"You can't be seriously thinking about it." Hyoyeon narrowed her judgemental eyes on Kai. "What–" Kai asked, confusion prompting him to cease his brows, while pulling his mother to sit. Fay scrambled out of the seat, going to lie on the floor next to Kai's feet."Are you talking about?" She gave him an indigenous look."Be thinking about taking the guard as a concubine" Kai's eyes widened, not expecting to hear that, Fay snorted and Kai looked to see the dog shutting its eyes as though bored by the two humans."What no, I wasn't" Had his attraction to Sehun been obvious to the point his mother took notice?His eyes just couldn't look away from Sehun, and Kai would be happy to look at Sehun for every damn second of his day. However Kai was telling the truth, taking Sehun as concubine never crossed his mind, well not until his mom mentioned it– the dreams not withstanding. It sounded like a good idea. Truly and he had to curb his excitement at the thought of having Sehun as his.  "I saw the way you look at him Kai. I am your mother." She said, sending him death glares of plain disapproval.  "What if I want him?" His mother sent him another glare, the type that showed her strong disappoinment at him for even entertaining the thought. "No!" She said her tone firm. Of course what did Kai expect from his mother? To accept his choice for once? She had never done that. Kai didn't have a choice when it came to mother. She wanted to have him under her control. Though Kai didn't usually let her have her way easily, but he had never defied her. But the feeling in his chest at the moment was different. For Sehun Kai would defy the queen dowager and anyone that though to stand in his path to Sehun. The thought startled him, but Kai didn't let himself dwell on it. "You can keep him as a side but not a concubine." She went on and Kai was surprised she used such a vulgar word. She always wanted to appear majestic and uptight, never settling for less than the queen she once was. He couldn't stop the frown that took over his face. Something in him didn't approve of the way his mother downgraded Sehun as if he were a . "Mother if I am ever going to take him to my bed, then I will surely wed him before I do that." He made sure his tone was as firm as hers. It would be disrespectful to Sehun to even think about keeping him as nothing more than a side with no intention of ever making it official. "Is your infatuation that strong?" His mother huffed. "I never thought of taking him as a concubine" until you mentioned it, was what he didn't add. If he did, his mom was bound to thwart his intentions however way she could. It was no secret his mom, didn't like anyone from low noble house, especially if she knew Sehun was adopted. "I better hope you're right Kai. I will never approve of him. Just so you know." She said, her eyes on him.She went silent and Kai had thought she wouldn't say more when she suddenly asked."When was the last time you visit any of your consorts?" "I.." Kai began but shut his mouth. His mother seem to be monitoring his move. And lying wouldn't be to his advantage. When she realized he wouldn't add more, she gazed him in the eye, daring him to deny."Since the boy came into the palace." She concluded. "It's just that I do not have time for mother." She didn't need to know Kai's interest in his consorts had been wilting each day since the moment he set eyes on Sehun. Though as an emperor it was in his right to have many spouses, but for once, he was questioning who the hell even evoked that rule. He had one for goddesses sake. She scoffed. "With your appetite. I don't believe you. The night before consort Mark spiked your drink. But I hear you didn't leave you quarters and no one was with you." Really? People were always keeping taps on his life. But it was the truth. Kai had strong ual appetite "I did not feel like it." He said honestly. "Nini!" She called and Kai's frown deepen. His mother wasn't one for affection toward her children, she was up to no good whenever she called him so. The one person that genuinely had her affection was her youngest son."Do not disappoint me." She smiled sweetly, reaching out to touch his face. "I am your mother and will never lead you astray, I want the best for you." Kai simply nodded, not wanting to argue more with his mother. She knew damn right, she didn't have the power to stop him from doing what he wanted despite his respect for her. And in this case he knew the one person that would give him a sound advise. The one person that would tell him if he was about to make a wrong move or not. Heechul's option was the one thing Kai honored the most. Unlike his mother, Kai was certain Heechul would never mislead him, make him do things in his interest not what was truly best for Kai. And if Heechul asked him not to take Sehun as a concubine, Kai wouldn't. No matter how much Kai wanted Sehun. He shared everything with Heechul, even the dreams he'd been plagued with lately. And his uncle had assured him to look into it. On one hand Kai wanted to know what they meant on the other, he dreaded, feared the knowledge. The other Kai in his dreams was a scum, that Kai suspected it might be an imposter. Or it could really be him. Whatever it might be, Kai was not a coward, had never been, thus he needed to know. Kai couldn't wait for his mother to leave, so that he would call Heechul. With that in mind, Kai relaxed indulging his mother, half listening as she rambled on about the selection ceremony and the candidates she had in mind. Kai didn't care whom was chosen for him, none of them were the one he wanted anyway, none had ever been his choice from the start other than his late empress. If the response from Heechul was– oh mothers please let it be– positive, Kai would need to see his son and set boundaries. Hyunjin shouldn't covet what he couldn't have. The little should stick to his kitsune friend. Sehun was his. And there was no other way. He was itching to see Sehun already. Damnation! Kai was in trouble. **** "What does the beast say?" Baekhyun asked, pausing in front Sehun, that had been toying with the glowing feather. "It doesn't seem to understand too." Sehun let out a sigh, dropping the feather on the bed. He needed to take care of it before someone else saw it, best way was to absorb it back into his body. He was glad the feather had been retrieved and the evidence destroyed, making it seem as if a fire accident happened at lab. Two of his guardians Baekhyun and Junmyeon had done a great effective job. But he was still worried about the fact that his beast couldn't say exactly what was wrong with him. However Sehun felt like it was refraining from sharing. Because when he asked, his beast didn't respond right away, it had paused as though conflicted or unsure how Sehun would react if the truth was revealed.  That was new.  His beast didn't usually have human emotions, it spoke when it wanted, and demand what it wanted, while expecting to get it too. Unlike how the beast could easily read the human side, Sehun couldn't read his beast most of the time, especially when it didn't want to be read. The advantage Sehun had over his beast was the firm control over it. Meaning his beast was only able to come out when the human part allowed it. Though it might take over if Sehun wasn't in control of his emotions. "My Lord the tea is here" Wendy stepped into the room, carrying a tray, her eyes lowered thus Sehun was able to hide the feather underneath the pillow. Even though he trusted Wendy, he wasn't in for letting more people know about his secrets. A truthsayer could see through her, and torture could loosen her tongue. Sehun was protecting himself as well as Wendy by hiding it. "Thank you Wendy, but please stop with the  title, I told you already." Minho was very swift, before the end of the day the girl was already under Sehun's care. The thought of Minho had Sehun glancing up where Blink was pretending to be dozing off. She had refused to tell him what she did to the shadow guard and Taemin's knowledge of ever finding the glowing feather. When Sehun had pressed she had changed the subject by declaring she was now mama Blink. "Why mama all of a sudden?" Sehun had asked. She had waved her wings in way a human would to their hands making a gesture. I just thought I should upgrade my status. "Okay, if want me to call you mama Blink then tell me what you did to Taemin had Minho" She rolled her eyes, shutting them moments later without more words. "Alright, Sehun" Wendy placed the tray down with a smile. "Do you want anything else?"  Sehun shook his head and the girl bowed at them before exiting the room. Sehun had been right. Kai had truly given him his own personal quarters. And it had been the same place he had lived in the past. Even the amount of furnitures and plants were the same. Like Sehun had only been a way and returned home after a while.  The only thing that was missing were Sehun's personal belongings from the past. Emotions had surged in him, as Sehun walked around the house, but didn't let it get the best of him. It was a short walking distance from Hyunjin's quarters. Sehun had come to terms; somethings were inevitable. It didn't stop there, a special room had been prepared for him in Hyunjin's quarters as well, where he would take short break and naps. Why would he take a nap while on duty? When he had asked Minho why he wouldn't just live in Hyunjin's quarters instead of getting a whole apartment for himself. The shadow guard had shrugged with a 'his Majesty's order.' If Kai didn't want him to live in Hyunjin's quarters why have a room prepared? "Then we'll ask the goddesses, surely they know." Junmyeon said, hands clasped together as he stared at Sehun. Fully sure his guardians could be trusted, Sehun had told them about his visions the moment they returned from retrieving the feather.  "Have you tried speaking with them?" Baekhyun asked, a hand on hip, while the other was running down his neck. Sehun nodded "Yeah, but I didn't get a response." It had been a while since the Goddesses spoke to him. "Junmyeon can contact them. Right?" Baekhyun glanced at the water mage. Junmyeon nodded."Yes i should be able to do that." He rubbed a hand down his face, letting out a sigh. "Do you need a moment of privacy or something?" Sehun wasn't sure how the priests get in contact with the goddesses, other than that one time with Heechul and it had been brief. Shaking his head, Junmyeon stood up and went to lock the door. He leaned against it, closing his eyes, but not before Sehun caught the violet shade taking over his irises. They waited. While they did, Sehun allowed his eyes  to Baekhyun again, that didn't seem to stop rubbing at his neck. Maybe finding his mate was doing that to him, subconsciously rubbing at the place Chanyeol would put a mating bite on him. How the other was going to do that, when he didn't have fangs was a mystery to Sehun. Or maybe only Baekhyun needed to bite the other? Whatever, didn't matter. What did was the fact that, his friend had found his other half, the soul meant to complete him. And Sehun was happy for him. Having someone from a powerful house, whose brother was part of their squad, would be great for Baekhyun. Sehun couldn't help blushing when Baekhyun shared all the juicy details about their encounter and how his mom found them in bed being all over each other, ready for another round of . His mom had nearly scream, because she wasn't expecting Baekhyun to have company and knowing her son never brought anyone home. It had promoted Baekhyun to share what the spirit user was to him. The Byuns were already in discussion about sending wedding gifts to the Parks. Baekhyun's mom that had wanted Jimin as a part of her family, couldn't stop beaming and to Baekhyun's dismay all the pack members knew about it and a lot had volunteered to help with the wedding preparation. Baekhyun had been so mad at his family that he had broke his mom's favorite vase, with a firm warning not to do a damn thing about it, scaring his younger siblings to tears, only Mina didn't seem affected, she had hugged Baekhyun while in the midst of his outburst. And that did calmed him. Baekhyun had shared his fear with Sehun. Chanyeol didn't understand what he meant to Baekhyun, more so the older Park had a reputation of a playboy. And had assumed his encounter with Baekhyun was just like any casual . But Sehun doubted it would be the case. Chanyeol must have felt something deep within too even if he didn't show it. When Baekhyun had returned to the order, of course the others had noticed and prodded what the was going on with him. And for some reason Baekhyun had been unable to lie to them. Jimin had been the happiest to know Baekhyun was not just his friend and comrade but his future brother in law, which only infuriate the death mage. Hence Jimin had earned himself a black eye and Sehun had laughed so hard imagining Jimin getting pinned and punched repeatedly, while wondering why the his supposed brother in law was assaulting him mercilessly. Luhan had said. "Deflect all you want but you and I both know you're glad its Chanyeol, because he's rich as , you'll live like a king. And you have to admit he managed to brought out a warmth of spark in you." Baekhyun had glared, ready to pounce the fae and Luhan was quick to add. "But don't worry it's just a tiny spark. Barely perceptible to the average eye, but I noticed." He waved a hand around. "And of course the others too, but that's because we're your friends."  Zitao had put himself between the two and Baekhyun had shook his head and left without more words. A gasp from Junmyeon had Sehun snapping his attention to the water mage. "What is it?" He stood, hands hovering over Junmyeon. Junmyeon's eyes were wide as the violet disappeared from them. "They'll let you know when the time is right." Baekhyun cursed, raking both hands through his hair. "Meaning we're still in the dark." "Unfortunately yes." Junmyeon sagged against the door. With another sigh of frustration, Sehun swirled to pick up the feather and his breath hitched the moment his hand made contact. Body trembling, Sehun went to his knees. it was happening again. But it shouldn't be, since he hadn't seen Kai today. Images of a building on fire .In the burning building two little figures were running frantically trying to escape from something. One a young Fenigriff, that looked exactly like Sehun and the other a dragon– the same baby dragon he'd dreamt of– flashed violently. Something was growling sinisterly behind the tiny figures. That something happened to be an usual bird like creature with dark feathers, dark talons, but Sehun couldn't make out what it actually looked it. One thing was clear, whatever the it was, wanted to get to the younglings, its killing intent fixated on them. "...hunie" "Sehun" Gasping for air, Sehun jolted, his senses coming back to him in a rush. He glanced at Baekhyun that was coaching holding his hand a look of worry on his face. "What happened?" "The visions, but this time a little clearer and–." Sehun crawled on the floor, to where he hid the book of hearts. "I need to see something." Seeing the vision had his memory going back to the time he'd read the book. Things were becoming clearer. Holding the book with trembling hands, Sehun flipped through it. Rereading the same two pages he had read before. The guardians will rise
Two by fire, two by earth, one by air, and one by water. Yes those were his guardians. Minseok and Baekhyun were the children of fire, Luhan and  Zitao were earth elementals, and Jimin though not an air mage, his powers came from air element. Like all spirit users. Junmyeon was the water without a doubt. A young cat with fire in his eyes and the whisper of golden ancient wind in his fur.  That's the baby Fenigriff Sehun just saw. Meaning he's a boy. Bead, pearl. Sehun repeated the two words. In the ancient language, Bead could also translate as pearl. Meaning whenever bead was mentioned it was referring to the pearl. At the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more. Wrong will be right, when the bird and lion comes in sight. When his feather fluttered, darkness will meet its death. And when he shakes his mane, Varal shall have spring again. This was surely talking about a Fenigriff. Either Sehun or the young one, he wasn't quite certain of that. The black feathered's blood must spill or warriors will be killed.   The creature chasing down the two younglings in his vision. The warriors might be his guardians or the two little ones or could mean something different. Oh mothers! Sehun gasped, finally puzzling what those words meant. "What do you find?" Junmyeon asked, kneeling beside Sehun. Sehun told them about the sudden vision and his findings. "Where does the younglings come from?" Baekhyun asked, a frown on his face. "I am not sure. Do you think the young Fenigriff is the pearl?" It would make sense, for some reason it seemed high likely. "Probably." Junmyeon shrugged. "But you're the only one of your kind, which meant it must be your child or grandchild." He titled his head, gazing at Sehun. Sehun had taught of the possibility, but he didn't think he had what it took to bed a woman to beget a child. Or probably he would impregnate a male carrier? Because Sehun wasn't a carrier and he wasn't married to Kai that had the ability to impregnate anyone. "Conclusion is the pearl is likely my future child, which is why I needed you guys to protect me for them to be born. But what of the baby dragon?" More importantly why was Sehun having dreams about it? "Probably the dragon that needed the Fenigriff as its Pearl. Surely a royal, considering they're the only ones with a dragon. Maybe one of the emperor's consorts would have the baby." Oh Goddess please no. Sehun remembered consort Rue had been the only one to carry a child in the past. Sehun didn't want his child or grandchild entangle with the likes of her or any of Kai's consorts. However he might not have a choice."Meaning my descendant and the emperor's belong together?" "I don't know. It could also mean you're the pearl that Kai needed" Junmyeon said, his lips pressed together in thoughts."I've sent another request to the mothers, we should wait for them to get back to me and hopefully they'll give us a clue." Sehun truly hoped they would, otherwise he had no idea what to do. Blink made a sound and Sehun gazed at her. The shadow bird shut her eyes,  wings spread. She was playing dead. Meaning she didn't want to answer questions. **** A week later.

 

"Stop nosing at that.” Sehun pulled the towels away from Fay's snout, glaring at the puppy. The dog kept thinking Sehun's personal supplies were some sort of dog toy in disguise. Sehun's favorite shirt was used as mat, and if Hyunjin's pet ruined it, Sehun was going to be forced to commit doggy murder, and then Hyunjin would be mad at him, and th