Her slumber brought her hallucinations within her subconscious. Voices taunted her in the void that housed her inner thoughts. She strained her ears to make audible the things that were being relayed to her in her mind’s senses.

‘Listen, Taeyeon.’ A feminine voice said. ‘The fire within you is both your ally and your foe. It represents your feelings, desires, and psyche. Conquer that flame and you will be able to master the most extreme element known to the world.’

‘But, I can’t concentrate when I am hungry. I cannot go on with this quest of improvement if I were to starve. My lust for blood is taking its toll on my body.’ Taeyeon’s voice reasoned.

Sooyoung could only empathize in the sadness of Taeyeon’s tone. She could neither visualize nor feel Taeyeon’s presence in the dark void of her mind. The Choi only sat there in the darkness that reigned over her subconscious, listening to the voices being brought to her ears.

‘You will abstain from blood for now, Taeyeon. Use your sorcery to curb your hunger and thirst.’

‘I’ll try…’

Sooyoung heard chants of a spell coming from Taeyeon before the voice of the princess’ supposed master spoke once again.

‘Taeyeon… How much do you love your twin?’

‘Is that a trick question?’

‘It is if you think it that way.’

A scoff; Sooyoung identified it as Taeyeon’s.

‘I love her so much that I’d go crazy if I won’t be able to see her soon.’

‘Then, I think it’s about time I teach you this kind of sorcery…’

‘What do you mean?’

‘I’m going to teach you a higher level of magic that could alter your body…’

Sooyoung’s eyes widened in realization to what the voice had meant. ‘Is that even possible?’

The voice once again spoke, ‘This kind of sorcery will allow you to shower more love to your twin.’

This sent Sooyoung deeper into the depths of curiosity, but the appearance of light disturbed her senses. In a flash, she was wide awake with the morning sun gently coaxing her to get up. For today, the weather was quite merciful as the soft rays of the sun sent slivers of warmth in the dark area. She soon realized that she wasn’t in the same place where she had once slept.

She sat up and noticed her cousins sprawled all over the floor of the cavern. Sunny was sleeping on her side near her, curled up in a ball in Tiffany’s embrace. Sooyoung shifted her gaze to her right and saw Hyoyeon sleeping not far from her. The Kim’s face was serene. Near the mouth of the cave, she saw Yoona and Yuri sitting against the wall, their feet extending underneath the blanket they both shared. From across them, sat the maknaes with their backs turned.

Slowly, Sooyoung got up and walked towards the girls who were on watch. She was about to clear when Juhyun turned and spoke, “You’re up, unnie.”

“I am.” Her reply was short, a bit hoarse.

Krystal smiled. Relief was evident in the youngest Jung’s face. “We’re glad to have you back, unnie. We’re worried you wouldn’t wake up.”

The Choi arched a brow as she sat beside the Jung maknae.

“How long was I asleep?”

“Hmm, you slept for one whole day yesterday.”

Soo was startled, “That long?! You mean, someone carried me all the way here?”

The two maknaes nodded. Then Krystal spoke, “Yuri-unnie had to carry you all the way here.”

“Oh…” Was all she could say; she made a mental note to thank the Black Pearl later.

Silence filled them momentarily as they watched the first streaks of the rising sun from the horizon. The snow had somehow stopped falling, but the danger was still present. The werewolves are more active now and who knows the hunters and the rogues might also be on the prowl for them.

Sooyoung unconsciously unleashed a tired sigh, earning the attention of the two maknaes.

“Something wrong, unnie?” Krystal asked.

Sooyoung’s eyes met the youngest Jung. She took note of the similarities of the three Jung sisters. The distinct features were there: the alluring eyes that never fail to draw in one’s soul, the rosy lips that guard their perfect white teeth which curve to a distinctive smile, and a neatly planted nose in the middle of the face.

The Choi blinked, remembering that she has yet to answer the Jung’s question. “I heard your Taeyeon-unnie’s voice in my dream.”

“You did?” The maknaes chorused, their eyes lit up with hope.

“Any news about her, unnie?” Seohyun asked.

“I only heard her voice talking to someone else. She’s struggling with hunger and she had been asking to get Jessica back. There was also something about the other voice talking of a higher form of magic that will enable Taeyeon to change her appearance.”

Krystal stared at the Choi with pensive eyes. She seemed to be contemplating on something.

“Is there something on your mind, Krystal?” Sooyoung asked.

“I just remembered something, unnie.”

Juhyun eyed her partner with interest, “Please do elaborate, Soojung.”

Krystal casted her eyes toward the horizon, “When we were still in Romania, I came across an interesting book about vampire sorcery in the Jung Castle’s library. I often saw Sooyeon-unnie reading the book with Taeyeon-unnie whenever they had the time.”

The Choi and the Seo nodded their heads as they urged the youngest to continue. Krystal pursed her lips, trying to recall what she had discovered from the book. 

“The book had mentioned about a form of sorcery that can change your body. It was one of the hardest to master, though. No one save for the first vampire had been able to use it.”

“The first vampire…” Juhyun muttered under her breath, “You mean our great grandmother, Jung the Elder’s half sister and wife?”

Krystal nodded, “Yes. Only she was able to use it and it was on that rare occasion where the first werewolf and the vampires had faced each other. The first vampire used the spell to turn herself into a man in order to combat Gray’s strength.”

“I remember about that. It was the first fight between the vampires and werewolves.” Sooyoung said.

“Great grandmother used it to battle Gray and that was when the first werewolf met his second defeat, centuries after he had been defeated by his brother as a mortal. The spell, though, had not been mentioned which is why it has not been used. Many have attempted to use it, but none succeeded.” Krystal said.
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