"It's chaos, confusion, and wholly unworthy
Of feeding and it's wholly untrue
You may feel no purpose nor a point for existing
It's all just conjecture and gloom"

Achilles Come Down - Gang Of Youths

🥀

They found themselves docked the following day, a short carriage ride sufficed to bring them inland.

Aera wondered if all the other carriages were taken. The benches brought the pair so close they knocked knees for the first ten minutes of the ride.

"Would you move?" Jimin grunted at her, hitting her with the rounded edge of his bony leg.

Aera huffed back at him, "What, are you a child? Also, it is your fault. I am shorter than you by two inches, there is little else I can do."

Jimin rolled his eyes before leaning forward and grabbing her knees, his fingers spread the bottom part of her thighs. She swallowed looking up at him, completely thrown off by the unexpected touch. "Seven inches."

"I am not five foot two, you imbecile." She yelled, raising her voice enough to give a reason for the burning splotches of red on both of her cheeks. His hands were burning through with their iciness, as she wore a much thinner dress from her arsenal of clothing.

He raised a polished brow, "We are still talking about height?"

Aera sat slack-jawed, spluttering as he roughly slid her legs to the side. Without another glance, he propped his own on the bench and crossed his arms. After several moments of her silence, he turned to accost her.

"Do not act like what I just said was the most improper thing to ever happen in a carriage. Our King and Queen practically screwed each other as I slept beside them."

"What?" The revelation made her queasy. Not because of the lack of propriety. Some other emotion she rather not name swam to the surface.

"I did not wake up, thank the gods."

She searched for any animosity in his voice and found none. Did the Queen make him lose his memory? Or did he forget how intensely he pined for Leila before?

"Imagine if you told them earlier that you were his brother. They would probably be unable to ride in carriages without vomiting from shame."

She swore she saw a flicker of a smile before he closed his eyes and slept for the rest of the three-hour journey.

Aera did not mind the silence, instead taking in the outside world. Persia, as Leila called it, in this specific region was both desert and mountain. The sun had cooled the earth, painting it in shades of purple and pink. She imagined it would have looked perpetually Indigo when Leila lived there.

When they came to a stop, the petulant man was still sleeping. His white hair turned the same shade of pink that filtered in through the windows, his lashes made shadows across the tops of his defined cheeks. She stood up stiffly unsure of how to wake him.

"Jimin?"

He remained asleep.

"Nox?" She questioned softly. She laughed in a skittish manner at her joke. That was good.

When she looked down her laughs faltered, for the man had one eye peeped open. And he did not look too happy at her jest. "Too soon?" She questioned, pouting without sympathy.

The man stood abruptly, forcing her thighs to meet the hard edge of the bunch.  They stood face to face, only a couple of breaths apart. His dark eyes reflected the night that began to breach across the sky.

"Aera." He said her name slowly, curving around the vowels. Her heart stammered as he leaned forward, breathing into her ear, "Nox would never let you get away with that joke."

He was too close. Much too close. She was not even sure if she heard it correctly, or what he even meant. She could not focus.

The woman placed both of her hands on his chest and shoved him harshly. He let out a groan as he fell back onto the bench, his glare catching her haughty expression.

"I would like to see him try."

The man watched her wordlessly as she stepped out of the carriage, hair a bit of a mess and her cheeks still flushed red. She placed her cold hand on the back of them, hoping to calm herself down.

What had gotten into her? She had hated him for years now. She still hated him. She had sat alone for parts of the day just to plan his demise. A few moments alone and some touching, and what she was a blushing maiden? It was shameful to her entire being.

Remember what he did.

She breathed in slowly, reciting the mantra. Remembering the barren feeling as she woke up the next day after her wedding night, a pereche without knowing.

Not who he could have been.

They were not innocent children anymore. They were not burgeoning teens.

"We should get this over with, right? We only have this night."

She turned, finding him beside her. His eyes took in the lime-washed buildings of the village. Several bonfires were burning in the distance, lighting the purple world with orange. Stars dotted the dark sky in a pattern she no longer recognized, the moon a god above them. A palace stood at the far right of the expansive area, and she guessed that is where they would be staying for the night in Leila's corridors.

To the left, was a mountain face. Even from this distance, she could see some of the rock carved away just as their Queen had described. Elder Fareena's now abandoned temple.

"Should we wait for someone to greet us?" Aera questioned.

Jimin did not respond. Instead, he started to walk confidently ahead of her into the violet plane of sand. Hopefully in the direction they were supposed to go in.

"Come."

Aera started to follow him, but only because she did not want to be stuck out alone. Summer had found its hiding place here, the desert winds colder. She walked with her head straight, her hands by her side, and slightly behind the man. Eyeing him carefully, like she had been instructed to do. She half expected Nox to form around and inside of him, taking over his body before they even had a chance to find his chosen Priest.

She took in the village buildings as she passed, taking note of the sweet scent floating in the air. Though fires burned in the distance, it seemed as if everyone was inside avoiding the night as it came. Flat roofs with curved and somehow pointed arches, and geometric lines decorated some of the bigger buildings. A blossom of orange dotted along the landscape, as candlelight and warm atmosphere reflected off of houses, a food market, and a watch tower.

They did not stop at Leila's palace home, which Aera wanted to delve into. She almost smiled as she could see the floral mosaics dotted with vibrant blues, yellows, and whites. No, instead Jimin trudged along stiffly until they made it to the carved-out cliff face.

"You are taking us to the Temple," Aera stated it was not a question of what. It was why?

Sand and dust lifted off the ground as Jimin turned on his heel. The light of the moon cascaded them in cool blues, but she could see his annoyed expression.

"Do you think Azita, who hates her sister for being unnatural, will help us any? We are inhuman freaks to her. She will not give us what we want, no matter how nicely I ask." He bit out the last words bitterly. The suggestion had been for Jimin to flirt with the woman till she gave him answers.

They stepped into the Temple together. Aera noticed no strangeness, other than it was dark as shit, even with her enhanced eyesight. As Jimin began to scrounge for something to light, she looked up at the ceiling, trying to figure out how they were able to carve into the cliffside. She noticed a hole that opened up to the sky, but as the moon was not positioned above, it offered no reprieve.

"What? If you cannot have one sister, why not have the other? You people with siblings are all the same right?" She asked absentmindedly, filling with delight when she heard all of his movements freeze.

Jimin lifted himself slowly. Aera paid him no attention, which ended up being her mistake.

His presence was felt before it was seen. She swallowed harshly, feeling his chill along the back of her body. She started into the darkness, not moving away as she felt his breath scurry along the dip where her neck met her shoulder.

"You think Taehyung and I are the same?" He laughed, making goosebumps appear across her flesh, "Tell me, do I remind you of your prince charming? Would you make me little gifts and practically re-mold yourself trying to be someone that I would like?"

Aera was left speechless once again. They had rarely had a conversation in the last four years that wasn't just a stream of insults. From the way he acted like she barely existed ever since he first was sent to keep an eye on Leila, which was two years prior, she did not expect him to care to remember their childhood squabbles. It felt so distant from who they were now, and what happened. She hated that he used it to mock her now, it felt like a betrayal of some kind.

"You are nothing like him. How foolish of me to make that assumption." Aera fired back at him. Jimin believed that Aera was bitter that Taehyung ended their engagement because she had feelings for him.

When that could not be further from the truth.

The young Immortui did not want to reminisce on what it was like to watch Jimin walk Leila down the aisle. Not when he was so close to her.

He said nothing, his breath beginning to feel uneven in a pattern against her. She felt the bottom of her spine curving. To get further way. To get closer. Just as he sucked in a breath to speak, their attention was diverted to a scraping sound from near the cave opening.

"Who's there?" The pair said at the same time.

Jimin moved from her swiftly, as if caught. She was too vigilant to feel any burst of shame from liking his closeness far too much for someone who wanted him dead.

There was a crunch of a match lighting, and then the blackness ebbed into a figure. A woman.

"It seems like you both found your way. Usual for your kind." The female stated in a voice like sharp twigs. Aera took in her face through the minimal light of the ever-fading match. Her hair was a sandy brown, and quite plain as it was pulled into a simple bun. Her face was tanned, but somehow gray. Her eyes looked like beetles, dark and reflective. With a smile akin to walking on glass. She looked nothing like Leila, nor Setareh, both gems in their own right. The only thing remarkable about her other than her eerie face was her opulent clothes. Her dress was a bright teal, and she wore gold jewelry all up and down her body. Her strained smile widened, "Unwelcome, and intrusive as always."

"Is she possessed by Nox too?" Aera inquired loudly, angling her jaw towards Jimin. He had met her previously when they brought Leila to retrieve the first part of the poem.

Yes, Aera had been so injured that Leila told her everything. Everything. Except for the carriage incident, but she would tease her for that when she got back.

Jimin stared at Azita, inconvenienced. When that look was not directed towards herself, it was satisfying to watch others crumble underneath it, "That one? No, she's just a—" He trailed off.

"Bitch?" She finished for him. Azita lit another match, her eyes flinching up at the word, glaring brazenly at the woman. Not knowing that look could cost the Anvari woman her eyes. She glared back. Suddenly, the pulse under the plain woman's neck seemed entirely too inviting.

Jimin crossed his arms, frowning, "I do not call women that."

She supposed he didn't. At least, until his dead mother took over his body. "No, you just call me worse." Pig. Worthless. A useless state of matter. The downfall of mankind. A green-eyed monster. Aera could go on with the insults he had thrown at her over the years.

Jimin's lips twitched upward in the dark, "You are an exception."

Azita coughed, raising he voice to interrupt, "If you both are done here, please give me the pleasure of taking you to where you will be sleeping tonight. As the King detailed in a message, that you are only to stay the night and rest before you journey ahead."

She started to walk out of the cave without making sure either of them followed her. The pair exchanged a glance before trailing behind.

"She has a bigger stick up her ass than-"

"You?" Jimin questioned, walking swiftly to keep her pace.

"Fuck you." Aera deadpanned, then talking so lowly Azita would not be able to detect it with her human ears, "She knew where we would go. That means she has to know something about what is going on. Maybe Elder Fareena converted her to a follower of Nox."

"Bezna." Jimin corrected, telling her the name of his grandfather and High Priest, who descended from Nox's line.

"Who-fucking-ever we are dealing with," Aera seethed, boring her eyes into Jimin's side profile, "She is too. I can feel it." She watched the strange gait the human carried herself with. Too quick and too stiff to be normal. She noticed that most humans walked with a slouch, almost like their feet were too heavy for their bodies.

Something was not right.

Jimin decided to ignore her once again. Muttering something about paranoia under his breath. Aera groaned in annoyance, trekking closer to the creepy bitch instead of next to his dumb ass.

"So, where is the infamous Elder Fareena Leila always talked about?" Aera questioned, stepping beside the strange human.

"She went to travel for spiritual reasons, about a month ago." Azita answered easily through full, but pale lips, "I would not press any further. Many people here would rather see you burned at the stake than given the information of our most respected Elder."

What?

Aera felt her neck move mechanically, inching until her eyes locked on the incorrigible human with a little too much nerve. If this is a fraction of what Leila dealt with, she wondered how the princess ever controlled her powers enough not to strangle her.

"I feel like a fair amount of people would like to see you burn before me." She retorted, hoping that it stuck. The dry night air continued to sting her eyes, and her lips, but she could see her words hit her mark.

Her coal eyes seared Aera through the darkness.

Something isn't right. Her instincts swelled her hair, forced her heart to pump faster, and her mouth to water, as her vision honed in on the woman before her. 

"I doubt it." 

"Jimin! Get her-" Aera looked behind her back, trying to address the man.

He was gone. 

She forced herself to look back at the human, whose smile only grew in her frenzied pursuit.

"What? Did he know this was going to happen? Is he hiding out so he can watch my demise from afar?"

Her realization shredded her throat as the words poured out. Of course, she would be able to get away from the human, but at what end? Where would she go after?

What Azita said next was more startling than the turn of events, "The handsome advisor is not working with me. I just happen to have a spell given to me by Elder Fareena that binds Shadow to earth. And is he not a shadow?" The lack of compassion in her eyes chilling. Similar to how Jimin looked the night he was possessed by the Queen.

He is trapped by the human?

"You possess no magic. Leila told me that."

Azita lifted her hand, staring at them as she could barely recognize them. Her gaze lifted in a jerky manner, more animal than human. Her smile revealed a top row of teeth that were filed to points, and blackened gums. 

"That was before I sold my soul." 

Creepy bitch.

Aera has seen many things. She herself was a monster to many. But that had to be the scariest shit she has ever witnessed. It worsened when the eldest sister crouched, setting her hands on the ground and staring at Aera like she was her next meal. 

Run. 

Just run. 

Aera nodded slowly, pretending to kneel forward into submission. The creature that used to be entirely Leila's sister squealed with victory before Aera's hand touched the sandy ground. 

Taking a handful, and effectively throwing it into the monster's eyes. 

Azita let out a roar both inhuman and somehow feminine, but Aera did not stay to apologize.

She took off sprinting, in the direction of the village, her blood pumping wildly through her veins. Sweat began to bead down her back as she looked from left to right, but never behind her. Where the fuck could Jimin be? The horizon shook as she swiveled mindlessly to her left and right, flinching as she heard rabid panting nearing her with every step. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Should she leave him? No. Azita should not get the satisfaction of killing him. Of course, the man would have the nerve to be kidnapped right under her nose. He is such a Solis-damned damsel in distress.

Aera kept pumping her legs forward, not giving up until she reached the center of town. She saw a large bonfire, and humans gathered around it. They picked up their heads, hearing her hurried footsteps. 

"Help! Help please." She slowed down as she appeared upon the crowd, as to not scare them. There were about forty villagers, most in their older age. She could tell from the spots of gray hair that glinted under firelight. "There is a creature coming to kill us all!" She took in a breath, "They kidnapped the man that was with me. They-"

An older woman glared at her. A man beside her spit on the ground, his face contorted in hatred. More people closed in on her, effectively making her stand back and away.

"That was honorable. But we are the monsters to them." Jimin's impeccably annoying but convenient voice sounded from beside her.

"Jimin! Where-" She turned to the sound of his voice, faced by the heat of a large flame. Licking at her cheeks, her thin dress, and her knuckles. There was a large post in the center, with a flat wooden frame.

And Jimin. Who stood looking impervious as ever despite his predicament. 

"Oh shit." Said Aera, realizing this was where Azita had bound him. And the villagers did not seem too keen on helping. In fact, the others that did not circle around her watched him being swallowed by flame gleefully. 

Jimin's face and body glistened with both dirt and sweat. He looked around himself, letting his head fall back on the pole to keep his face from the heat, "Oh shit is right. I cannot get down. You were right. That monster-"

"Is you both." Azita said, stepping into the clearing on two feet. As human as before, accept the woman was trying harder in front of the fellow villagers. Aera looked around, trying to figure out a way to kill her without killing the rest of the humans. Not that she was opposed, but she was sure Leila would not appreciate it. "These Vipera Immortui came here tonight to massacre you all. My sister's orders."

"That is a lie!" Aera stepped forward, but was violently pushed back by an invisible wall when she tried to step towards Azita. 

The woman shook her head, tsking as everyone listened to her word. Not a single person stepped in to help. Instead, two men stepped forward to bind her wrists.

And she let them. 

Azita stepped near the bonfire, looking up at the advisor to admire her work. "You cannot escape. I sent a messenger hours ago to the captain of your ship to tell him that the King and Queen requested for you to return back home immediately. That you were both so tired you were already in your bed chamber within the ship. He is too far away for even you to swim to catch up."

The Immortui woman was being pushed towards the flame. She saw Jimin's head snap towards her, but she ignored his gaze and dug her heels into the ground. Instead, addressing the bitter woman, "I see why both Leila and Setareh hate you. You are a body without a soul, even before you sold it."

The woman's eyes flashed, her mouth barely opening to hide her teeth, "Place her in the fire!" 

The men pushed against Aera, learning quickly that Immortui strength would best them all. Jimin's capture had been by sheer luck. She was iron welded to the ground, unmovable. 

"Light more torches." Azita said, keeping her gaze on Aera to watch her reaction. 

She looked at Jimin, who finally started to crack. His lips parted as more humans stalked forward with torches, ready to light the podium that had been untouched yet by flame. 

Fuck. Think of something. Anything. 

She looked around, trying to catch at least one person's eyes who could be sympathetic. Any person who made contact with her looked angry or frightened. It was of no use. They either hated her, or wanted her dead because they saw her as a threat. Despite the true monster hiding within their walls.

There were adults. But no children. No adolescents. They were not meant to fight, not like Immortui children. They were cherished, protected. 

That is it. 

"Kaveh!" Aera screamed out, looking around for recognition. She hoped she was not butchering the name Leila mentioned to her. "Does anyone know a boy named Kaveh? I know what really happened to your son." Not one person stepped forward. "Any of you?" She asked desperately. 

Only the sound of flames crackling filled the air. Her hair clung to her face, her throat dry as she waited for someone to answer.

"Why are you waiting? Burn the witch-" 

A man stepped forward, Azita's words dying in her throat. He was tall, and well built for a man his age. His lashes were thick, nose straight, and his beard covered a kind mouth. He was holding a single unlit torch. 

"That is my son's name you are spouting from your sullied tongue." His brows furrowed, his voice trembling, "Your Soulless Queen got him killed. She was a blight upon our land, a sickness. And we have heard that she has chosen to become a creature of the night upon her own volition, just to feast on the blood of humans."

Soulless? How could they speak of her this way when the sun touched upon their faces everyday?

"Leila sacrificed herself to bring back the sun." Aera stuttered, appalled that their version of her was not born from truth. 

The father of Kaveh shook his head, his voice cracking, "And yet she lives while my son's ashes cling to the earth."

What happened was evil. She saw the horror in Leila's eyes as she recalled the tale. But it had not been her fault. Setareh had relayed to Jeongguk what truly happened, and Aera loved to eavesdrop. 

"I understand your loss, and I am sorry." The Immortui shook her head, genuine. "But it was not Leila who killed him."

"Burn her! Burn her now!" Azita yelped, her voice cracking and pitching oddly. 

Azita turned, practically flicking the grown men off of her like flies. She moved in a circle, as everyone paid attention to the commotion she had started. But all she could feel was the heat of the flame, burning hotter and hotter. And Jimin, who was now a mirage of red as he fought the flame with shadow. 

"Of course, you would want that." She looked back to the father, "Azita is the reason why your Kaveh was murdered. The woman you see here has always been jealous of Leila. Her family, Elder Fareena, and herself have all turned you against her because they worship the God of Night." That last part was a guess, but an educated one. With what Azita shifted to, it could only be true. She put the final nail in the woman's coffin, "She saw your boy with Leila. She told Elder Fareena what happened in hopes to punish them both, Leila did not."

A strange bubbling laugh started from the beetle-eyed woman. Kaveh's father looked at the ground, his hands clenching. Villagers started to whisper to each other, some even dropping their torches. 

"That is ridiculous. She is lying, you must all know that." Azita started, holding up her hands, looking at her fellow people, "You cannot believe them when I have done everything I can for us." Then more frantically, "She is lying!"

"Punish her." Aera commanded towards the humans. Her jade eyes glittered dangerously at the group, "And you will all be pardoned by the King and Queen for this transgression against my associate and I." Jimin scoffed loudly at the word associate, but made no other remark. Glad he could find his dignity while he was burning alive. 

Again, there was silence and stillness. 

"No, no! She is a witch just like my heathen sister. I never harmed a hair on your son's head. I barely even knew him. Kav never--" The unmade woman stuttered, the old nickname she used for the boy slipping out. She slapped a hand over her mouth, her beady eyes filling with moisture as she slowly began to back away, her breath trembling. Her human form making mistakes the demon within her could not. 

The older man's eyes narrowed as he answered Aera, though his eyes were completely trained on Azita, "Deal."

Azita started to snarl, but the large man was on her in seconds. Aera waited, smirking at Jimin through the fire as two people began to untie her bindings. The man rolled his eyes, but he could not hide his own smile. As soon as Azita was bound the same as Aera had been, Jimin was able to lift his hands from the wooden pole. He used his shadow to snuff out the flame, and walked gracefully down the pile of fuel to the sandy ground. 

Of course, brushing ash of himself and gasping when it created a black spot on his shirt. He raised a brow as he placed himself beside her, watching Azita struggle against the humans. Her body contorting and her eyes changing shape as she shifted between form. They could help, but her death was out of their hands now. 

"I have to ask," Jimin called out to Azita, "What does it feel like to be a sacrifice?"

He chose his words carefully. They hit their target when the woman screeched, turning fully human. She bared her teeth at the man, chomping down on blunted teeth. Every bit of the human that hated her sister.

Aera stepped forward, monotone as she stood calmly above the woman, wanting her to feel every word. "You will be forgotten. I will make sure to wipe your name from all records. I will erase the memory of you from your parents, from the villagers. I will make sure your blood and bone is washed away into the sea. You were nothing, and you will leave as nothing."

Azita stopped struggling, her eyes going black.

Jimin and Azita heard her pleas, even as they walked away from the fire. The cries from the father whose boy was murdered would haunt her dreams for the rest of her days. 

"Impressive. But what the fuck do we do now?"

Aera wished her blood did not pulse at the compliment. He meant it, considering he turned away from her when he said it. She hid her smile, fatigued and a bit bruised. It was pretty brilliant, wasn't it? 

But a boy was still dead. Those people still thought Leila hated them. They would have to report to the Queen that her eldest sister was dead.

"I am not a god. I do not have all the answers."

Jimin and Aera had no ship. The carriage was nearby, if that had been unmoved. But only if Azita had missed that detail. 

They fled into the night. Lost, and alone. 

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(A/N: LOVE YOU ALL

This chapter was crazy! I think I am getting better at action scenes.

I promise the spice is coming quicker than Solace. Just stay tuned! It still needs to build and be satisfying. Love yalllll