prelude
minho pov

My hands surge with electricity.
 I taste venom pooling in my mouth.

I'm about to die.

If I have to give up my life, I won't make 
it easy. I'm going to fight. I'm going to claw 
and struggle and do as much damage as I can.

I'm going to kill Aro before he can kill me.

chapter 1

Roaming the endless aisles of the flower market, booths stocked only with plants and gardening tools and big bags of dirt — Jisung is like a kid in a candy store. It's adorable to watch him get all excited about slouching little sprouts, shouting in Latin every time he sees a pretty flower.

"Oh my lord, Minho, look — hibiscus arnottianus! Do you know how rare this is? Ooh they have floribunda and malva alcea too!"

"Casting spells again, babe?"

"Oh shush. Excuse me, how much are these?"

My mind wanders while he bargains with the vendor. Someone ribs me as they shove through the crowd. The aisles are barely wide enough to accommodate the foot traffic. Jisung told me to prepare myself for mayhem, but I was not expecting this. I've already seen a dogpile and an old woman roundhouse someone into a stack of ceramic pots.

"Minho!" Jisung has moved on to the next booth. I catch up, holding my breath as I squeeze through the crowd of humans. Though the smell of blood doesn't have the same power over me as it did when I was a newborn, I can't ignore how perfect the scent is, especially mixed with the sweet pollen of flowers.

He's picking through a rack of paper packets. "Look at all these seeds. Some kind of ranunculus would go great with the cherry tree." He hands me a stack and pays the person in the booth. "C'mon, let's keep moving, there's supposed to be an amorphophallus titanum around here somewhere."

"Yeah yeah, I get it, wingardium leviosa."

He waves me away. "Hey, how many bags of soil do you think the garden beds need?"

"The small ones or the big ones?"

"All of them."

"Well. A lot, probably. Eleven?"

"We'll go with fourteen," he says to the vendor. He heaves a lumpy bag into my arms, and I drop it into the wagon.

"Isn't this something we could buy closer to home? It's just dirt."

"It's soil, my love."

"What's wrong with the soil at home? It's good enough for Kokoa to eat."

"Kokoa still tries to eat her litter. And it's better because it's alive, it's bedrock and mountains broken down over eons. You can find dirt caked behind Hyunjin's ears, but soil on the other hand—"

Suddenly he gasps and grabs my arm. My heart leaps into my throat, my mind leaps to the worst — life or death, the end of the world, fiery armageddon — and then he starts shouting in Latin again.

"Amorphophallus titanum! Jesus Christ — are you seeing this?"

I palm my forehead, coming down from a panic. "Jisungie, please don't do that."

"Oh I'm sorry, I startled you."

"I thought you saw the Volturi. Or something."

His expression dims, but he smiles, takes my hand.

"We're safe, my love. You don't have to worry, I do that for you."

I want to say that I worry anyway, I'm always worried, especially lately. I just nod.

We leave the soil vendor and head toward the exhibition. The flower Jisung was talking about is obviously revered — roped-off with unblinking security guards watching it — though the actual thing is sort of ugly. Big and cool, but ugly.

"Magnificent," Jisung whispers, hopping up on his tiptoes. "Damnit, I can barely see from here."

I hug my arms around his waist, lift him up so he can see over the botany freaks.

"Are you gonna buy it?" I ask.

"Me? God no — do you want to lose the house?"

"I'd rather not, I live there."

"This flower is really rare, reeeeeally expensive — and frankly, it just wouldn't fit in with the rest of my garden. Don't tell them I said that."

"My lips are sealed."

"Let's check the outdoor section. Hopefully people aren't getting too rowdy out there."

"I dunno, I saw a pack of grammies with garden sheers heading that direction."

He sighs solemnly. "I wish I could say I was surprised."

───

Jisung and I walk through the forest with our cargo in tow. The moonlight is muddled by clouds, weak through the tree canopy. An owl is hooting softly somewhere in the branches, crickets are hidden in the grass.

"I shouldn't have gotten it," he says. "I already have one, I just — the shape of the nozzle is better for light showers, okay? Lord help me, have I gone mad with power?"

"It's just a new watering can, honey."

He clutches it to his chest. "The old one is gonna be so upset with me."

As we draw closer and closer to the cabin, the sounds on the wind change. Not just leaves fluttering, animals in the thicket — bumping, scuffing. It could be Kokoa making a mess in the cabinets, but the noises are slower, heavier than I know her footsteps to be.

And then I realize, there's more than one. Hushed breath, feet and fabric dragging across the floor.

There are vampires in our house.

I grab Jisung's arm, hold him back. "Someone's in the house."

He goes motionless as he listens. His eyes widen, quiver with fear.

"If they're inside, they already know," I stammer. My guts are twisting in knots. I knew this was coming but I didn't think it would be now. Today is just another day, lovely and quiet, only the two of us, the same as last night and the one before that. Has Felix already seen them arrive? Is he trying to reach us now?

"Jisung, say something," I murmur, "what are they thinking?"

"I can't read their minds from out here, it's too far." He looks into my eyes. "We have to do this now. Are you ready?"

"Do I have any other fucking choice? No, there are no other options, we're dead and—"

He takes my face in his hands. "Stop, my love. We'll be okay. We've planned for this. Breathe in and out."

My voice is choked. "I don't want to lose this."

"Never. This will always be our life, you and me, okay?" He takes my hand. "Hold me, don't let go. You're brave, Minho, you always have been. Remember that."

All I can do is follow as he takes off running toward the house. I want to say goodbye to each tree that passes, each knot in the bark, burrow in the ground and birds' nest in the branches. Sixteen years getting to know the land and every inch feels like a part of me.

The house appears through the trees, small across the field before us. Despite the wild, bright flowers climbing up the sides, the hummingbird feeders hanging from the eave — our home feels like a threat.

Jisung stutters to a halt, yanking me back into him. His face is abruptly a scowl.

"Oh my god," he says. "Listen."

I focus on the house, the sounds inside it. A voice speaks up.

"Oh shit, they're coming! Faster, quicker, hurry, rush!"

We both run forward, up the steps and open the sliding door. Seven heads whip around. Changbin is dressed up in a fuzzy pink rabbit costume. Hyunjin is holding a groundhog in each arm. Jeongin is on Haseong's shoulders, hanging a banner that reads 'Happy Everything!'

"What the fuck is happening?" says Jisung.

Seungmin pops the lid off a tube and a clump of confetti falls out. "Surprise."

"What are you two doing back so early?" Chan exclaims. "We didn't have enough time to prepare!"

"The market closed early," Jisung says. "Someone overwatered the amorphophallus titanum and everybody went feral. What in god's name are you doing in our house — you scared me!"

"Yeah, you scared him!" I say.

"Cool your pits, boys," says Felix, casually stepping out of the fridge. "We're celebrating the All-idays."

"All-idays?"

"All the holidays. We decided to combine all the celebrations into one mega-party and get it done in one go."

Chan pulls me and Jisung into a hug. "We missed you two as well. Paraguay is so horribly far away."

"We just saw you for New Year's Eve." Jisung leans ruefully into the hug. "What else is there to celebrate?"

"Groundhog Day!" Hyunjin lifts the squirming animals in his arms.

"Easter." Changbin blows a floppy ear out of his face.

"Valentine's Day." Jeongin shoots a squeaky heart-shaped arrow at the floor.

"It's also the one-hundred year anniversary of my liberation," Felix says proudly. "Independ-lix Day, if you will."

"Hey, where's Kokoa?" I'm on my knees, rummaging around inside the kitchen cupboards. She isn't in any of her favourite pots.

"Here." Changbin turns around; the cat is locked onto his back by her teeth and claws. I run over and pull her into my arms. I still feel tense, shaky. Her gentle purring eases my mind, my wedding ring catching on her collar feels like home.

Jisung is rubbing his temples. "'Calling beforehand' is still a foreign concept to you guys, huh?"

"Last time I checked, your house wasn't reservation-only," says Seungmin.

"We had no idea you were here! You could've been anyone, even the... you know."

"Has all that been weighing heavily on your minds?" Chan's golden eyes are uneasy.

"Sometimes," Jisung says.

"A lot," I say.

"All the more reason to party!" Hyunjin sets the groundhogs down on the floor. "Cut a rug, friends!"

They immediately scamper out the door.

"That wasn't supposed to happen," Hyunjin sighs. Seungmin and Jeongin both rush to comfort him.

"Can I take this goddamn costume off now?" Changbin drops his carrot to reach for the zipper.

"Wait, we haven't taken pictures yet!" Hyunjin wrestles his camera out of the front of his hoodie. Felix and Chan follow suit, playing paparazzi while Changbin pretends to cringe away from the flashing lights.

Jeongin is looking at me, eyes narrowed. "Are you okay, Minho?"

"Yeah, why?"

"You're holding the cat pretty tight."

I loosen my grip a little. "Right. I'm... worried. Scared. More and more, I can't stop thinking about it."

Jisung comes over, cups my face. "My love."

"Minho," Haseong says, "I hope you know, as long as I'm alive, I won't let anything happen to you — any of you. That is my promise."

I smile and lie. "I know."

"Nothing is set in stone," Changbin says. "It's best to play it by ear. Right, Felix?"

He and Felix share a look. Felix casts his eyes down, clenching his jaw.

"Right," he says.

"Do you wanna talk about it, Min?" Seungmin asks.

"No. I'm sorry I'm being a bummer, we can celebrate the All-idays or whatever."

Hyunjin's hand raises slowly.

"Oh no," says Jisung.

Hyunjin throws his arms around us. "Group hug!"

The others pile on as well. Felix takes my hand, gives me a smile, though he looks as tense as I feel.

Something has to be done. Something has to change.

───

chapter 2 coming on monday !! ✨✨