old self. It was fleeting, but Seulgi preferred this over no reaction at all.

“It’s your lucky day. You will be free soon.” She held up her palm in front of him, summoning the darkness that dwelled within him. An eerie glow manifested over his chest as she drew the curse away from his body. It was tenacious—even Seulgi struggled to remove it. The darkness clung to him like glue, but she was persistent and forced it to obey her command.

“Disperse,” she ordered, her voice deeper than normal. The black smoke surrounding him disappeared into thin air—and the curse was no more.

Baekhyun took a deep breath and put his hand on his chest which suddenly felt lighter. Clear blue eyes focused on Seulgi, filled with mistrust and confusion. The absence of the curse allowed him to see the events of the past days in a different light. He was free of the shackles that had controlled his mind but even so, he didn’t understand the reasoning behind Seulgi’s action.

“Why did you remove the curse? You were the one who cast it in the first place,” he growled suspiciously and got up.

“I’m not doing this for your sake,” Seulgi said in painful honesty, resting her hand on her hip. “I have an agreement with your soulmate, and now it’s fulfilled. You are free to leave and I suggest you do so.”

Baekhyun was torn between asking another burning question and searching for Yoonhee. His turmoil showed in his ruby eyes.

“I want to make one thing clear,” Seulgi added. Malicious joy and anticipation flickered over her face. “Aeri’s head is mine. I will kill her and you won’t interfere.”

Baekhyun snorted, surprised at the sudden revelation. “Oh, I wasn’t planning to. Saves me the trouble of doing it myself. She deserves hell for what she did to Yoonhee, don’t go easy on her.”

“I will send her to hell, don’t worry,” Seulgi replied frigidly. “I have despised her for a century, and she’ll face all of my pent-up rage.”

Baekhyun narrowed his eyes when he saw darkness crawling over the witch’s shoulder. He wasn’t about to get in her way, especially not after he had experienced her magic firsthand. It had been frighteningly strong. Seulgi was not someone he wanted to make an enemy of… He was astonished that Yoonhee had made a deal with her, but it must have been the only way to get out of this mess.

“You’re ambitious. Taking on an entire clan by yourself is insane… do you have a death wish?” he muttered. Baekhyun couldn’t imagine how she wanted to do it.

“My strategy is foolproof. It involves a binding curse and fire, that’s all you need to know. Vampires burn like tinder,” she giggled, the sound making him cringe. Seulgi’s smile vanished abruptly as her serious façade returned. “You have ten minutes to leave the mansion before I cast the spell. I suggest you hurry up. Nobody will leave this place alive after my spell is finished,” she said and pretended to glance at her non-existent wristwatch. “Time is ticking.”

Baekhyun didn’t wait another second. He brushed past her and ran so fast that he became a blur. His feet carried him to the next floor, to the room Yoonhee was confined to. Heart racing in his chest, he kicked the door open, letting it hit the wall with force. His eyes widened as he came to a terrible realization. Yoonhee was not here.

Yoonhee was desperate. She used the very last bits of her magic to escape her prison undetected. No sound could be heard as she hurried through the unfamiliar hallways in search of Seulgi and Baekhyun. She didn’t know the layout of the building at all and had to depend on sheer luck to find them. To make matters worse, she had to avoid the other clan members in the mansion and Aeri herself. Yoonhee’s heart was beating so fast and so loud, had she not used a silencing spell, everyone would have sensed it. Her injured ankle gave her trouble as she walked, so she didn’t put much weight on it.

A noise from the staircase up ahead startled her. Panicking, her eyes searched for a hiding spot, discovering a door right next to her. She hobbled towards it, ripped it open and hid in the empty room beyond it. Immediately, she let herself fall to the ground and hugged her knees. Loud footsteps neared her. Had someone already noticed her escape? Would they punish her?

Out of fear, she scooted backward and pressed herself against the wall behind the door. She made herself as small as possible—but the vampire outside had already heard her since her spells didn’t work on him.

The door was kicked open and the ensuing noise made her flinch. A dark silhouette appeared before her. Glowing ruby eyes nailed her to the ground. They were so vivid that she thought she was drowning in a sea of red. She didn’t move at all, leaving it to the vampire to bridge the distance between them. He scooped her up in his arms, cradling her to his chest with astounding gentleness. Her body relaxed as she realized who he was. Her fear evaporated.

“Yoonhee,” he exhaled, so full of relief.

Tears gathered in her eyes. “You remember me,” she whispered. She sensed no more dark magic within him, and his eyes were no longer dull but shining with anger and worry. A sense of foreboding befell Yoonhee—even before Baekhyun voiced his concerns, she knew something was wrong.

“Seulgi is causing trouble, she wants to take revenge on everyone. We need to leave now.”

He lent her a hand and pulled her up, sharp eyes taking note of her injured ankle. His movement was faster than lightning, and before she understood what he was doing, he had already picked her up and stormed out of the room. She yelped and wrapped her arms around his neck—if he was in such a hurry, they didn’t have much time left… Her fear returned. What if, despite everything, they would die in this house?

Baekhyun held her in a tense grip while he hurried around a corner—they had to reach the ground floor quickly! A loud bang sounded from below, followed by a shout. Baekhyun didn’t like the commotion he heard and decided it was safer to choose a different way outside.

“, we can’t go downstairs,” he growled.

“How much time do we have?” Yoonhee asked. She shuddered as terror gripped her. The exit was nowhere near them, how should they—

“Minutes, at most,” he replied. She blanched when the cold sensation of dark magic washed over her. Seulgi was casting another spell.

“Hurry!” she called.

Baekhyun kicked down the next door he saw, entered an empty guest room and strode to the window, ripping it open. He put one leg over its ledge and shifted her body in his arms, holding her securely. It was a two-story drop; nothing of consequence for a vampire. Yoonhee held on to his neck as if her life depended on it, squeaking when he jumped. Cold night air rushed into her face. She was jostled roughly when they landed and Baekhyun continued to run, putting distance between them and the property.

Her arms clutched his upper body. She stared back at the building and saw shadows leaking up from the ground. The green grass died where they rose, extinguishing all life. Encompassing the entire mansion, the curse trapped those who were still inside. Baekhyun and Yoonhee had barely made it in time.

Orange flames lit up the night seconds after they had left. The fire spread at an alarming rate, consuming the majestic building and destroying every last piece of it. Mixed in with the flames were specks of dark magic. Seulgi’s rage knew no bounds; she would leave nothing but ashes behind. Although Yoonhee hated Aeri’s clan, she was horrified as it dawned on her what would happen to its members. Fire was a very effective way to kill vampires—they would all burn alive. Seulgi must have planned this for a long time.

Baekhyun slowed down when they were far away from the property, only once glancing back to look at it. His focus shifted to his soulmate who hadn’t said a word since they had left. Her frail appearance was painful to see—she only looked like this because he had failed to protect her.

“You lost weight,” he muttered and scrunched his brows in worry. “You were always light, but now you’re a feather.”

Yoonhee had indeed become fragile after a week without proper food while losing large amounts of blood. She needed to eat and gain back her strength. He would see to it when they were home. It was the least he could do for her after he had failed her so severely. Guilt gnawed at him and made his heart heavy. He remembered everything he had seen and done while he had been cursed. She had gone through hell all on her own, and he had been awfully blind and oblivious to her fate.

“Baekhyun,” she said as she gazed up at him. Her fingertip traced the c