CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Withered Away

 It felt like her whole body was on fire as he had all of his weight pressed against her and as his fangs pierced through the thin veil of her milky skin, her whole body went into paralysis. The venom in his teeth casting its spell over her as he tasted her sweet, warm blood flood into his mouth.

It wasn’t the first time Jaehwa had been bitten but this time felt severely different as she drifted in and out of the high that the Vampire venom incited. At moments she would feel euphoric, heart pounding in her chest as her senses went into overdrive but then her body would undergo a painful spasm and it felt as though she was being torn apart. She tried to scream but her voice lost itself inside of her trembling frame.

She didn’t really know how long she lasted before she out completely and fell into a dream state but it felt like forever.

 She felt warmth radiate from its body and as she moved with an outstretched hand to touch it, it inclined its head towards her. She held her breath for a long moment after the palm of her hand rested against the sleek, white coat of its mane. She didn’t know its gender but something inside her told her that this was a strong stallion.

It grunted and she watched as two streams of mist unfurled from its nostrils. She laughed as she smoothed out the short hairs of his neck and he seemed to stamp his feet in a mixture of embarrassment and protest. At that, she stopped but as the stallion turned to face her she felt her heart sink and she jumped back with a loud shriek.

She had seen those eyes somewhere – those fiery red eyes that glowed in the darkness, creating a stark contrast against his shiny coat. She realised then, also, that this wasn’t just an ordinary stallion but a unicorn and as she turned to run, she felt pain shoot through her shoulder.

“Lay.” That was the name that came to mind and the name that she uttered in a strangled cry as she looked down to see the golden horn on its head pinned through her. Except there was no pain as blood gushed out of the wound, instead there was just a cooling sensation as it pulled out.

She heard him softly neigh and as she turned, the blood red eyes were gone, replaced with crystal eyes that were as clear as a pool of untouched water. She saw her own image reflected in his beady eyes and in it she saw a golden blade encrusted with tiny specks of precious jewels, wedged in the wound. Entranced, she pulled it from her shoulder and heard a voice direct her to cut the unicorn by the neck.

She followed its voice as her head chanted Lay’s name.

She caught the flash of the bloody blade reflect the light of the night and a pearl silver substance gushed out from the neck of the unicorn. It was thick and treacly like golden syrup as it eased out onto its skin. The stallion raised its front legs from the pain, shaking its mighty mane but as it landed on the floor, it brushed up against her body for comfort, tucking its head into her arms.

 She sat up, panting hard with beads of sweat lined up along her forehead. Her hair clung to her sweat-slicked body and instantly, she felt the world begin to spin around her. Her hands moved to touch her shoulder and she sighed when she realised there was no wound but as her hand inched up to touch her neck, she winced. There were two distinct holes in her neck.

She closed her eyes as she tried to figure out what exactly had happened and when she realised that her encounter with the unicorn was simply a strange dream, she sighed. Inside, she could feel the resonating thuds of her strong heartbeats and she sank back down into the comforts of the blankets to calm down.

Taking deep breaths, she reassured herself that she was alright but a part of her felt so… tainted. Jaehwa had only ever been bitten by Sehun before this and that was only because it was a vampire’s way of marking a lover – it was what they called an insignia. In the supernatural world, the sharing of blood, particularly between supernatural creatures was highly symbolic and rarely practiced unless it was between lovers. This was particularly so for vampires because blood was the essence of life.

Even more so than that, however, it was because a vampire bite was highly , awakening both the death drive and drive simultaneously. In ual , the sharing of blood was not only an emotional and symbolic gesture of interconnectedness but it was because vampire venom could send any creature into a physical and psychological high, almost like becoming intoxicated.

Amidst her thoughts, she opened her eyes again and surveyed her surroundings when the dizziness eased up. She realised she was lying in the comforts of the other tent and noticed that no one else was inside. At first, she suspected that it was because the others weren’t back and that it had been Soojung who had managed to save her but then she heard hushed voices speak outside her side of the tent.

“I told you. I don’t know what happened!” It was Soojung and it didn’t sound like she was at all happy.

“You said you would be fine with the idea of staying with Jaehwa – you said you would look out for each other.” Chen said heatedly and Jaehwa winced at the sound of his voice. He was never one to be angry so easily.

“How was I supposed to know that Lay was going to try to kill her?”

“We’re not blaming you, Soojung.” Luhan sighed in defeat, “But it-“

“Yes! Yes you are!”

“So what if we are?” Kai stepped in, “If Suho didn’t get back in time, Jaehwa would’ve died.”

“You’re all being so unfair.” Soojung’s voice wavered, “I didn’t plan this – I didn’t want that to happen.” She sounded like she was on the verge of tears and Jaehwa quickly scrambled to her feet. They all heard her from the rustling she made so that when she walked out, they were all watching her intently.

She had no way of seeing her own reflection but she looked awfully pale with dry, chapped lips. Hair stuck to the sides of her face from all the sweat and on her neck, there was a deep burgundy streak of dried blood.

“Guys. Stop it.” Her voice was thin, “I’m fine.”

“Why don’t you go back and get some more sleep, Jaehwa.” Chanyeol’s words were more of a command than an offer but Jaehwa stood her ground.

“It wasn’t her fault. Something happened to Lay in there... and I don’t know what it was but he was really strong and-“ She shut her eyes tightly as the image of him flashed back to her. When she swallowed, she felt the wound flare up and she instantly tensed again.

“You don’t-“ Suho stepped into to tell her that she didn’t have to force herself to tell them what had happened if she didn’t want to but Jaehwa stubbornly shook her head. They needed the details so that they could help Lay.

“He was terrifying – his eyes were glowing red and he just – he wasn’t himself… at all. His whole body was burning and when he pinned me down it felt like I was being branded or something and… uhmm…” She cleared , wincing at the pain in her wound again, “That blue sign – that blue sign that appeared when he healed me at the cave, it was flashing on his wrist. It was exactly the same sign and the same colour but it was flashing and I tried to stop it but he-“

“Ok. That’s enough.” D.O. was beside her with a hand over her shoulder protectively, “Go back in. We’ll take care of it.”

“I-“ She cast her eyes over all of them for the first time that night and noticed that Sehun was missing and she wanted to ask but was cut off by Kris, who’s tone was firm and unyielding.

“It’s ok.”

She wasn’t in the right state of mind to refuse his request and quietly stumbled back into the tent where she reassumed her sleeping position. It was only then, as she lay in the warmth of the blankets that fatigue really hit her. Her muscles ached and he