CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Fire Burn, Cauldron Bubble

 If there was one element that Vampires were brutally afraid of, it was fire for it was the only element that could render them into nothing but ash – Bluebloods and commoners alike. Something about the structure of their skin was intensely flammable and being cold-blooded creatures, being burnt alive was probably the most uncomfortable method of death possible.

So, as the flames rose high above their heads, climbing up the paint-slicked walls, the group frantically ran back and forth between the nearest tap and the blazing fire. Chanyeol was in there somewhere and despite the fact that it was quite obvious that he was source of it, they knew that fire made no exception when it came to murder.

Amongst the towing of buckets, Suho and Xiumin wondered if either of them possessed enough power to stop the flames but afraid that any magic could lead to their exposure, they kept silent.

Sweat matted Soojung’s pale skin and though her head was spinning, she didn’t utter a single word of annoyance. Instead, she leaned by the brick wall, waiting for her bucket to fill to the brim and as she listened to the tranquil sound of water blasting from the tap, questions began to surface. She began wondering why there were no fire alarms or extinguishers installed in an academy housing Vampires and why Professor Lee hadn’t smelt the blood on both her and Jaehwa and whether or not Jaehwa was caught in that fire.

“Soojung!”

“Huh?” She blinked quickly as she snapped out of her daze. Luhan handed her the full bucket as he slipped his under the running tap.

“Are you alright?” He asked as she accepted the bucket from him, wincing as her muscles screamed from the strain. Her body was running on whatever energy she had left and only she knew that at that moment, it didn’t really surmount to much.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Except she didn’t sound it – her voice was hoarse from inhaling so much smoke and the fear from the incident earlier that night still resided in her very bones. Luhan opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off, “I better go.”

Tugging her bucket she walked back into the smoke filled building, coughing as she hastened her pace. Water spilled from the sides onto the carpet and her shoes and usually the damp sensation in her toes would’ve irritated her to no bounds but at that moment, she couldn’t care less. Sehun brushed past her with an empty bucket swinging by his side and as he cast a look towards her face, he gripped her by the arm.

“Hey.”

“What?” Soojung snapped, unintentionally letting her tiredness get the better of her. She was in no mood to deal with him.

He ignored her tone and reached over to take her bucket from her hands and handed her his empty one before his eyes directed her towards the door again. She watched him as he disappeared into the smoke again and bit down on her lip. She knew she shouldn’t tell him but then how could she live with herself if she kept the truth to herself?

Bravely, she followed him into the fire and watched as Sehun emptied the bucket into the fire but it made little difference. Perhaps it slowed the spread by a fraction but the fire was quick to fill in the gaps. They were barely scratching the surface but as the princes rushed passed her, she finally found what it meant to be a part of something. It was persevering despite knowing that it might not do anything at all – it was having faith even in the worst circumstances.

If she were trapped in that fire – would they do the same? Something told her that they would and a striking warmth spread inside of her, except it was quickly replaced by a hair-raising and intense heat that ate away at the skin and flesh by her arm.

When Sehun turned back around he caught Soojung still standing amidst the smoke but before he could even think to rush to her, fear settled in his eyes. She caught it but it didn’t occur to her that she might be in danger because she seemed to stand so far away from the fire, except she had forgotten the fire above her head.

The moment occurred so slowly for her as though in slow motion, from Sehun calling out her name to the bucket that he threw aside – it all happened at a pace her mind could barely comprehend.

“Soojung!!” He pointed upward with brows furrowed and as she directed her gaze upward, her body froze. It set itself in place as a part of the ceiling structure cracked under the heat and plummeted towards her. Laced in flames, she watched with wide eyes as it fell right towards her and if it hadn’t been for the strong arms that pulled her back, she would’ve been caught right in its path. Instead, it grazed her arm, just enough to scorch her skin but not enough for her body to set alight.

A foreign moan of pain escaped her lips and she gripped onto her elbow as she collapsed into Sehun’s intoxicating scent.

“I told you to go.” His voice was laced with worry, “What were you doing?” He pulled her closer to him as he examined her wound, directing her towards the door, “… It’s going to take a while to heal. Does it hurt?”  

She watched him for a moment and felt the words that she planned to say cause an unsettling feeling inside of her so that when she said them, it felt like she had vomited some terrible concoction, “I lost Jaehwa.” There was nothing more direct than what she had just uttered and perhaps he would have taken it better if she had planned it out beforehand but Soojung had little creativity left in her weakening body.

She watched the life drain from his eyes as his arms loosened ever so slightly around her body. Somehow, she felt as though she could almost trace his soul leaving his body but perhaps she’d confused her own mental state with his because moments later, her head lolled back and she passed out, “W-What?”

  She plummeted from her sleep as a shiver unravelled within her body leaving her startled in her wake. It took her a few moments before everything registered within her mind – the painted ceilings mimicking the sky on a beautiful spring day, the thin mosquito net that cascaded down the polished gold railings of her king sized bed, the silk sheets, the gold details on the cream wallpaper. Yet, nothing seemed to appease her racing heart. In fact the realisation that she was alone only raised her fear.

Running a hand through her hair, she sat up to ease the heavy feeling swelling inside of her chest. Cold sweat matted her skin and as she tried in vain to capture the remnants of her dream, she felt an overriding loneliness and emptiness fill the gaps in her memories.

There was a gaping void within her life – one that could not be missed and yet all she could do was pretend that it didn’t exist. She touched the silver band on her finger and hoped that things would change soon. She cast a look to her side, running her gaze over the smooth and perfected covers of his side of the bed – the side that, like her, remained untouched.  

They often said that the crucial years for any young woman was betwe