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baepsaesbae · 4 years

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Heal Me, Kill Me Ch.1

Pairing— Kim Namjoon x reader (only in this chapter), Kim Taehyung x reader (main focus) ft. Yoongi

Genre— Vampire!Taehyung x Vampire Hunter!y/n, ANGST, smut +18, comedy (i tried)

Warnings— Death, violence, oral (f receiving), fingering, explicit unprotexted sex

Word Count— 7.6k

Summary— You’re one of the best vampire hunters in the world. That's to be expected when your parents are the best of the best. Your life had solely revolved around ruthlessly killing vampires. You were essentially a cold blooded machine. However, things take a turn once you meet Kim Taehyung, your latest target.

A/N— Huge shoutout to @dee-ehn for this beautiful banner! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, please let me know what you think!

You didn’t choose this life. You had no past trauma that spurred you on to take this path. Most vampire hunters became hunters because a loved one was murdered and they wanted revenge or some bullshit like that. Not you though.

You were born into this lifestyle. Your parents were allegedly the best hunting team in history. They were usually too busy with work, so you were practically raised by the faction itself. The grandmaster of the Vampyre Extermination Company (VEC for short) was your main parental figure.

While normal children went to school, you were being trained in combat. The only lessons you had were those pertaining to vampires. You knew everything there was to know about them. Being the youngest member of the company, it was clear that you were a prodigy.

By the age of 13, you had already killed 5 vampires. Most seasoned hunters only kill 5 in their entire lifetimes. You were incredibly smart, and used your youth to your advantage.

That was ten years ago. You had lost track of your kill count (not that it matters, it’s officially documented somewhere). You were now the youngest person ever to achieve the Expert Hunter title.

None of that fancy stuff matters to you. You get assigned a job, and you do it. That’s all it was. In fact, you were on a job at this very moment.

You were all dolled up sitting at the bar of a very busy nightclub, with a drink that you had no intention of drinking. Your assignment had been spotted frequenting this club quite often. He preyed on young women (as most of them do) and many of them had gone missing from this location.

You had on the skimpiest dress you could find. Its low cut neckline coupled with a push-up bra had your breasts nearly spilling out of the dress. Its tight material clung to your body to reveal your curves. You absolutely hated it.

“Why are you alone, pretty girl?” a drunk man stumbled up to you. He definitely wasn’t your target.

“I’m waiting for someone to kill,” you replied nonchalantly.

“To kill? That sounds kind of scary,” he put his hand on your waist.

You grabbed his wrist and twisted it, causing the man to cry out in agony.

“I don’t have time to waste on you. Get out of my sight or else I’ll break your wrist,” you warned with cold indifference.

The man scampered away as soon as you released him. You refocused your attention on the crowded dance floor. It’s possible that the vampire would smoothly dance with a girl before luring her to her doom.

You began to sigh in frustration when there was no sign of your target. Suddenly, the room’s temperature dropped. The hair on the back of your neck stood up, and goosebumps covered your body.

He had arrived.

There was no doubt about it. You felt a malevolent presence as soon as he entered the buidling. Your eyes scanned the club again, in search of the source. Finally, you found him.

There was a tall handsome man standing in front of the dance floor, surveying it as intensely as you were surveying him. He glanced your way, causing you to freeze up. When your eyes met, you shot him a coy smile, and turned to your drink.

Hopefully that was enough to pique his interest. You debated on whether you should sip your drink or not, to make you appear more vulnerable. It didn’t take long before a deep voice rang in your ear.

“Are you waiting on someone?” a seductive voice asked.

You could already tell he was using his charms. One of a vampire’s many tricks was their gift of persuasion and seduction. Supernatural powers were involved, of course, but their good looks helped seal the deal.

“Maybe. Maybe not,” you replied before sipping your drink.

“If you were, you probably wouldn’t have smiled my way,” the man took a seat beside you.

“Ah, you got me there. You’re a sharp one huh?” you smiled.

“In more ways than one, dear,” the man chuckled before extending a hand, “I’m Namjoon. Pleasure to meet you.”

“I’m ___. The pleasure is all mine,” you shake his hand, taking note of how eerily cold it was. This was definitely him.

The night went on with playful flirting and shallow attempts at getting to know each other. You were well aware that everything both you and Namjoon said was a lie. Namjoon insisted on ordering you a drink after you finished the first one but you politely declined, saying you’ve had more than enough for one night (another blatant lie).

Namjoon finally made his move. He leaned over to you and kissed your exposed shoulder.

“You wanna get out of here?” he asked. You could feel how heavily laced his words were with mystical persuasion.

“I thought you’d never ask,” you kissed his cheek.

It wasn’t hard to flirt when your target was so attractive. In fact, that’s how most of your hunts have gone ever since you got older. You’d seduce them into letting their guard down, and kill them when they weren’t paying attention. It was a slight perk that vampires were much better at fucking than humans, but you were willing to keep that information private.

Back at Namjoon’s apartment, he wasted no time getting you undressed. You were passionately making out with him on his bed when reached down to palm his clothed erection. Namjoon released a guttural moan.

“So impatient,” he chuckled, kissing down your throat.

His hands wandered down between your thighs, rubbing your clit. He kissed his way down your stomach, pausing before your heat. He delicately flicked his tongue down your folds. You bucked your hips up, begging for more. Namjoon slid in his long slender fingers while his tongue worked your clit.

He expertly curved his fingers into you, hitting that special spot perfectly. His intensity picked up, causing your cries to get louder. He held you down as you started to squirm beneath him. He sucked on your clit as he rapidly pumped in and out of you.

You came without a warning, your body shaking from the impact. Namjoon licked up all of your juices. Your chest was heaving as Namjoon kissed a trail back up to your lips. His eyes were darkened with a dangerous hunger you were all too familiar with.

Going any further would be dangerous, but you couldn’t help yourself. He was too alluring to resist, plus your motto was that there’s no harm in having a little fun. A satisfied smile crept across your face after you tugged off his bottoms. His dick was just as big as you imagined, and you needed it inside of you immediately.

You immediately straddled Namjoon, lips still locked as you lowered yourself onto him. You moaned into his mouth as he filled you completely. Your hips moved on their own accord, leaving you no choice but to enjoy the ride. Namjoon let you take the lead, enjoying an unfamiliar balance of power in the bedroom. His hands rested on your hips as you rocked back and forth.

“You’re so hot. I could stay like this forever,” Namjoon praised.

“Have you ever been tied up before?” you asked before kissing his ear. As much as you wanted the night to continue, you knew Namjoon was at his limit. Endorphins were high, right now would be the perfect time to devour you.

“No, I haven’t. I’m usually the one doing the tying. But I’m always willing to try something new,” Namjoon smirked.

“Wait here then. And close your eyes!” you giggled.

Your legs were wobbly as you made your way to your discarded bag. You were delighted when you reentered the bedroom to find Namjoon still closing his eyes.

“Good boy,” you cooed while taking out silver chains.

“Are those chains I hear?” Namjoon sounded excited.

“Yes, I’m gonna chain you up real good. You’ve been a bad boy,” you whispered into his ear. Namjoon groaned, and you noticed his cock twitch.

With impossibly quick motions, you wrapped the chains around Namjoon’s wrists. The silver burned his skin upon impact. There was no need to chain up his legs, as the silver severely weakened him. He tried to wiggle free of the chain but it was no use. His eyes darted open to see you smiling down at him.

“There’s no use in struggling, Namjoon. These chains are pure silver and are anointed with holy water for extra measure. I am ___, from the Vampyre Extermination Company. You have been found guilty of numerous kidnappings and murders,” you say as you take out a wooden stake.

“Fuck you, you bitch!” Namjoon spat at you, fully baring his fangs.

“That’s not very nice, dear. You were so sweet to me before. Well, before you were going to kill me of course,” you laughed as if it were a joke, “Thank you for showing me a good time. May your soul rest easy in the next life.”

Namjoon bared his fangs at you while you plunged the stake into his chest. Blood gushed out of his wound. Cries of agony filled the room. A few moments later, Namjoon’s body turned to dust. The job was complete.

You made a call while getting dressed. Your clothes were soaked with blood, but that was nothing new.

“Hi, I’m gonna need a clean up crew at this address. Nothing super messy, just burn the bed I guess. Yeah, the mess was pretty much contained. Mhm. Yeah. Ok thank you,” you say curtly.

Back in your hotel room, you rewarded yourself with a bubble bath (after a shower of course). With most of the blood scrubbed off, you relaxed in the fragrant water. You had a habit of reflecting on your life after every job.

Was your life ever going to be normal? Probably not.

Were you going to die on one of your jobs? Probably.

Do you enjoy your job/life? Maybe? You couldn’t tell.

You did acknowledge that you loved the thrill of the hunt. You enjoyed acting weak and innocent, only to violently kill your targets. The sex and stuff was a nice bonus too. You were taught that vampires prefer to ‘wine and dine’ their prey. Apparently happy people make for happy meals. Due to this, it’s quite common for vampires to seduce their victims before devouring them.

‘Do vampires make other vampires?’ you asked when you were a child.

‘Yes. But they rarely do that because they are solitary creatures. Also, only the strongest vampires can turn humans since it drains their own life force tremendously,’ was the answer.

You got an assignment about once every month. During the time that you don’t have anyone to kill, you enjoyed traveling. The VEC pays handsomely. You never understood where all the money came from, until you were told that the deceased vampires’ assets get transferred to the VEC. How that happens, you had no clue. But it doesn’t matter; you get paid well enough to travel wherever you wanted to at a moment’s notice.

You perused the internet for flights to France. You’ve been craving macarons lately. You were about to buy a ticket when your phone rang. You groaned when you saw the VEC caller ID.

“Hello?” you answered.

“___. I need you to come down to HQ immediately.”

“Grandmaster?” your eyes widened. You never got a direct call from him. Whatever this was, it must be urgent.

He hung up as soon as he delivered the message. Typical. He’s a very straight to the point kind of guy.

There goes the rest of your relaxing evening. You packed up all of your belongings. A driver was already waiting for you in the lobby. Again, you had no idea how the VEC can be so quick and efficient, but you’re thankful for it regardless.

The car brought you to a private airport, in which a jet was already ready for you.

‘This must actually be serious,’ you thought. The VEC was boujee, as they usually flew you out first class, but the private jet is a first.

Within a few hours, you had finally arrived at HQ. You were greeted warmly upon entrance. After a quick congratulations on another successful job, you were escorted to the Grandmaster’s office.

“___. Please take a seat,” the grandmaster said as he paced back and forth.

“Is everything okay, Yoongi?” you asked. You always dropped the formalities when you were alone together. This man had been more of a parent to you than your actual parents, with whom you only had fleeting encounters with.

“It’s your parents. ___, I’m so sorry. They were killed on a hunt,” Yoongi placed a firm grip on your shoulder.

You silently processed the news. More than anything, you felt shocked. Shocked, because they were supposed to be the best hunters in the world. Shocked, because you felt nothing. You felt no sadness, no anger. You were so detached from your parents, they might as well have been strangers.

Yoongi on the other hand, looked like he was about to break down. He had known your parents for a long time. They were practically family to him, just like you.

You get up to embrace Yoongi in a long hug. You seldom showed true acts of affection, but this was as genuine as it gets. More than anything, you felt sad for Yoongi. You couldn’t fathom what he felt. You couldn’t imagine what it was like to lose a loved one, mostly due to the fact that you didn’t have any loved ones. Yoongi may have been the closest thing to it.

You helped sit Yoongi down. After he was seated, you poured him a drink. Lord knows he needed it.

“Did their target kill them?” you asked, breaking the heavy silence.

“Yes. Their bodies were drained and left out in a field. I began to think the worst when your parents failed to make two check in calls in a row,” Yoongi took a swig of his drink.

“Their target must be pretty powerful…” your voice trailed off.

“He is. I knew he was strong, but taking out our two best? Inconceivable,” Yoongi scoffed, “I’m gonna kill the bastard with my own hands, I swear to God--”

“I’ll go,” you interrupted.

“You?” Yoongi blinked, “Absolutely not. I already lost your parents, I can’t lose you too--”

“You haven’t been in the field for years. A male vampire would never trust you, so you would have to resort to immediate violence. If he took out both of my parents, then his physical strength must be no joke,” you stated the facts.

Yoongi looked at you dumbfounded before taking another long sip of his drink.

“Fine. But I’ll go with you--”

“No, you won’t. Your presence will blow my cover.”

“I can stay in the next town over.”

“Just to snoop around and fuck up my hunt? No thanks.”

“God, you’re so fucking stubborn, kid. How about this? Give me a night to concoct a safe alibi for you. I get to plan out how your first encounter with him goes. You can choose to kill him on the spot, or go for your usual route,” Yoongi raised his eyebrows as he said the last bit.

“Works for me. I’m pretty sure I can’t suddenly kill him without the element of surprise and a shit ton of luck.”

“You’re willing to seduce your parents’ murderer?” Yoongi couldn’t hide the concern in his voice.

“This is just another job to me. A job is a job. Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way. That’s what you’ve always preached to me,” you shrugged.

That was Yoongi’s last straw. He pulled you in for a tight hug as a single tear rolled down his cheek. He kissed the top of your head.

“I’m truly sorry, ___. I never should have let you into this world. Your parents insisted that I train you. I should have refused, and let you live a normal life,” Yoongi apologized.

“Yoongi, you did nothing wrong. I’m perfectly fine the way I am. Believe it or not, I’ve probably saved a lot of people from becoming someone’s midnight snack,” you try to lighten the mood.

“I just worry about you, you know? It’s almost as if you’re my own kid,” Yoongi sighed, finally letting go of you, “Come back here tomorrow morning at 10am. I’ll have your assignment by then.”

“Please get some sleep, Yoongi,” you squeezed his hand.

“I can’t sleep. Not like this. To be honest, I’m afraid that I’ll dream about your parents,” Yoongi admitted.

Noticing that you didn’t know how to respond, he quickly dismissed what he said.

“I think the alcohol is getting to me. Don’t mind me. Go to sleep, kiddo,” he patted your head.

You excused yourself and headed to your room. Your new target has sparked intrigue. You were in awe at how powerful he must be. You concluded that he must be clever. Your parents knew every trick in the book. They knew how to hunt and kill every and any type of vampire. At least, you thought they did.

You drifted off to sleep. Your last thoughts lingered on the vampire who killed your parents.

That night, you had a strange dream.

You felt trapped. You couldn’t move your body. All of a sudden, you were freezing. The sound of water surrounded you. Everything was pitch black, and soon, it was getting harder to breathe.

“I loved you” you heard a muffled voice say.

You woke up in a cold sweat. What the hell was that? You couldn’t remember the last time you had a nightmare. You weren’t even sure if that could be classified as a nightmare. After getting up to drink some water, you went back to sleep without giving it a second thought.

“Yoongi, this is literally the worst cover you’ve ever made,” you admitted as you examined the file he handed you.

“I worked on it all night! I believe it’s foolproof,” Yoongi argued.

The bags under his eyes got impossibly darker, hinting at the fact that he probably did work on it all night. Upon realizing this, you decided to tone down your criticism.

“Maybe it could work. I’m just worried that I won’t be able to play the part,” you stated.

“I feel like this role is more natural than just being a flirt. But, of course, I could be mistaken,” Yoongi gave you a disapproving glance.

“Okay whatever. Yes, I’ll make it work,” you rolled your eyes.

You were flown out to the target’s town the next day. Your living arrangement had already been prepared. You found yourself settling into a small cottage surrounded by a forest. It looked like something out of a fairytale.

It was oddly freeing being able to go on a mission in normal clothes. There was no need for revealing and uncomfortable clothing. You didn’t have to beat your face with makeup or worry about how your hair looks. Yoongi emphasized the importance of being plain. You needed to be someone who could easily sneak up on the target.

So, with a regular t-shirt and jeans topped with a jacket, you made your drive to the target’s location. Even though Yoongi’s plan was less extreme than you’re used to, the possibility of it taking a turn for the worse was still present. After all, this was the monster who murdered your parents. You couldn’t afford to let your guard down. You took a deep breath. It was now or never.

You pulled up to an impressive mansion. From what you could tell, there were no neighbors for miles. The house looked like something from a horror movie. The yard was overgrown, and the building was decrepit.

There was a large fountain in the middle of the front courtyard. Unfortunately, the fountain had been neglected. The water was filthy and the statues were covered in moss, making them unidentifiable.

Now standing in front of a grand, or rather, once grand front door, you mustered up the strength to knock. You firmly knocked on the door three times. A minute passed, and you couldn’t hear anything from inside.

You tried again, knocking harder and for a bit longer. There was still no reply for a couple of minutes. You began to think maybe he had left. Or maybe he was so weary of strangers that you’d have to force your way in.

You tried a third time. You were about to yell, ‘Hello? Is anyone home?’, but the door slowly opened.

From behind it, peered out the most beautiful being you’ve ever seen in your life. He was so effortlessly stunning that you forgot why you were there for a second. A tall man with dark hair gave you a quizzical look.

“Can I help you?” his deep voice vibrated.

“Hi! I have a flower delivery for a Mr. Tom Davis?” you presented an extravagant bouquet of flowers to him.

“Sorry, you have the wrong house. Which is an incredible mistake, as I don’t have any neighbors remotely close by,” the man was still standing cautiously behind the door.

If you couldn’t lure him out, it would be damn near impossible to kill him like this. On the other hand, you weren’t too eager to try and have him invite you in.

“What really?” you glanced at the address, then dropped your jaw in surprise, “Oh my god, you’re right. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience! My first delivery, and I already botched it,” you began to mumble as you turned back to your car.

This was a calculated mistake, of course. This was all a ploy to make you seem naive and vulnerable, just in a more innocent way than you’re used to.

“Do you need help with directions?” the man called out to you. You smiled, this is just what you’d been waiting for. If you could just catch him off guard, you could easily lop off his head with the silver short sword hidden in your jacket.

“That would be awesome!” you spun around happily.

You walked back up the steps and approached him before he held his hand out.

“Stop right there,” he commanded.

You froze still in your tracks. He wasn’t using any magic, but his sudden request was unexpected.

“Can you hand me the delivery papers from there please?” he asked, avoiding eye contact, “Sorry, I’m not good around strangers.”

You wordlessly handed him the papers. You were dumbfounded. Vampires were the masters of suave and the epitome of seduction. This man gave off no such presence. Other than his otherworldly attractiveness and subtly powerful aura, you never would have pinned him as a vampire.

You quickly put yourself back on high alert. Maybe that was his plan. Maybe he was a more passive vampire. Those were rare, but still a possibility.

“If I’m not mistaken, I think you took a right instead of a left at the crossroads that led you here,” he said quietly as he held out the papers for you.

Now you were flabbergasted. You took back the papers, but awkwardly lingered on his front porch. How would you come back? You couldn’t use a delivery excuse again, that would make him even more suspicious. Your mind raced as you thought of something to say or do.

“Those flowers are beautiful,” he observed.

“Oh these? Yeah I guess. Flowers are supposed to be pretty, aren’t they?” you laughed nervously. What was he trying to do?

“Yes, they are pretty externally, as are most things in life. But I think their true beauty lies within their intent,” he slightly opened the door wider, revealing half of his body.

“These flowers have intent?” you asked, genuinely curious.

“For example, this Mr. Tom Davis either loves his partner a lot, or whoever is sending these to him loves him a lot,” he gestured towards the bouquet, “A mixture of orchids and wax flowers is a nice way to express a lasting love, patience, and sometimes even lasting wealth.”

“These flowers say that much?” you were amused.

“Only to those who listen, I suppose,” he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.

“I wish I knew as much about flowers as you. I don’t know jackshit about them, and I was just bequeathed an entire flower shop,” you sighed. You hoped he would take the bait and prolong the conversation.

“You own a flower shop?” his face lit up for an instant before his features returned to a more somber state, “And, I’m sorry for your loss.”

He almost had a cute boyish charm about him. His condolences seemed sincere, not at all like the false statements you were used to being fed by his kind.

“Well, I guess I do now. I have no idea how to run it, so I’m kind of freaking out about it. I have all these orders but I’m not even a certified florist. Oh, and thanks,” you shrugged, hoping to give off the illusion of helplessness.

“I don’t mean to overstep any boundaries, but maybe I could be of assistance?” he offered, his eyes finally meeting yours.

Something happened at that moment. You felt a pang in your chest as soon as your eyes met. Those weren’t the eyes of a hungry predator. Instead, you saw only kindness and maybe something else that you couldn’t quite place. Maybe Yoongi was wrong, maybe this wasn’t the right target.

“Are you sure about that? I don’t want to overwhelm you,” you took a step closer.

“It may be a nice change of pace for me. I don’t socialize much these days,” he chuckled. Seeing him smile made your heart skip a beat. It was so wholesome. Part of you thought you saw a flash of a fang, but another part of you wanted to deny it.

“Well, you would be more than welcome to come visit my shop! I promise I won't bite,” you winked at him, extending your hand.

You noticed that his smile faltered at the mention of biting, but he quickly dispelled his observable unease. He slowly reached his hand out to meet yours. You prepared yourself for the worst, as he might yank you into his home with enough force to pop your arm out of its socket.

Instead, you were met with a firm handshake. You gave him the name of your flower shop and politely excused yourself. He shut the door as soon as you were off the porch, but you still felt his eyes on you.

You got back into the car and stared at your hand. There was no doubt about it. His hand was just as cold as every other vampire you’ve encountered. It wasn’t the type of cold you could blame on poor blood circulation. No, it was the undead type of cold.

As you drove back to your cottage, you admonished yourself. Why did you feel disappointed that it actually was the target? You should rejoice. You can avenge your parents (not that that really mattered to you). You’re a step closer to getting this job done and going home.

But you couldn’t quite decipher what you felt. You felt as if you had a genuine interaction with him. God knows how long its been since you’ve actually gotten to be yourself. You always had a role to play.

Even though you almost fell for his stupid smile, you couldn’t detect a hint of magic. Nothing he said was laced with magical words of persuasion. There was no shroud of alluring lust that you could feel.

You plopped onto your bed. You needed to focus.

‘All you gotta do is kill the target. Easy peasy,’ you thought to yourself.

You figured you should do your routine check in call. Yoongi was probably worrying himself sick. Usually calls are spaced out every few days, but a call on the first day would ease Yoongi’s nerves.

“Hello?” Yoongi picked up after the first ring.

“Hey Yoongi,” you greeted him. Usually he doesn’t answer these calls, but this job was an exception.

“Thank god you’re okay. How did it go? Did you kill him?” he asked eagerly.

“No, I didn’t have an opening,” you sighed.

“How are you going to meet him again? Don’t tell me you tried to seduce him…”

“No, I did not. Stop assuming that! He has a weird appreciation for flowers, so I told him he can come by the shop. I don’t know why you gave me a florist alibi, but it worked out perfectly.”

“Honestly, I don’t know either. The alcohol mixed with sleep deprivation had me thinking funny things,” Yoongi admitted, “Either way, I’m glad you’re safe. What was he like?”

“He was...nice?”

“...nice? Did you just call the monster that murdered your parents nice?” Yoongi asked in disbelief.

“I don’t know how else to put it. He was weird. He didn’t act like a stereotypical vampire. He didn’t use any form of magic. He was oddly shy. I even began to doubt he was the target until I shook his hand. His hand was eerily cold, so he’s undead for sure,” you explained.

“Sounds like a peculiar case. If you run into trouble, call my personal line, got it?” Yoongi ordered.

“Yes sir,” you affirmed before hanging up.

The next day, you headed to the flower shop that the VEC had set up for you. It was a quaint shop that looked like it had been part of the local town for years. Another impossible feat achieved by the VEC. The town itself was quiet. It was mostly full of elderly folks whose family had moved on to bigger cities.

The shop was filled with flowers of every color. A myriad of different species were spread across the interior. You sneezed the second you walked in. Good grief, this place was gonna have your allergies fuck you up.

A pile of papers were piled up on the front counter. Upon examination, you groaned. Yoongi is SUCH a bastard. He actually gave you flower arrangement orders that needed to be fulfilled.

‘It will help with the authenticity of the shop! Every order has already been prepaid so you have to make them. Have fun~’ he wrote in his instructions.

“You fuckin piece of--” you were cut off when you heard the front door chime.

“Hi! Welcome in,” you exclaimed quickly as you turned around.

An elderly couple had entered the store. They kindly greeted you, saying they thought it looked so pretty from the outside that they had no choice but to come in.

You watched them from behind the counter. You were oddly moved by how sweet they were to each other. They held hands the entire time. The man smiled fondly whenever the woman pointed out a pretty flower. They laughed together as they strolled through the store.

You felt as if you were invading their privacy somehow, but what else were you supposed to do? They were your only customers, so you had to pay attention to them.

Soon your attention turned towards the front door. Would your target actually show up? Vampires are creatures of pride, so they aren’t ones to break a promise. However, this one was different. Maybe he won’t keep his word. That would suck. It would make approaching him even harder.

The old couple shuffled over to the counter with a dozen roses in hand. Together, they had 6 white roses and 6 red roses.

“Would that be all?” you ask with a smile.

“Yes ma’am,” the man replied, handing you money.

“Call me old fashioned, but roses are my favorite flowers,” the woman said to you.

“They’re my favorite too, a classic can never go wrong,” you reply happily.

“Do you know why this bouquet is special?” she asked you.

“Please enlighten me, you say, leaning over the counter.

“Red and white roses together symbolize unity. I’m so happy I was able to find unity with my soulmate,” the man answered, giving his wife a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh stop, you sap! The poor girl doesn’t care about old farts who are in love,” the woman playfully slapped his arm.

“I think it’s incredibly sweet. I’m happy for you two. Please enjoy the flowers!” you bow to them.

“Don’t worry dear, you’ll find your own soulmate too!” the woman called out to you as they left the store.

After they had left, the store quieted down. Your only company was your own thoughts.

Soulmate? Love? It’s not that you didn’t believe in that stuff, it’s more like you didn’t believe that stuff was for you. Your line of work was extremely dangerous. Any hypothetical loved one of yours would constantly be in harm's way.

By the end of the day, you managed to finish 2 extravagant bouquets. The town’s post office was more than happy to deliver your finished products. It appeared that they didn’t get much work nowadays.

This became your routine for the next few days. An entire week had passed, and there had been no sign of your target. Patience wearing thin, you began to think of another excuse to go to his house. Hopefully this time, he would be less cautious. Rain poured outside as if to mimic your growing anxieties.

You had grown strangely fond of the flower shop. Being among the pretty flowers was calming. Putting arrangements together was a new challenge that you’ve never faced before. It was, perhaps, the most peaceful time you’ve had in your life. It was almost as if you were living a normal life.

The front door chimed, and you automatically called out a greeting to the potential customer. You weren’t answered. That didn’t really bother you though, as you were engrossed in reading the day’s arrangement orders. How the hell did Yoongi get so many?

“Hello again,” a familiar deep voice disrupted your focus.

You looked up and once again faced the most beautiful man you’ve ever seen. He had finally arrived. He looked less cautious than before, but still nervous nonetheless.

“You actually came!” you exclaimed, you couldn’t tell if the excitement was genuine or not.

“I always keep my promises. I’m sorry it took awhile for me to get here. I had to wait for...uh…” his voice trailed off.

“For?”

“The weather.”

“The weather?”

“It’s easier to travel in gloomier weather. Preferably rainy,” he answered concisely.

“That’s odd,” you noted. Of course, you knew the reason why. Sunlight would instantly kill him.

“I suppose I’m rather odd,” he glanced around the shop, “You have a wonderful set of flora here.”

“Thank you! I can’t really take the credit. I just sell them, not grow them,” you say bashfully.

“But it takes a keen eye to pick the best ones,” he replied, examining the flowers closely.

“Everything was here when I arrived. I’ve just been selling and making shitty arrangements,” you slowly crept towards him.

Now was your chance. You could land a fatal blow while the weirdo gawked at flowers.

“You’re making arrangements?” he whipped around to face you with inhuman speed. You couldn’t help but jump back.

“Yeah! I have a ton to go through. I had no idea this place was so popular,” you say quickly, trying to act natural. He was too unpredictable to do anything rash.

“Do you need help with those?” he asked.

“Actually...if you don’t mind…” you gestured towards the huge stack of papers on the counter, “Maybe if you can give me some tips, I can make them faster! And hopefully they’ll turn out prettier.”

“Sure,” he nodded.

The rest of the day was spent making arrangements together. He had a talent for picking the perfect flowers and giving them the perfect placements. You were in awe. Was this a secret vampire power? Or was this guy just weirdly into flowers?

“Hey, I never got your name,” you say. You realized you had only labeled him as “the target” in your head.

“Ah, yes. I’m Taehyung. Kim Taehyung,” he gave you a shy smile, slowly extending his hand to you, just as you did to him during your first encounter.

“Pleasure to meet you, Taehyung! I’m ___,” you replied, giving him a firm handshake.

Taehyung went back to arranging flowers, but you froze in your place. Your eyes grew wide in shock. Your jaw silently dropped. It was a good thing Taehyung couldn’t see your face, or else he’d think something was wrong.

Which there was. Something was definitely wrong. How could you be so stupid?!? You gave him your name. Your real name. One of the most important rules about vampire hunting is to keep yourself as anonymous as possible. Vampire hunters are excellent liars. And you usually were as well. You’ve never slipped up like this before. Was he charming you somehow? You couldn’t detect a hint of magic anywhere.

“___? ___ did you hear me?” Taehyung waved his hand in front of you.

You snapped back to reality.

“Sorry, I guess I zoned out for a second. What did you say?” you gave him an apologetic smile. Not only did you give him your real name, you also just zoned out in front of an extremely dangerous vampire. What the hell is wrong with you today?

“I asked which flower embodies you the most,” he said.

“What? Like personality wise?” you couldn’t help but chuckle, “That’s a weird question. Are you a walking Buzzfeed quiz?”

“Buzzfeed? What is that?” Taehyung looked confused.

“It’s a news company. Or an entertainment company? They basically write clickbait articles. But they also have personality quizzes for literally anything. But wait, what kind of flower would I be? I don’t know,” you answered him.

“Why don’t you know?” he asked innocently.

“Because I’ve never been asked that before?” you were genuinely amused by this guy, “But I guess I’ll humor you. Let’s say I’m a rose.”

“Why a rose?”

“Cuz I’m beautiful, duh. And I can be thorny if you’re not careful,” you winked.

Taehyung seemed to seriously mull over your answer. It was silent for the next few minutes. You meant to come off as playful, but maybe he took you seriously? You couldn’t figure him out at all.

“I don’t think that was a sincere answer,” Taehyung finally said.

“Pardon?”

“I don’t think that was a sincere answer,” Taehyung repeated, “I think you just said you’re a rose because you don’t know many other flowers.”

“Alright, which flower do you think I am then?” you asked, now slightly annoyed.

You were taken aback by how odd this vampire was. He was much too pensive. Too thoughtful. Not once did you feel any lust or hunger in his aura the entire time he’s been in your presence. Not even when you were at his mansion.

“I can’t answer that,” he replied as he tied a ribbon around a finished vase.

“Why not?” you inquired, taking the vase from him.

“I don’t know you. I can’t make an accurate judgement,” he shrugged.

You couldn’t believe him. Any other vampire would have said something charming. They would have picked a pretty flower to ‘compare to your beauty’. It was the perfect question to show off their charisma.

“Which flower do you think you are, then?” you asked.

“Belladonna,” he answered without skipping a beat, “Which is also known as deadly nightshade.”

“And why are you a deadly nightshade?”

“You would understand if you knew me,” he stopped what he was doing to look you in the eyes.

His gaze was piercing. He was an enigma that you became determined to solve. Everything about him was intriguing.

“Is that a threat? Or a flirtation?” you questioned, amused.

“Which do you want it to be?”

“Preferably not a threat.”

“Then take it as a flirtation.”

“Well now that just seems disingenuous.”

Taehyung laughed. It was a real, hearty laugh. His deep laughter echoed around the room. You joined in his laughter. You were actually enjoying yourself. To be quite honest, your guard was completely down. You trusted him. You actually wanted to befriend him.

Closing time had rolled around. By some miracle (which was Taehyung) you managed to get through half the stack of orders. Finished bouquets were scattered across the shop. You profusely thanked Taehyung for all his help.

“All of these are so beautiful! I really could not have done it without you. I feel bad for my previous orders now…” you realized that your bouquets were hideous compared to Taehyung’s.

“I can come help you finish the rest of your orders tomorrow, if you’d like,” he offered.

“Are you sure? I can’t pay you for all your help just yet,” you paused to think if you should offer to hire him.

“Don’t worry about that. Money is not a concern for me. I genuinely would like to help you. At first, it was because of my appreciation for nature. After today, I think I actually enjoy your company,” he smiled.

“Wow, you actually enjoy my company? I’m flattered,” you rolled your eyes, but couldn’t contain your smile.

“You should be, I generally don’t like company,” Taehyung leaned in to close the space between you two.

He was now extremely close. His face just inches away from yours. You could smell his cologne, the scent made him even more alluring. You caught yourself slowly leaning closer to him. You instantly snapped yourself out of his spell.

Pulling back, you looked around the room. You couldn’t find it in you to meet his gaze, even though you felt his eyes on you. You were surprised once you realized that there was still no hint of any magic. What had just happened?

“God, there’s a lot of vases I gotta carry to the post office,” you say after clearing your throat.

“I can help,” Taehyung replied, already beginning to gather up vases.

“You don’t have to! You’ve already helped a bunch today. There’s a cart around back that I can use,” you didn’t understand why you were getting so flustered.

“Please allow me to help you, ___. I’m stronger than I look,” Taehyung gave you a reassuring smile. Of course he was.

“If you insist. I’ll go get the cart,” you happily fetched the cart.

What is this feeling? Were you actually enjoying yourself? You completely forgot that you had to eventually kill him until you were outside by yourself. The thought disappointed you. You quickly shook your head. This monster killed your parents. He’s a monster. A bloodsucker. A beast that must be slain.

Even knowing that, why did you feel so conflicted? Your time with him today was surprisingly enjoyable. He was so unpredictable. Your sparse conversations felt natural, as if he really just wanted to get to know you.

Taehyung helped you load up all of the vases onto the cart. He even pulled the cart for you, accompanying you to the post office. The trip was mostly done in silence. Every time you tried to spark a conversation, he would reply curtly, not giving you much to work with. It was rather peculiar for a vampire to be quiet or shy.

He walked you back to the flower shop after the deliveries were dropped off. You both lingered in front of the entrance, not really knowing what to say.

“So, you’ll swing by tomorrow?” you asked quietly.

“If that’s okay with you, yes. I’d like to make bouquets tomorrow too,” Taehyung nodded earnestly.

“That’s 100% good with me. I’ll see you tomorrow!” you wave at him before turning towards the shop door.

“___--”

“Yes?” you turn around.

“I--nevermind. I’ll see you tomorrow,” Taehyung awkwardly bowed before departing.

His weird standoffish tendencies never failed to entertain you. It somehow added more charm to accompany his handsome face.

You lay in bed later that night, recounting the events of the day.

Did you enjoy hanging out with Taehyung today? Yes, more so than you could’ve imagined.

Did you have the opportunity to kill Taehyung today? Yes, multiple if you were willing to take risks (which you usually were).

Why didn’t you take a risk? You weren’t sure. It wasn’t that you were trying to be cautious, in fact, you were very careless the entire day.

Did you catch yourself almost trying to kiss him? Yes.

Hopefully he didn’t notice that last part. You tried to play it off as soon as you realized what you were doing.

You pulled out your phone to call Yoongi for a second mission check in.

“Hello?” Yoongi answered.

“Sup Yoongi,” you greeted him casually.

“Did you kill the target yet?”

“No, but he came into the shop. He didn’t let his guard down the whole day.”

“The whole day? Was he in the shop all day?” Yoongi sounded confused.

“Yeah, he helped me make bouquets--”

“He WHAT?!?” Yoongi yelled.

“Calm down. He actually helped me get through a shit ton of your stupid orders--”

“You’re telling me that the bouquets I ordered for victims families’ were made BY a vampire? God, you gotta be shitting me, ___,” Yoongi grumbled.

“I think I have to play the long game with this one. He’s too unpredictable for me to land a fatal blow in one strike,” you explained.

“Be careful, ___. I’m glad he didn’t attack you today. Kill him as soon as possible. Then you can come home, and your parents will be avenged,” Yoongi said before hanging up.

Yoongi’s final words swam around in your head before you fell asleep.

#bts smut #kim namjoon smut #kim taehyung smut #bangtanarmynet #btswritingcafe #bangtanshadowfamily #ksmutclub #vampire bts #taehyung fanfic #kim taehyung x reader #kpop fanfic #bts angst #bts comedy #taehyung angst #namjoon angst #vampire taehyung #vampire namjoon #bayanihanboost

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houseofzoey · 5 years

Text

Characters

Zoey Zoey’s role in this book was minimal. She spent the first half of the book on the Isle of Skye, deliberately avoiding returning to Tulsa because she didn’t want to deal with Neferet and the fight against Darkness (also school, which is pretty stupid given how irrelevant her classes have been for most of the series). This could have been a great chance to show how burdened Zoey is, how complicated and frightening her responsibilities are and how ill-prepared she feels to deal with them, but the author never deals with it in a meaningful way.

First, Zoey has never really done much of anything in this series. She’s an extremely passive character who desperately lacks agency and only acts because the plot (or Nyx) forces her to. For her to complain about being stressed and needing a break feels bratty and disingenuous. Moreover, she does a really terrible job of giving any consideration toward the consequences of taking a break. She knows that her role is pivotal to stopping Kalona – she knows that her not being around means Kalona and Neferet win. Aphrodite has had multiple visions to this effect. But Zoey never once thinks about this, nor does she think about what it means to leave her friends to deal with Neferet and Kalona and Darkness in general. She literally only thinks about how this situation affects her. That’s not the perspective of a stressed and overworked leader; that’s the attitude of a spoiled brat who doesn’t care about anyone but herself.

She doesn’t grow or mature or come to any important realizations while she’s hiding on the Isle of Skye, though I get the sense that P.C. Cast did intend for something to that affect. Zoey was meant to be scared and tired and in need of a break, but eventually had to come to terms with the fact that she can’t hide in paradise forever and needs to go back to her old life. But she doesn’t. There’s no self-reflection. There’s no sense of change in her attitude or behaviour. She literally only returns to Tulsa because Jack died and she needs to attend (and lead) a funeral.

Moreover, P.C. Cast perfectly arranges the plot so that Jack’s death never interferes with all the magical frolicking and specialness that Zoey gets basked in on Skye. She’s able to learn about Old Magick and dance with sprites at her leisure, explore the sexual side of her relationship with Stark without urgency or interruption (we’ll get to that), and just generally have a completely worry-free vacation. Like, the fate of her friends and the fight against Neferet/Darkness is barely on her mind unless it’s specifically brought up. She even gets the pleasure of being praised for her specialness and bowed to by a queen.

Zoey’s relationship with Stark takes an important step in this book, what with them having sex for the first time, but the whole thing is handled so poorly. For one thing, Zoey regards having sex as meaning she’s in a “Real Relationship” now, which is a super unhealthy perspective to encourage teens to have toward sex. Someone having sex with you does not mean they are in love with you and it’s a serious relationship, and presenting it in this way opens up the possibility for very dangerous, harmful manipulation. Moreover, Zoey and Stark make a big deal about tying their wishes for their future to the Hanging Tree and swearing to be together forever – even though, out of text, P.C. Cast has said multiple times that she thinks it’s stupid when readers get worked up over Zoey having multiple partners because she’s too young to settle into a long-term commitment. So why the hell is she forming permanent soul bonds and making life-long promises to Stark?

Zoey’s only contribution to the actual plot is to lead a funeral rite. Which she immediately screws up by calling Jack by the wrong name, something that no one ever points out or corrects. This means that not only did P.C. Cast forget and not double-check Jack’s name, but Kristin didn’t pick up on this error, and neither did their official editor. Not one single person in this entire process realized Zoey was saying the wrong name, even though Jack was explicitly named after a character from Brokeback Mountain and his name should have been very easy to remember.

Well, Zoey did sort of have one other contribution to this plot. She used her new title as queen! And it was infuriating! See, because Zoey is queen, she’s able to supersede the need for High Council approval to open a new House of Night, allowing her and her friends to go start a new HoN in the tunnels away from Neferet. But they don’t actually start a HoN because they don’t have any classes and just… declare that they’re going to be bussed to and from the tunnels every night. So, essentially, Zoey uses her new title of queen to force Neferet to let her set up her own private dorm just for her and her friends.

Also, Zoey got a seer stone from Sgiach and does absolutely nothing with it during this book, even though it maybe would have actually been helpful for revealing the Darkness around Neferet. But I don’t actually know for sure, because its not especially clear what a seer stone does or what Old Magick actually is.

Stevie Rae In Burned, Stevie Rae spent much of the book being stressed and confused about her secret sort-of-romance with Rephaim, while also nominally acting as a stand-in High Priestess in Zoey’s absence and only just barely doing anything about the murderous rogue fledglings.

In this book, Stevie Rae… spends most of her time being stressed and confused about her secret sort-of-romance with Rephaim, while also nominally acting as a stand-in High Priestess in Zoey’s absence and being weirdly resistant to all attempts to actually get Zoey to return to Tulsa.

The worst part about her role in these two books being basically the exact same is that it really shouldn’t be. At the end of Burned, Stevie Rae and Rephaim parted ways because Kalona’s soul had returned to his body and Rephaim made it clear that he wouldn’t be able to stand against his father. There’s some discussion of this at the beginning of the book, with them being upset about being apart for an indeterminate period of time (the length of the timeskip is really unclear). It’s resolved pretty quickly and anticlimactically, though. Jack dies, Rephaim shows up, Stevie Rae sees him and there’s a tense moment. Then Stevie Rae calls him to her because she wants him to tell her what he knows about what happened to Jack – and, of course, they immediately return to the way they were before.

But this is also exactly what happened in the previous book! Stevie Rae was all determined that she was going to get information from Rephaim no matter what, that she would fight him if she had to regardless of their Imprint, and then… she didn’t. And the exact same thing happened in this book. This isn’t a parallel. This isn’t a callback. It’s just the author dragging out and regurgitating the same plotline.

Rephaim is such a defining part of Stevie Rae’s story that it even takes over her conversation with her mom. Stevie Rae hasn’t seen or spoken to her mom in about two months, and up until this scene Stevie Rae’s mom believed her daughter was dead. But this scene barely focuses on that. Instead, they sit and talk about Rephaim, what he means to Stevie Rae, what she needs to do about the secrets she’s keeping and the lies she’s been telling her friends.

That’s not good storytelling. That’s not building strong, complex female characters. Stevie Rae’s entire plotline is about Rephaim – and it has been since she got her own arc. From the very first chapter we got from Stevie Rae’s perspective, Rephaim became the central focus.

There’s some lip-service paid to her being uncertain in her role as High Priestess, but literally that’s it. It’s brought up once during a confrontation with Neferet and promptly forgotten. This should be a much bigger focus in Stevie Rae’s story. Being a High Priestess, especially a High Priestess of a whole new type of vampyre, is a huge responsibility and has enormous implications for her future. Figuring out what it means to be a High Priestess, what kind of leader she wants to be, what she wants red fledglings and vampyres’ place in broader society to look like – these should be the things that define Stevie Rae’s journey. Her love life should be a subplot, and it should underscore and entwine with the stress and confusion of trying to lead this new society into an uncertain future.

But that’s not what we get. Rephaim is the focus and everything else is background decoration.

Also, for some reason Stevie Rae can’t manage to use her affinity for anything tangible and instead just summons green glows around herself that vanish the instant she loses concentration. Because she is smart and powerful!

The Twins Continue to exist less and less in this series. We enjoyed 159 pages without either of them having a single line of dialogue.

Damien and Jack Jack finally gets a role in the plot! But not, like, a character arc or place in the story that involves any sort of agency. No, Jack gets to be colossally stupid and conveniently isolated so that Neferet can show up and murder him while making it look like an accident. This is because he is pure. Again, this has nothing to do with his choices or his actions or anything involving his agency. Neferet determines that he is pure and wholly untainted by Darkness, and that’s what she needs for a sacrifice.

This is only made worse by how Jack responds to being killed. It’s right before lunch time on campus. He could easily scream and yell and call for help. He could try to use his affinity that was discovered in Tempted and was promptly never explored! For all we know, an affinity for technology means he has technopathy. But no. Instead, Jack sings himself out with a song that the author clearly chose to match his death scene and not because it made any sense for the Celebration Ritual he was supposed to be preparing for.

And then, once he’s dead? He’s not allowed to be angry! He’s not allowed to grieve the life he lost and the people he left behind! Nope. Instead, he’s eternally happy and joyful with Nyx. Because he’s so pure, you guys! Isn’t it great that he’s pure? Isn’t it fine that he died if he’s happy?

This is the most infuriating and needless death scene in the series thus far.

All of this also means that Damien gets to feature more prominently compared to other recent installations in the series. He, however, doesn’t really do anything. He just mourns. Which makes sense – his boyfriend just died – but the way other characters respond to it is really telling. First, everyone acts like Jack was Damien’s life partner and this death is comparable to Dragon’s loss of Anastasia. But Damien and Jack have been dating for about two months. That’s it. And yet, at the same time, everyone is panicked that Damien has been crying for hours and can’t sleep and isn’t getting better. This book ends maybe a full day after Jack’s death. Damien has every reason to still be deeply in mourning! It makes absolutely no sense for his friends to already be telling him he needs to move on!

Otherwise, Jack and Damien really don’t have much role in this book other than to be the butt of Aphrodite’s frequent homophobic jokes, as well as a few homophobic comments from Kramisha.

Stark Stark’s role in this series is similar to Zoey’s. They hide out on the Isle of Skye for a while. They have sex. That’s mostly it.

I mean, I guess he has a couple other things going on. Kalona has started entering into the sliver of soul he gave him and taking control, but not much comes of it other than some extremely uncomfortable scenes that ultimately have no long-term impact on this book. It’s setup for the next book, I guess, but it involves no agency on Stark’s part. That’s Kalona’s subplot, not his.

Stark’s actual point of growth in this book is about embracing his affinity and taking up his bow again instead of letting fear of his Dark side and past mistakes rule him. It’s a nice bit of growth, in theory, but in practice it makes absolutely no sense. Stark has never really refused his affinity. Even when he was first introduced and firmly stated to Neferet that he no longer practices archery, he was practicing against targets pretty soon after. In Tempted, after he broke free of Darkness and swore himself to Zoey in Hunted, Stark continued using his bow without hesitation to protect Zoey. The only reason he didn’t use it in Burned is because he wasn’t in a combat situation until he reached the Otherworld, at which point he was forced to use a Guardian claymore. So… Stark only refused to use his bow in this book, and that could only have lasted a day because he was resting in bed the whole time before this.

Kalona In this book, Kalona was dealing with the ramifications of failing to kill Zoey in the Otherworld and thus becoming Neferet’s slave, basically, because of the Oath he swore to her. His goal now is to escape from her dominion. This is emphasized a lot – and it turns out to all be entirely pointless, because he was never actually under her dominion in the first place. By giving a piece of his soul to Stark when he was in the Otherworld, he negated the terms of the Oath.

But we still have to read through all the idiocy and creepiness before this is revealed.

First, the narrative puts in a lot of effort trying to make us feel bad for Kalona and his position under Neferet’s control. Neferet is described with very creepy, predatory, and sex shaming language. Kalona expresses disgust at the thought of her touching him. Clearly, we’re supposed to regard him as a victim here.

But… Look, I know I keep bringing this up, but it’s so important. Kalona is a serial rapist! You can’t brush over that. You can’t take a serial rapist and make me feel sympathetic to them because they feel violated by the person they basically promised their soul to if they failed in a mission.

I mean, there’s a way this could have been handled to actually work toward Kalona’s redemption, but the author is so clueless about writing proper redemption arcs. Kalona’s situation could have been a moment of realization for him. He could have had an epiphany – he could have realized that the way he feels about Neferet’s treatment of him is probably akin to how his victims felt when he first came to Earth. This could have been a moment of him humanizing his victims and feeling remorse for the atrocities he committed against them.

But no. Instead, the authors make it even harder to sympathize with him by having him fantasize about how, when he frees himself of Neferet’s control, he’s going to enslave her.

Then we get into the discovery that he can enter and control Stark through the sliver of soul he gave him. And it’s creepy – but, like, the scene from his perspective is written in such a way that it seems like it’s supposed to be… sympathetic? There’s so much emphasis on how shocked and overjoyed he is to find himself in bed with Zoey, and the language and framing of the scene doesn’t present it as creepy or predatory – not compared to how overtly the language around Neferet’s behaviour shows her as predatory. It’s extremely uncomfortable, specifically because it’s clear that it isn’t supposed to be uncomfortable.

Anyway, Kalona figures out he isn’t actually under Neferet’s control and he and Rephaim decide to test this theory by actively disobeying her during the funeral rite at the House of Night. This is a big part of the climax, and Kalona explicitly kills multiple Sons of Erebus Warriors. It remains to be seen if this will be addressed in any future books. More importantly, Kalona agrees to let Rephaim be free, which is meant to be a huge move toward his redemption. There’s even a WHITE FEATHER!!1! But as far as narrative and his actual character arc goes… This isn’t a redemption moment. Kalona’s villainy was never connected to who he is as a father – it’s about the atrocities he committed against the Cherokee, especially Cherokee women. It isn’t not good that he let Rephaim be free, and he wasn’t a great father, but this shouldn’t be a core moment in his redemption. Being controlled by Neferet (or at least believing he was controlled by her) would have made way more sense to this end.

Aphrodite Aphrodite didn’t really do anything in this book. She made a bunch of homophobic jokes at Jack and Damien’s expense, and she was portrayed as mean and unfair for calling out Zoey for avoiding her responsibilities. She’s also the one who pushes for Zoey to be told about Jack’s death ASAP so she can get back to Tulsa and help them deal with Neferet.

Otherwise? Aphrodite just spends the book being abrasive and unpleasant. Its kind of disappointing, considering she used to be a character with actual agency.

Neferet Neferet’s nefarious plan this book is to do… something. It was explained and it kind of made sense, but I’m just getting so tired of everything being so convoluted and inconsistent. Why does she still care about Zoey? Why doesn’t she just carry on, working the High Council until they give her the position she wants, and then seizing control of vampyre society to start the war she’s always wanted? It’s not like Zoey is an active threat, particularly not at the beginning of this book. I mean, Zoey was in hiding for weeks. Neferet could have done plenty in that time and no one would have been there to stop her.

Even if Neferet feels it’s more important to get Zoey out the way first instead of pursuing her earlier plans, why doesn’t she just… do that? Neferet has used Darkness to kill before without the crime being connected back to her. She does it in this book. She could have done it against Zoey and framed someone else for it. Hell, she could have killed Zoey, framed Stevie Rae for it, and then gotten her war started with the red fledglings just like she and Kalona discussed. Point is, it doesn’t make sense that her plan is so convoluted and involves doing so much but so little at the same time.

It makes even less sense when you get to the end of the book. She’s spent weeks doing nothing, patiently biding her time, playing a careful chess match to get Zoey in the right place so Neferet can trick her into allowing her to reclaim her position of power at the House of Night. But then we get to the end of the book and the white bull offers her a Vessel in exchange for the right sacrifice, and suddenly Neferet is impatient and impulsive. She knows Grandma Redbird is the perfect sacrifice and that Linda is extremely flawed, but she chooses to use Linda to create her Vessel instead of waiting a few hours for Grandma. It makes no sense. She’s sabotaging herself and she knows it. WHY?

Her characterization is also all over the place and deeply stigmatizing of mental illness, so that’s fun.

Nyx

Why didn’t she tell everyone at the funeral that Neferet was responsible for Jack’s death and had allied herself with Darkness? Or at the very least confirm for everyone that Neferet has turned from her path and is no longer listening to the goddess?

Jack feels that he needs to be out by that tree preparing for the Celebration Ritual even though it’s been postponed, the implication being that his intuition (Nyx) is telling him something important is going to happen. The important thing that happens is his murder. Why would Nyx insist that he has to stay right where he is so he can go ahead and die?! Why wouldn’t she send him a gut feeling to warn him to leave?

Why did Nyx appear to Rephaim as a ghost and sway his decisions so directly? She refuses to intervene in this way with anyone else because of her thing with free will.

What the hell was the deal with Rephaim’s punishment? Nyx knows that Rephaim has murdered and raped and committed horrible atrocities for centuries. She knows that he has a romantic relationship with Stevie Rae, who is nocturnal and dies in sunlight. So why is her idea of punishment to turn him into a raven during the day and allow him to be fully human at night? That barely affects him! The only time he spends as a raven is time he would be asleep anyway.

#final thoughts #awakened #house of zoey

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