#renjun demon

[pandoora-the-pink-goth]

imp!renjun of my NCT Helluva Boss AU (+ hellhound!jeno and angel!mark)

Renjun is an imp from the wrath ring of hell and pretty much hates… everyone. He works a miserable part-time job at a cafe in downtown Imp City, where their specialty is industrial-grade-acid-milk-tea-fusion… whatever the fuck that means.

He’s childhood friends with Donghyuck, a half-imp, half-incubus model also from the ring of wrath. Renjun dreams of Heaven and what angels are like, but gets made fun of by Donghyuck for it because dreaming of angels is stupid for an imp.

He also definitely does NOT have a crush on Jaemin -an envy ring demon who is a regular customer of the cafe- and his hellhound, Jeno. Nope, not at all!

[luumiinaa]

he was on the next level 🪢😏🦊

Huang Renjun

Gumiho (fox spirit)! Renjun x human reader

warnings : bondage, overstimulation, cream pie, Renjun is a fox spirit so he’s 900 years old.

Rumours of gumihos lurking amongst human have resurfaced in Seoul, making the group of young looking men who are nearing their 900s angry. Renjun hasn’t had the chance to feed as much as his other friends, constantly getting rejected by people who think he isn’t sexy enough or downright ‘unfuckable’. What happens when he stumbles upon a beautiful girl who only has eyes for him in the nightclub? Nearly a hundred people but you only have eyes for him, Renjun finally has some luck tonight.

a/n : this is my last fic for kinktober, please look forward to Jeno and Haechan’s fics for my halloween event!

Keep reading

[ghostofhyuck]

NCT Dream and the things that make them go insane (18+)

cw: suggestive, mentions of sex. 

AN: Did I took inspiration from Xiaodery's 'Don't go insane' challenge? yes I did. Lol don't take this too seriously. Also minors dni!!!

Mark Lee ; random moans

Yes Mark, you're not the only one who makes random moan noises. You know that type of noises you make whenever you stretch your body? or when you're eating a delicious food? You're very vocal when it comes to making those kind of noises and sometimes it just caught Mark off-guard. It's not intentional but it reminds him of the sounds you make whenever you two have sex. Sometimes he tells you to not do it, and you'll innocently ask him why. He might not resist of taking you there, that's why. 

Huang Renjun ; revealing clothes

LISTEN Renjun doesn't care what you wear. He's not very protective when it comes to your outfits since it's your body after all. BUT when you're practically naked around your apartment, he'll start praying for his life. You tend to be comfortable wearing just an oversized shirt and panties or maybe a tank top and cycling that shapes your body perfectly. But it'll have Renjun fighting his inner demons. (he loses it.)

Lee Jeno ; tight-fit clothes

Now this one is different. Jeno just couldn't resist it when you're wearing clothes that's tight-fit enough that it curves out your body, especially your boobs and ass. He'll stare at it the whole day and he'll be embarrassed when he catches himself looking at it. But there are moments where his hands will trail over your body when you're wearing those kind of clothes. Oh and he loves ripping it for some reason ??? especially your leggings, he'll just buy you more he convinces. 

Lee Donghyuck ; random touches

Donghyuck will start questioning you whenever you touch him randomly. It'll be just innocent touches like his cheeks or squeezing his arms, but when you have your hands in his thighs, Donghyuck will just stare at you, "???" or when you unconsciously touched his abs trailing it up and down, his mind will go blank and start to think that you wanted something. It'll give him mixed signals and he'll end up horny though. 

Na Jaemin ; wearing his clothes

At first he adores it, whenever you steal his hoodie and wear it. It's very wholesome and you look small in his clothes. But when you're just wearing his top over your panties, he just couldn't resist it. Jaemin thinks that you look hot in his clothes especially after a round of sex, he'll be fighting the urge to take it off from you and just fuck you again. 

Zhong Chenle ; makeup

Chenle would probably love the idea of messing your makeup. He loves your red lipstick and thinks you're seductive whenever you apply lipstick and ends it with a pout, he would probably kiss you afterwards, the messy, aggressive type where your lipstick smudges all over you and him. Chenle probably indulged at the thought of how you put so much effort on your makeup and thought of ways of ruining it by making you writhe under his touch and cry because of the pleasure.

Park Jisung ; seductive dances

Oh Jisung will be astonished at the way you moved. Especially when you two are dancing inside a club, you'll be swaying your hips left and right, feeling the music and rhythm, Jisung would be hype by it but he'll go crazy as he watch you dance sexily in public. He'll be the type who'll hold you close to him as you grind against him and perhaps even make-out a little bit on the dance floor. 

[sluttyten]

Kinktober 2024: Gods & Monsters

main masterlist

Thirty-one days of NCT member short fics. This year with the theme of Gods & Monsters (aka pretty much every fic is going to include a supernatural twist)

NSFW 18+, Minors DNI

Day 1: By the Moon

Hendery is a werewolf, you are his chosen prey for the night - kinda dub con at first, stalker, hunter/prey, belly bulge

Day 2: limited time only

Jaemin appears to you on the beach like a god born from the sea, and immediately there's a connection. But there's something mysterious about him that you can't quite place, though your friends have their suggestions - semi-public sex, beach sex, wax play, grinding, nudist Jaemin

Day 3: magic tricks and magical d*cks

Johnny is the High Warlock of Chicago, and you are eager to learn all of his tricks - wand puns, magic, blowjobs, cock worship, strangers to lovers

Day 4: Siren's Call

Renjun is a tourist that doubts the local legends of sirens, and you're a siren that just wants to get to know him better - fingering, dry humping, spanking, stuck in a wall

Day 5: Finding Home

Jaehyun and you meet in a world overrun with zombies, and although you want him desperately, it takes a close shave with death to get either of you to make a move - shower sex, daddy kink, thigh riding, handjob, choking, penetration

Day 6: Freaky Love

Ten is your obsession. Your paths keep crossing, not all of them due to your stalker behavior, and each time your obsession grows until one fateful night when suddenly all of your actions feel validated - stalker, obsessions, masturbation, pillow humping, voyeurism, gloryhole, anonymous sex, blindfold, riding, fingersucking

Day 7: dog days of summer

WinWin is your boyfriend with strong golden-retriever boy energy, always happy to see you and go places with you. When you take a weekend trip away, you finally realize why that might be -- car sex, fingering, foot fetish, toe sucking

Day 8: Little Shop of Wonders

Kun and you discover a magical little shop, get into a plant that the shop owner warns you is a strong aphrodisiac, and much sexual fun ensues -- sex pollen, consensual free use, fuck toy, shower sex, lots of cum, facefucking, masturbation, bukkake, cunnilingus, blowjobs, slight exhibitionism, subspace

Day 9: The Devil in Me

Haechan is a demon, you're a virgin sacrifice, but things don't go as planned with the sacrifice, and suddenly you're infatuated with a demon, but the craziest part is maybe he's interested in you too -- loss of virginity, first time, oral sex, marking, biting, possessive/protective Haechan, mentions of human sacrifice, demons, a lot softer/romantic than it sounds

-

-

-

Day 13: mine for the taking (Raw)

Taeyong and YangYang are your companions in the zombie apocalypse, and it just makes sense when you start sleeping with both of them -- cnc, bondage, outdoor sex, oral sex, face fucking, threesome, dirty talk, praise

[lovetaroandtaemin]

Kinktober 2024 Masterlist

NSFW CONTENT AHEAD! MINORS DNI!

This is where you can find all of the fics for this year's Kinktober! I hope you guys enjoy reading these as much as I'm enjoying writing them. If you'd like to read my non-Kinktober works, you can find my general masterlist here. If you'd like to see what I will be writing once Kinktober is done, you can find my upcoming works list here. Happy reading and happy spooky season!

WEEK 1

Day 1: Edging (DK)

Day 2: Shower sex (Baekhyun)

Day 3: Pegging (Wonbin)

Day 4: Mirror sex (Mingyu)

Day 5: Lingerie (Ten)

Day 6: Dumbification (Sion)

Day 7: Degradation (Eunseok)

WEEK 2

Day 8: Hand kink (Jun Han)

Day 9: Pet Play (Seungmin)

Day 10: Makeup sex (Chen)

Day 11: Feminization (Jun)

Day 12: Strength kink (Changbin)

Day 13: Exhibitionism/Voyeurism (Shotaro)

Day 14: Praise (Jongho)

WEEK 3

Day 15: Bondage (Beomgyu)

Day 16: Impact play (Yuta)

Day 17: Dacryphilia (Renjun)

Day 18: Cockwarming (Chenle)

Day 19: Cucking (Hongjoong and Mingi)

Day 20: Thigh riding (Kun)

Day 21: Knife play (Lee Know)

WEEK 4

Day 22: Brat taming (Jaemin)

Day 23: Breeding kink (Gunil)

Day 24: Face sitting (Kai)

Day 25: Sensation play (Xiaojun)

Day 26: Corruption kink (Mark)

Day 27: Phone sex (Soobin)

Day 28: Roleplay (Seonghwa)

WEEK 5

Day 29: Hate sex (Gaon)

Day 30: Biting (Taehyun)

Day 31: Sex with a demon (Doyoung)

Thank you for taking the time to read my works! If you enjoy them, please like and reblog!

[dalivanmagritte]

FIC REC : NCT

SOLO FIC REC BY MEMBERS :

suh johnny

jeong jaehyun

lee mark

lee jeno part.2

na jaemin part.2

lee haechan

lee taeyong (ty track)

fall from grace (smut, angel!au, demon!au)

half blood camp! taeyong ver (demigod!au, mythology!au)

nakamoto yuta (yuta)

predator (DUBCON, smut, alien!au, scientist!au)

golden (smut)

kim doyoung (doyoung)

push & pull (smut, fluff, angstish, hogwarts!au)

the reserved (smut, housmate!au, college!au)

---------------------------------------

NCT series (finished)

housemating (finished serie, jaehyun, johnny, doyoung, haechan, jaemin, smut, housemate!au)

house of pleasure (finished serie, haechan, johnny, jaemin, taeyong, mark, doyoung, jaehyun, smut)

nct dream and the hogwarts series (finished serie, renjun, jeno, haechan, jaemin, smut, hogwarts!au)

ridin's club (finished serie, renjun, jeno, haechan, jaemin, smut, streetracer!au, badboy!au)

wanna ride? (Finished serie, smut, streetracer!au)

inferno (finished serie, smut, angst, monsters, halloween serie)

masturbation series (serie finished, smut, individual stories)

halloween serie (finished serie, jaemin, mark, jeno, haechan, smut, genie!au, mermaid!au, vampire!au, werewolf!au)

and they were roommates (finished serie, jaemin, smut, college!au)

a hogwarts collection (jeno, renjun, jaemin, haechan, smut, fluff, angst, hogwarts!au)

the poison archives (finished serie, smut, angst, drama, some dubcon)

scented poison: faded fantasies, poison that spreads, final scent (finished serie, jaehyun and jaemin, smut, cheating)

the dream demigod diaries (finished serie, dreamies, fluff, angstish, demigod!au, mythology!au)

don't kiss and tell (finished serie, mark, jeno, haechan, suggestive)

learning curves (00's line, oneshot, smut, college!au)

NCT series (ongoing/uncontinued)

elysium chapter 1 (ongoing serie, 00's and mark, demigod!au, mythology!au)

animal instinct (ongoing serie, dreamies, smut, monster!au)

giving into things (i don't) want to (ongoing serie, smut, dubcon, dark themes, smut)

alpha camboy's are ruining my life (ongoing serie, jeno, johnny, smut, abo!au, camboy!au)

nct dream as supernatural creatures (ongoing serie, dreamies, fluff, angst, monsters and mythical creatures)

the pick me chronicles (ongoing serie, haechan, jeno, jaemin, smut, college!au)

nct dream as supernatural creatures (ongoing serie, fluff, angst)

king's crown (ongoing serie, royal!au, rebel!au, smut, angst)

campus heartbreakers (ongoing serie, jeno, jaemin, mark, haechan, jaehyun, smut, crack, fluff, college!au)

NCT imagines

when you use your safe word (mark, haechan, jeno, jaemin, smut)

when you walk through the rain (dreamies, fluff)

nct dreams + sungtaro as greek gods (mythology!au)

-------------------------------------

Other fic rec

lee jeno fic. rec by taexoxosgf

lee mark fic rec by taexoxosgf

na jaemin fic rec by taexoxosgf

na jaemin fic rec by miragewitch

nct masterlist by notnctu

[jenmongiii]

— nct dream as niki songs [buzz album edition]

a/n: in honor of niki's new album, this is just what i think each song would represent each member of nct dream

MARK LEE :: buzz

𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒐𝒘 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒐𝒘 𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒉𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒐𝒔𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒌𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒊𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒅 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒅𝒊𝒛𝒛𝒚 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒑𝒔𝒚 𝑾𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒐 𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒗𝒐𝒖𝒔 '𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒔𝒐-𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 "𝒇𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒅" 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒔𝒆𝒃𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒔 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒋𝒖𝒎𝒑 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈, 𝒔𝒐 𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓 𝑩𝒓𝒐, 𝒊𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓, 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒈𝒐 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒉𝒆𝒓

mark's definitely that shy guy when it comes to you. it's that first crush feeling where he doesn't really know how to tell you how he really feels about you. but the feeling is thrilling. falling in love is like that running start before the big jump, heart's racing faster and faster. everyone around you guys see how much a fat crush mark has on you, and they wish he'd just tell you.

HUANG RENJUN :: blue moon

𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒎𝒆𝒆𝒕 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒃𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝑰𝒕'𝒔 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒐𝒏, 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒘𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒐

even all good things must come to an end. renjun, who had all your best interests at heart, knew he couldn't let his own problems affect you. not when he had his own demons to battle. so when you both decided to part ways, you're weren't upset at him. after all, how could you be angry with him, not when he treated you with the upmost respect and showed you love, true love. you'd never forget a guy like huang renjun.

LEE JENO :: tsunami

𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒆𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒐𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒃𝒆 𝒘𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒏𝒂 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒄𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝑾𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒂𝒇𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒗𝒆 '𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆

you told yourself you wouldn't fall for a guy like lee jeno. you told yourself all kinds of things to make yourself dislike him. but what if in reality... it's all the things you like about him. you dislike like the way he smirks at you when he finds your eyes. you dislike like his way with words whenever he gets the chance to talk to you. and most of all you dislike like the way you've fallen for him.

LEE DONGHYEOK :: did you like her in the morning?

'𝑪𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑰 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒊𝒇 𝑰 𝒄𝒂𝒏 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕𝒆 𝑾𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒆𝒓 𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒅'𝒔 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒆𝒔 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒕 ���𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒏𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝑭𝒐𝒓 𝒊𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒔𝒘𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒒𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒊𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈?

you weren't sure if you really moved on from haechan. but it was clear he had moved on from you. you did all the things necessary to forget him, but the memories of him still linger. when you found out his new girlfriend, your heart couldn't help but sink. and when he finally introduced her to you, you couldn't find any reason for yourself to be mad at her or him. you wondered if haechan does the same things to her like he did to you. it the same questions the roam around your head even if it hurts you.

NA JAEMIN :: paths

𝑾𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒍𝒐𝒗𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝑾𝒆'𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒕 𝒂𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂 𝒔𝒐𝒏𝒈 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒇𝒆𝒆𝒍 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒇𝒂𝒓

na jaemin, your first love. he was your first everything. if anyone's taught you how to love, it was him. he saw the good in you even when you saw the worst in yourself. even though you both are no longer together, he'd have a special place in your heart. so when you stood there in front of him at the airport, you couldn't help but cry. you were going abroad for a couple of months, knowing the long distance would be hard for you both. you wouldn't ask him to wait for you. if you love something, let it go. and it if doesn't come back, it was never your's to begin with. someday... one day you hope your paths would cross again.

ZHONG CHENLE :: magnets

𝑻𝒘𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒔 𝑨 𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒄𝒆 𝑰 𝒕𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒙𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒏𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝒐𝒇 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒊𝒕'𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒖𝒔𝒆, 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒆'𝒔 𝒏𝒐 𝒓𝒉𝒚𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒓 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝑬𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝑰 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒔 𝒂𝒘𝒂𝒚 𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝑨𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏

no matter how matter times you wanted to be away from chenle, there's something that always keeps pulling you back to him. it's the amount of times chenle can't seem to stop running him mouth. he could go on and on talking and running his mouth that it makes you go crazy. but that's exactly it. the moment it's too quiet for you, you find yourself missing him and his presence. when your friends ask why either of you haven't made a move, you start to wonder the same thing. you two are inseparable.

PARK JISUNG :: focus

𝒀𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓-𝒔𝒉𝒊��𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈'𝒔 𝒂𝒍𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒎𝒊𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑾𝒉𝒚 𝒄𝒂𝒏'𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒂𝒕 𝒘𝒉𝒂𝒕'𝒔 𝒊𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒕 𝒐𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖?

it's hard for jisung to express his feelings freely and he's absolutely oblivious of your feelings towards him. you could count the amount of times you hinted towards him of your feelings, but each and every time that happens, jisung finds himself in doubt. and in the end, he ignores that voice in the back of his head. you only wished that he could see that you're here in front of him. why can't he just look at what's in front of him?

©𝐣𝐞𝐧𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐢𝐢𝐢 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒

[mint-yooxgi]

{1} - Morning Mist - Yandere!Dragon!Ateez X Chubby!Reader

Yandere AU & Dragon AU

Genre: Mature, Horror, Angst

Pairing: Ateez X Reader (Yes, all 8 of them. Though, there’s a focus on two in particular rn)

Words: 4,238

Warnings: OC gets called a bitch once. Minor Violence. Minor blood and injuries mentioned. This is a Yandere story, it will contain themes such as stalking, violence, obsession, possessive natures, and just general overall creepiness and swearing. You have been warned.

A/n: Here it is!! Chapter one to the start of that dragon series I was talking about a while ago!! I just got so inspired to start it tonight that I couldn’t contain my excitement. I have a lot planned for this series, but I’m not entirely sure when updates will be for this series, or how frequent they will be. Also, a friendly reminder that I do not do tag lists. As always, feedback is greatly appreciated! Enjoy~

Mini Masterlist

The light of the setting sun casts warm hues of orange and red across the sky, darkness beginning to creep along the edges. A gentle breeze flits through, cooling the air as the leaves rustle all around, the mountains standing ominously in the distance. Faintly, the buzzing of beetles can be heard all around, birds chirping as they begin to sing their evening lullabies to their young, flitting between the branches above.

You let out a soft sigh, adjusting the basket held against your one hip.

Collecting herbs from the forest is no easy feat, especially when the marketplace isn’t as kind to trading items with you as of late. Everyone is tense, given the rise in sightings of the eight Hala dragons in the area. Sightings of which seem to be getting more frequent every day.

It’s only a matter of time before one or more of them finally raid your own village, plundering whatever they can in their quest for the crown. A crown of which is being fought for by the two main dragon clans of the realm. One of which being the Hala dragons, and the other being the Wolf Gang.

A puff of laughter escapes you as you think about the Wolf Gang now. How ironic for dragons to be named after wolves. They certainly act worse than them at times. At least, from what you’ve heard. They definitely give the hunters a hell of a time every encounter they have.

What a joke those hunters are. The ones in your village couldn’t hit the wide side of a lake with their horrible aim, let alone spot a dragon hiding amongst their midst. Though, you suppose they’re more for show at this point than anything.

So much for your protection.

There’s also been rumours floating around lately about a cloaked figure spotted around town. You’ve heard whispers of this supposed Shadow Demon lurking in the dark, but they don’t worry you so much. 

You’ve been on your own long enough to know how to take care of yourself. Besides, your father would kill you if you let anything bad happen to yourself, especially after everything he’s done to ensure your protection. You just need to be on the lookout for golden eyes staring at you through the dark. At least, that’s what the townsfolk have been warning you about.

Approaching the edge of the village, you let out another sigh. The side of the basket you have pressed against your hip digs into your skin, and you honestly cannot wait to get home for the evening. Tonight will be the first night in a week where you can just finally relax. No interruptions, just you and the final chapters of that book you’ve been attempting to finish.

Rounding the corner of one of the buildings, you notice most of the vendors packing up their stalls for the evening. The light from the setting sun is fading quickly, and most people know not to stay out passed dark. Not now, especially with the Hala dragons so close to home.

At least you can count on one person to always exchange goods with you, no matter how late it gets.

“Find anything good today?” Renjun quirks a brow as he lifts his head to meet your gaze. He had just been packing up the last bits of his supplies into his small wagon to take back home when he saw you approaching out of the corner of his eyes.

“Would you believe that the bloodroot I had found the other day is nearly all gone?” You place your basket on top of the wooden slab he has set up as a table across two wooden barrels. “I swear, someone else has been foraging in my backyard.”

His eyes flash in understanding as he walks over to the other side of the table. “Or it’s the wildlife taking over again.”

“Could be,” you hum, watching as he picks up a few stems from your basket. 

Renjun runs his fingers over the herbs delicately before nodding to himself. “You always manage to pick the finest ones.”

“It’s a gift.” You acknowledge knowingly, watching as he places the herbs back into your basket. “So, what have you got for me today.”

“Well, Harold swore he heard growling coming from the opposite side of the fjord last night. Claimed it to be the Hala’s and Wolves fighting again.” Renjun remarks casually. “A storm is supposed to roll in overnight and into the morning, Mark says he can sense it in his bones.”

“Did he say what kind of storm?” Your eyes follow Renjun as he pulls a separate basket back off of his cart, full of fruits and vegetables.

The heavy sound of the basket hitting the table greets your ears. “A big one. That’s all.”

You nod. “I see.”

“I would be careful, if I were you,” he continues, pushing the basket towards you. “Get home quickly before dark, lest you want another incident to occur.”

The knowing look he sends you has you chuckling lightly.

“Whatever do you mean, Junnie?” The smile you send him is nothing short of innocent as you trade off baskets for the evening.

“Information is never free, Jewel,” his eyes flash. “You know this.”

“Don’t call me that.” You snap, your demeanour changing in an instant before that calm smile is back on your face. “Well, like you said, I better get home. It is getting late.”

Renjun’s lips tighten into a thin line, silently dragging the basket with the herbs you’ve collected towards himself. “Be safe.”

“I always am,” the words fall almost like second nature from your lips as you begin to trek away from his stand for the evening. 

The basket of produce takes the place of the basket of herbs, your one arm wrapped securely around the wicker as you walk down the dirt path, and down the familiar road towards your little cottage on the side of town. Before you get home, however, you make sure to stop by the little fountain at the centre of town, leaving some apples for the children that gather there and ushering them home. The smiles you receive are worth it every time.

You still have one more stop to make before you can settle in for the evening, and you curse yourself for it nearly slipping your mind. Already, darkness blankets the sky, the stars beginning to twinkle above your head as the chill of the night settles over the land.

A shiver caresses your spine, and you know that you must hurry. Something is not quite right, and you do not want to be out when the inevitable happens.

That’s when you hear it. The unmistakable boom of the flapping of heavy wings.

A roar sounds in the distance, the first of the terrified screams reaching your ears as the alarm bells are rung. The constant clanging of the hammers on metal ring through your ears as you enter into the closest building that you can, which just so happens to be one of the many mess halls. A building you had been attempting to reach before this chaos started.

Nothing but darkness surrounds you, the lamps that usually illuminate the area already burnt or blown out.

Odd, considering you know Amy should have been the only one here during this time. She never misses your deliveries, especially not when she knows you’re trading with Renjun for the day. Then again, she did say her sister was supposed to be taking over for a few days. Who knows what Angela has done to the place.

“Amy?” You whisper, hoping she may be just hiding somewhere amongst the commotion happening outside. You can faintly hear the screams of the villagers, the roars becoming louder and more frequent as shouts of the hunters reach your ears. “Angela, are you there?”

You take a step forward, blinking despite the darkness surrounding you. Out of the corner of your eyes, you swear you see a shadow move.

“Is anyone here?” Your voice is small, so as not to alert anyone to attack you in case they think you are an enemy of some sort.

A floorboard creaks behind you.

“Hello?” You whip around, sure you’ll be coming face to face with one of the girls behind you.

Only, when you turn around, no one is there.

That’s when you feel it. The unmistakable press of claws at your throat.

You drop your basket of produce.

The moment your lips part and a choked gasp is escaping you, the claws at your throat begin to dig into your flesh. Not enough to draw blood, but enough to serve as a warning.

“Scream, and I’ll tear your throat out in an instant,” the voice is low, and unmistakably male as his breath ghosts over the shell of your ear.

You begin to shake, whole body trembling as you feel his body heat beginning to radiate against your back.

“Please,” you keep your own tone steady, reasoning with the dragon in human form who stands behind you at this very moment. “You don’t want to do this.”

“Oh, I don’t, do I?” He chuckles, clearly amused by your choice of words. “And why wouldn’t I want to do this?”

“Because,” you exhale a low breath, closing your eyes only briefly before they’re flashing open, glinting in the dark. In the next second, you’ve pulled out your hidden dagger, flipping your positions so that you’re now pinning the dragon to the wall, blade pressing into his throat. His skin begins to hiss beneath where the knife makes contact. “Touch me again, and it will be the last thing you ever do.”

The arm you have pressed against his chest is firm, and the shock is clear on his face. Those dark brown eyes flash a golden amber in the dark, a snarl tugging at his lips as he scowls at you.

“Ah-ah,” you tut, pressing the blade firmer into his skin as you see his fingers twitching, claws still on full display at his sides. “One small nick from this, and you’ll be dead in minutes.”

A growl is all you receive in response.

You tut, shaking your head. “And you made me drop all of my produce, too.”

“I think you have more important things to be worrying about,” he replies, swallowing a bit thickly as his skin burns beneath the blade you still have pressed against his throat.

“Do I, now?” You quirk a brow. “You overgrown reptiles usually travel in packs, yet you seem to be all alone. Why?”

“I don’t have to answer to you.” He spits, pressing himself further against the wall you have him pinned to.

“No,” you hum. “I suppose not.”

“You stupid hunters and your stupid-“

Your nostrils flare, “don’t you ever dare compare me to the likes of them again.”

“What? Don’t like being called out for the scum you are?” He nearly scoffs. “You’re the worst of the worst, huntress.”

“Still good enough to pin you,” you counter.

Fine. If this bastard wants to believe you’re one of those good for nothing hunters, let him. You’re in control here, anyways.

In a flash, he’s swatted your dagger away, switching your positions so you’re now the one pinned to the wall with his claws back at you’re throat.

“Who’s pinning who now, huntress?” He grins maniacally, digging his nails that much firmer into your neck.

This time, it’s your turn to scowl, gritting your teeth in frustration as a smug look washes over his features.

“You know, I would have believed you more if you had started pleading for your life the moment you got caught,” he tilts his head almost mockingly at you. “I might have let you go, then.”

“Oh, please,” you roll your eyes, grabbing his wrist in your one hand as you move to knee him in the groin.

The moment he hunches over in pain, you’re swiping his feet out from under him. A second later, and you’ve rolled across the floor. Grabbing your dagger once more in your hand, you have him pinned beneath you with your blade at his throat yet again.

“I thought you’d kill me if I touched you again?” His voice comes out a bit strained, chest heaving as his skin hisses beneath your dagger.

“Answer my original question and I might let you live.” You turn his own words back on him.

His brow twitches slightly in amusement. “You’re a bold one, aren’t you? Taking on a Hala dragon like this?”

“A Hala dragon? Where?” This time, it’s your turn to tilt your head almost mockingly at him in response. “All I see is a little boy meddling in affairs he has no business getting into.”

The snarl he releases is nothing short of feral as his eyes flash at you once more, pupils narrowing into slits as he absolutely glares at you.

“Real charmer, aren’t you, huntress?” He manages to get out through gritted teeth, his jaw twitching in tandem.

“Overgrown lizards that talk a big talk are more often than not compensating for something, sweetheart,” you hum mockingly, a malicious grin tugging at your lips.

“You’re fucking annoying, you know that?” He hisses, wiggling slightly beneath your hold as he attempts to free himself to no avail.

“I’ve been called worse,” you shrug, nonchalantly. “Now, answer my question.”

The man remains quiet only for a moment longer as he seems to be contemplating whether or not he actually wants to respond to you. At the way he lets out a long exhale through his nose, you believe he’s chosen wisely.

“I’m not alone, we just each took a different corner of town,” he responds. “Our youngest was adamant about retrieving someone by himself while we gathered supplies.”

“Why our village?” You press.

“It was the next on our stop.” He replies. “Plus, the only town that our youngest seemed to care about.”

Your mind begins reeling. “He imprint or something?”

“You seem to know a lot about us for someone who’s not a hunter.” He counters.

“Just answer the damn question, you overgrown lizard.” You shift the blade slightly over his neck, noticing how his eyes dart down towards it nervously in the next second.

“You could say that.” He mumbles.

“Who?” You seethe, your need to protect the town and its inhabitants skyrocketing as his words settle over you.

“What’s it to you?” His eyes narrow.

“Watch it, or my hand might just slip,” you threaten, tightening your hold over him as your body rests over his own for the time being.

Again, his eyes dart down to the blade pressed against his throat, skin bright red and irritated beneath the metal.

“I don’t know her name.” He voices lowly.

Your brow quirks, tilting your head at him in disbelief.

“I swear I don’t!” He’s quick to add. “I don’t even know what she looks like. He’s been adamant on us not interfering with her since they met. I don’t even think she knows who he is, or what he is. He’s the only one of us that can actually hide it well.”

“Oh?” The corner of your lips twitch upwards. “Thanks for the information, you sure have a lot to give.”

He scowls briefly, before he manages to steel his features. “You sure are confident I’m not feeding you false information.”

“You sure do like hearing yourself talk, don’t you?” You huff out a dry laugh.

“You sure have a lot of confidence for a human.” He counters, fangs glinting beneath the light of the moon.

“Human, huh?” You smirk, nodding subtly along with his words. Then, your gaze is sharpening, eyes narrowing as you lean in as close as you dare to his face to whisper lowly in his ear. “Get the hell out of my village and never come back. Take your little friends with you, too.”

In the blink of an eye, you’ve stood off of him, fixing your cloak which had gotten dishevelled in your tussle with him on the floor. A second later, and your back is to him as you walk towards the door, stepping over your discarded produce without another thought.

“If I ever see you here again,” you spare a glance at him from over your shoulder as you watch him stand back to his feet. “I won’t be so kind.”

Just as you go to reach for the door handle, you sense him moving behind you. You manage to duck just in time to avoid the swipe of his claws aimed at your head, hearing the scraping of them against the wood of the door as splinters rains down above you.

Your body moves instantly, the steps almost second nature as you spin around, brandishing your dagger on the offensive. Two moves later, and you’ve sliced a deep gash across the side of his ribs, hearing how his breathing immediately becomes laboured as he drops to his knees.

“You bitch,” he seethes, glaring up at you as he desperately holds onto his bleeding side, attempting to stunt the flow of blood in any way he can.

“I warned you,” you sheathe your dagger, backing away from him slowly. “You’ve got minutes little boy. I hope your friends are close by.”

Without another word, you’re escaping into the night, blending into the chaos that greets you outside of the door.

A scowl rests on his features as he collapses to the floor, voice desperately calling out to his brothers in his mind for aid. The last thing he sees before his vision begins going black at the edges is the flow of your cloak as you fade into the crowd.

Not even five minutes later, and you’re bursting through the front door to your little cottage, slamming the wood shut behind you. Your breathing comes in jagged pants as you attempt to catch your breath, eyes darting around the area to make sure no one has broken in in the panic still occurring outside of your house.

That’s when you sense another presence with you.

Slowly, you begin creeping towards the back of your house, pulling out your dagger once more.

“Hello?” You call out, voice shaking as your eyes dart around the room, attempting to find the presence lingering at the edge of your senses. “Who’s there?”

Reaching your kitchen, you notice the backdoor has been left wide open. Carefully, you creep over and close the door, blocking off the exit for whoever decided to invade your home during this time. They’re not leaving here alive, that’s for sure.

A thud coming from behind you catches your attention, a low curse escaping whoever it is in the next second.

Your brow furrows. “Jongho? Is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me,” he replies, though his voice sounds a bit strained.

A minute later, and after hiding your dagger once more, you’ve managed to light an oil lamp. The light allows you to now see him rubbing the side of his hip as his face is contorted in a grimace of pain.

“What are you doing here?” Your brow furrows, walking over to check on him almost immediately.

“I came to check on you.” His reply is instant, almost forgetting about his injury as you come to stand before him. His hands find purchase on your arms as his worried filled gaze flits over every inch of your torso. “As soon as I heard the alarm sound, I came running.”

The way his nostrils flare as he pulls you the slightest bit closer does not go unnoticed by you. If you didn’t know any better, he almost looks annoyed for a second before that concern is taking over his features once more.

“I’m fine.” You reply, shrugging his grip off of you and taking a step away from him. “Are you okay?”

“I’ll be better once we get out of here,” he says, reaching for you again. Only, the way you avoid his grip has his brow furrowing. “We need to leave. Now.”

“Why?” You tilt your head almost innocently at him. “You know I’m safe here. It already sounds like the worst of it is over.”

“You don’t know that.” He grimaces slightly.

“And you do?” You raise a brow questioningly at him. “I get you’re worried for me, but really, I can take care of myself. I have been for a long time. Even before I met you.”

You swear you hear a low growl on the wind.

He takes a step closer, managing to grab your hand lightly in his own this time.

“If you let me, you wouldn’t have to be alone anymore,” Jongho’s voice is low, nothing more than a mere rumble as he brushes his thumb tenderly over the back of your hand.

“Jongho, you sure are acting strange tonight.” You reply, somewhat warily. “What’s gotten into you?”

“I-“

Before you have time to react, you sense three more presences rushing towards your back door. Instantly, Jongho has pulled you into his arms as the wood flies off its hinges, three males rushing into your kitchen. One of whom you recognize.

“I’m sorry, we couldn’t wait any longer.” The gruff voice of a male with bright yellow hair, the tips a vibrant red, reaches your ears as he supports another familiar male between himself and another male with chestnut hair that’s shorter in the front, but longer in the back.

“I told you not to interrupt.” Jongho seethes, pressing you firmer into his side as he holds you to him protectively.

Two more males follow behind, one holding bloodroot in his hands while the other carries some honeysuckle. Each wear worried expressions on their faces, watching as the first two males lift the one held between them onto your counter.

The flapping of wings can be heard outside before two more males are rushing into your house a moment later.

Thunder booms overheard, rain beginning to dance across your rooftop.

Your heart pounds within your chest as your eyes widen at the eight males now having invaded your home. In an instant, you elbow Jongho in the chest, slipping out of his arms as you draw your dagger in front of you for protection once more.

“Who the hell are you, and what the fuck are you doing in my house?” Your eyes dart between each male, making sure to now keep your distance from Jongho all the while.

“Did you not tell her yet?” One of the males with sharp eyes, and what appears to be a birthmark beside his left eye, turns his gaze towards Jongho, arms crossed in front of his chest.

“I didn’t get a chance to before you all came bursting in.” Jongho’s eyes narrow in response, jaw clenched in annoyance. “I told you to wait.”

“We can’t get the bleeding to stop.” The one holding the honeysuckle says, placing some in his mouth to begin chewing the plant into a paste to apply to the wound.

“He’d fading,” the other holding the bloodroot adds. “Fast.”

“We remembered you saying something about her being good with herbs and tonics.” The one with the longer chestnut hair says, eyes briefly darting towards you.

A strained cough is heard from the male on top of your counter. “Oh, she’s good alright.”

All heads are turning towards the male as his chest heaves with every breath. A sheen of sweat lines every free inch of his skin, his flesh getting paler and paler with each passing second.

“Hello, huntress.” The male grins, gaze meeting yours for only a second before he becomes too weak to continue holding his head up.

All heads now turn towards you.

“You did this to him?” The tallest one standing off to the side says this, voice both a little incredulous and accusatory.

“So, that’s why you smelt like him,” Jongho mumbles, a furrow to his brow.

Your eyes widen with an unrivalled fury as you round on Jongho, the injured male’s words from earlier about their youngest ringing through your ears.

“You’ve been lying to me.” You keep your tone low, grip tightening on the blade still held in your hand.

Lightning flashes, thunder crashing above.

“I know you’re probably scared right now-“

“Scared?” You cut Jongho off. “Oh, no. I’m furious.”

“Listen, you can have your little lovers spat later,” the one with the bright locks akin to a flame cuts in. “Seonghwa is dying and we need you to heal him.”

“Who said I was going to help you?” You huff out a breath, straightening slightly in your spot.

Seven low growls reach your ears, and you almost let a threatening one of your own slip passed your lips.

“Who said you had a choice?” The one with the birthmark quirks a brow, turning his piercing gaze towards you.

This time, you cannot contain the way your eyes flash at all of them in response, the golden hue lighting up the room along with the next spark of lighting.

A sharp inhale is heard from all of them, shoulders tensing as you mentally curse yourself for losing control, even if only for a brief moment.

Jongho’s lips curl over his teeth. “Looks like I’m not the only one who has been keeping secrets.”

[yizhou-time]

NCT DREAM’S BROKEN MELODIES

Watch NCT Dream navigate their love lives as they figure out how to lose someone, accept someone and get someone back. It can’t be that hard, can it?

All can be read without needing to read the other fics, none will have anything that will connect them besides the boys. All will be written with a fem reader in mind however no specific gender for Y/N will be mentioned and no gendered terms will be used.

NCT MASTERLIST

(Pre-warning, none of these are proof read right away but do get checked right after!)

JISUNG’S BROKEN MELDOY: ONE LAST TIME *

Pairing: Idol!Jisung x Fan!Reader

Jisung and you experience your first real fight. At risk of losing it all he tries to give you one last call, begging for one last chance except it’s 2:00am and he’s using a payphone so there’s not a chance you’ll be awake.

HAECHAN’S BROKEN MELODY: AUTOPILOT *

Pairing: Student!Haechan x Student!Reader

You’d never understand the pressures Haechan has as the school’s founder’s son so why are you even trying? You do. You have it worse as the student on a scholarship. To add insult to injury the school has found out you’re together and Haechan starts lying.

RENJUN’S BROKEN MELODY: REGULUS

Pairing: Artist!Renjun x Writer!Reader

He decides to give dating one more go after leaving the love of his life, it would help if his date wasn’t sat here gushing over your work. The more they talk about you the more he hates himself but his heart breaks the way he broke yours when he hears about your most recent novel.

JAEMIN’S BROKEN MELODY: IN MY DREAMS

Pairing: Playboy!Jaemin x Nerd!Reader

Jaemin’s heartaches as he hears you explain to him you were aware of his intentions, the bet, everything. It hurts him even more that you said you knew and let it happen to feel special. How could he let it get this far? How could he hurt someone as special to him as you? Mainly, why are you forgiving him?

MARK’S BROKEN MELDOY: NO LIE

Pairing: Idol!Mark x Producer!Reader

Mark can’t stand that he has to face you right now, it makes him think about how alone he made you feel. He had knowingly isolated you and left you alone and when you left he had the audacity to get angry at you because he knew you didn’t want to leave. In reality Mark didn’t know you, he had forgotten who you were a long time ago and didn’t like the new you.

CHENLE’S BROKEN MELODY: SULLAE

Pairing: CEO!Chenle x Housewife!Reader

Chenle left you when you needed him most and it felt like hell. Every time you called out for help he would suddenly have to be somewhere else. He didn’t think it was that bad because he knew you were strong, that was until he heard your wails on the kitchen floor after he came back from a meeting. You were crumpled into a ball on the floor as his assistant sat there stroking your back.

JENO’S BROKEN MELODY: SHARP OBJECTS

Pairing: Demon!Jeno x Angel!Reader

He didn’t understand you were risking your life to be with him, he always played around with it but what happens when it comes to it? What would he do then? He doesn’t know but he knows he has to. He has no choice now and it’s all his fault.

Release dates subject to change, will most likely be earlier. Any date changes will be put here.

Taglist (reply to join): @sukistrawberry @lovesuhng @shwizhies @niinjo @renjunoya @carelessshootanonymous @hyuckissed @funkygoose @fymine @asteriaskingdom @iscocohere @calssunflower @kunvibing

* = Getting a part two, there’s been multiple requests so far so they’ll be done once the rest are!

[jnnul]

things he reminds me of (nct dream)

a/n: i know i was supposed to post this on friday oops 😭 i just...have so many thoughts when it comes to love and these boys are some of my greatest muses

genre: fluff/slice-of-life maybe, just love, different types of love, young dumb broke kids in love, LOVE, idk did i say they’re in love yet, tw: mentions of kissing & hickeys lol

word count: 1.4k (idk either man)

MARK

gif credits: @jsuh​

that moment when you realize how much someone truly loves you

guitars that have so many stickers, you can barely see the wood

buying a new fuzzy blanket

the little scratch of stubble when you kiss

laughing when his glasses poke you in the forehead

falling asleep with your legs on top of his on the couch

massaging his head when he’s had a long day

oversized sweatshirts to avoid the paparazzi when he’s coming over

long facetime calls even though it’s three in the morning in his time

voice messages instead of texts bc he wants to hear your voice

hearing your voice in a song

turning your little doodles into the cover of his next solo

whispers about the future that dissolve into the hot summer sky as he looks at you with eyes filled with hope

musky cologne that reminds you of the forest after it rains

the color gray

love.

RENJUN

gif credits: @faerenjun​

never letting you open the door yourself

succulents for every anniversary until you have a forest in the living room

brushing his lips over your forehead before he leaves for work

having a faceless picture of you and him as his background

buying you a necklace with his initials and a matching bracelet with yours

always, always, always feeding you because he’s scared you won’t eat if he’s not there

teaching you mandarin and kissing you every time you get a word right

filming a ‘day in my life’ vlog every couple weeks that you rewatch on your anniversary to see how you’ve grown

sunset lamps that don’t work the way he thought they would

painting together in absolute silence

having a french window with billowing curtains and a bench that the two of you sit on

adopting a dog together only to find out that the dog is a demon

fighting for the remote but he lets you win every time

rubbing your shoulders when you’re stressed

forgetting why you were so stressed when you look at him working so serenely

love.

JENO

gif credits: @seomarkno​

the thunder that rolls in ten seconds after lightning that shakes the high-rise apartment

quiet cups of coffee as the two of you wait for the rest of the world to wake up

words of endearment that are saved only for the most intimate moments

the wracking shoulders when he tries not to cry because he doesn’t want to burden you

the soft comfort in sleeping in his arms

the feeling of all of his worry melting away when you reach for him, even in your sleep, and look for his love

the color red that stains your white dress when you and jeno get wine drunk

waiting for the other to come home to them

home-cooked meals that are a little too hot so he has to blow on it

fights that turn into whispered i love you’s because he can’t stay away from you for too long

listening to the same song, even when you’re hundreds of miles apart

opening all the jars for you, even if you say you can do it yourself

watching a show together and hoping for different pairings

mature conversations about investing in the future

meeting his family a little too quickly - but it’s okay bc they love you

love.

HAECHAN

gif credits: @huangrenjuns​

quirked eyebrows as you vehemently counter his argument about ice cream

making you sit on his lap as he games until ungodly hours to feel your warmth

kissing the nape of his neck bc you love the way he melts in your arms

dropping the cake on his birthday, only for him to eat it anyway so you wouldn’t feel bad

secret getaway trips that you have to beg and plead the company for

telling him how much you love him and seeing his eyes well up

feeling his heart swell with pride when you come home with a new accomplishment

only saying i love you when he really means it - but he says it every morning

gently explaining to you why you should love yourself the way he loves you

green accents everywhere bc you think it’s vibrant 

calling him a loser affectionately

looking at him like he put the stars in the sky

the deep rumble of his chest when you’re curled into him

the way he hums when he thinks you’re not listening but you are

being able to calm you down within 30 seconds no matter what

love.

JAEMIN

gif credits: @jaemtens​ (thank u for doing the lord’s work)

letting him play with your hair until it looks ridiculous

making peach cobbler but you accidentally added too much sugar

waking him up with a mug of fresh coffee and so much affection

letting him pull you into a dark corner to press a soft kiss to your lips

him tugging a blanket over you as you fall asleep waiting for him

carrying you from the kitchen counter to the sofa, insisting that he was going to cook for you tonight

letting him buy you pink accessories bc he says you look soft

getting the silent treatment from him when he’s mad but he can never stay mad for too long

promising him that you’re never going to leave him when he’s scared about your relationship getting discovered

surprising him backstage at an overseas concert

seeing his eyes light up when you walk into the room, no matter how long it’s been since you started dating

feeling the hard planes under his shirt when you bandage his back after a long dance practice

texting you at insane hours to sneak over to his place and order takeout

frowning when he sees you wear revealing clothes only to say, “you wear whatever you want, baby. i can fight.”

he can’t fight but he tries to seem tough for you anyway bc that’s what he thinks you want. you don’t. all you want is him.

love.

CHENLE

gif credits: @jjsungie​

oversized jerseys which all say ‘curry’ on them somewhere

buying him presents only to find out that he already has it

seeing him cry when you tell him about your deep and personal secrets bc he’s never felt so much pain for someone else before

convincing you to get matching tattoos but both of you pussy out

renting out an entire arcade to go on a date

not letting him rent out an entire arcade bc wtf who does that chenle

always celebrating your anniversaries in a lowkey, private, and humble way

going 50/50 on everything in the relationship even if chenle would rather die than make you pay

playing rock, paper, scissors to decide how to split the chores. for. everything.

playing cards against humanity except the two of you are just looking for the craziest combinations

brightly colored scrunchies for his hair, not yours

stealing the blankets bc you run cold and he runs hot

wearing sweatshirts to colleges that neither of you attend

sober advice bc he doesn’t understand why you get stressed sometimes

knowing that you compliment each other, rather than complete each other

love.

JISUNG

gif credits: @leemarkies​ 

thinking he’s rizzing you up but it just looks rlly silly

asking you what-if questions at ungodly hours and then leaving you on read

do not disturb until he dies. and then he comes back with a pinterest reaction meme.

feeling frustrated when he can’t tell you how much he really loves you

getting confused between love, lust, and like but knowing that he feels so incredibly safe and warm with you

fighting his instincts to run every time he realizes how down bad he is for you

having to physically drag him out of the dance studio bc he’s going to collapse from exhaustion

not letting anyone but you touch him when he’s sick

telling you abt his dreams to become a big star

rambling about his theories abt humanity and the universe for h o u r s

not realizing that his sweatshirts are disappearing until you wear them around him

nearly having a heart attack the first time you give him a hickey (and then asking for three more)

the purple light glinting in his eyes as he rewatches his stages for mistakes

gently coaxing him to be a little less perfectionist

splitting a pizza with you and thinking it to be peak romance bc it is to you and him

love.

[luvyeni]

SEVEN DEADLY SINS. ( 7k drabble celebration ! )

hey y'all .... im back with another drabble series. this is in celebration of me hitting 7k!! thank you guys so much for 7k , i'm still in shock that i've made it this far , but it's all thanks to you guys , i love you guys so much and thank you so much for loving my works 🤍

SIDE NOTE. i just put all the members in each group in a name wheel and that's who i decided to use.

— PRIDE. (park sunghoon)

PAIRINGS: park sunghoon x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+, gods au

CW: 18+ mature content , cock worshipping dirty talk , cum swallowing , sunghoon is not the kindest to reader

— GREED. (bang chan)

PAIRINGS: bang chan x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+, established relationship , ceo au

CW: dirty talk , breeding kink , exhibitionism

— LUST. (johnny suh)

PAIRINGS: johnny suh x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ , demon au

CW: oral (f. receiving), squirting , dubcon (reader is technically asleep)

— ENVY. (choi beomgyu )

PAIRINGS: choi beomgyu x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ , yandere au

CW: dark content yandere , perv beomgyu , stalking , non consensual filming , masturbation

— GLUTTONY. (kim sunoo)

PAIRINGS: kim sunoo x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ , vampire au

CW: 18+ mature content, non consensual biting turned consensual, unprotected sex , cumming inside

— WRATH. (huang renjun)

PAIRINGS: huang renjun x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ , mafia au

CW: 18+ mature content, DARK CONTENT , knife play, blood play, unprotected sex , dirty talk, degradation,

— SLOTH. (lee taeyong)

PAIRINGS: lee taeyong x fem!reader

GENRE: 18+ , hybrid au

CW: coming soon

©️LUVYENI

[starry-nights-garden]

NCT Dream as the Demon hiding under your bed

✧ NCT Dream all members x gn!reader ✧ genre: humor, crack, fluff ✧ warnings: none

Mark:

the confused demon

does not know why he is here

one day wakes up under your bed, hits his head, crawls out and startles the shit out of you

he’s as clueless as you are as to what he’s doing here

laughs awkwardly, attempts to introduce himself and keeps switching back and forth between english and korean

????

maybe the awkwardness is the reason why you’re not scared of him when he explains that he’s a demon

“So I guess I’m supposed to take your soul?” - he figures someday

you just shrug it off and agree because ever since he suddenly moved in with you you two have become pretty good friends

also he’s very cute and seems clueless as to how a demon is supposed to behave, so you secretly don’t think he’d ever be able to take your soul

plus, you know he’s taken a liking to you and his soft spot for you won’t allow him to harm you

really you kinda just chill in your room all day and watch series or play games??

he’s more like a brother you get along with super well than a demon trying to kill you

however, when other demons find out that he’s not doing his job, they decide to do it for him

you can trust him to always hide you well and keep the other demons at a distance

he will do everything he can to protect you from them

Renjun:

the annoyed demon

has been living as a demon for so long that he’s kinda getting tired of it tbh

especially if he ends up choosing a person who doesn’t give up their soul so easily

unfortunately, you are one of those people

so when he realizes this, he just begins to dread the whole thing aksdjfölka

however, he takes his duties as a demon very seriously, and his pride won’t just let him ditch you - he has to see this through until the end

when he finally reveals himself to you, because you just will not give him any kind of opening to steal your soul otherwise, you are understandably scared at first

however, when he offers to grant you your biggest wish, you start to wonder if it’s worth making a deal with him, because surely he must want something in return?

you stay suspicious and start asking questions to figure out what exactly he is

and in the end this discussion is being dragged out so much that he simply lets out a deep sigh and admits everything lol

but since he already promised to grant you a wish, you decide to trick him and wish for him to be your loyal servant until the end of time

which, in your dictionary means he shouldn’t be able to take your soul in the first place, and in his eyes it means that he might still have a chance

so here he is, your own personal servant, who you also just made a pact with

you make him do stuff like bringing you snacks or doing your work for you at first, receiving death glares in exchange

however, at some point a weird tom-and-jerry like friendship starts between you two, and you actually start enjoying spending time with each other

he keeps joking about how he will simply murder you and take your soul while you’re sleeping at night whenever you annoy him in the slightest

but he says that with such an adoring smile on his face ???? 

technically he shouldn’t be able to do that, as it goes against what you wished for - he’s still Renjun tho, so you can never be too sure…

and no matter how well you get along in the end, he will still end up taking your soul one day

Jeno:

the soft-hearted demon

one night you wake up to him, looking all scary and threatening, on top of you, pinning you down to your bed so you can’t escape

you’re obviously scared and don’t know what’s going on

you try to scream, but no sound will come out when he covers your mouth with one hand

and then suddenly you see his features become very soft and the tension leaving his body

has a mental breakdown in the corner of your room because your eyes were wide with fear and you looked so scared and he just isn’t cut out for this whole demon lifestyle

disappears after that but realizes he’ll get in trouble if you reveal his identity, now that you know his face

so he returns one day, politely knocking on your window pane until you let him in :’)

you’re obviously suspicious and scared at first, but then he starts incoherently rambling about his worries

you understand nothing

he panics and eventually leaves again?????

he really is NOT cut out for this…

eventually he HAS to return to you though, because he’s in danger, and you’re also now in danger of being found by other demons

explains himself a bit more coherently this time and out of guilt he offers to protect you???

wasn’t he supposed to take your soul instead???

you’re not sure how this bundle of soft feelings and internal panic is supposed to protect you, but he also refuses to leave with a huge pout on his lips so you decide to let him stay for now

when other demons start swarming your home a bit after that, he makes sure to ward off every single one of them

you grow closer and you come to trust him eventually, feeling reassured that he can protect you

Haechan:

the troublesome demon

technically pretty smart, because he takes the time to observe and get to know about you first

however, when you can’t sleep and keep rolling around in bed and getting up and lying down again several times the very night he was planning on surprising you in your sleep to take your soul, he loses all patience

lets out a huge groan eventually and crawls out from under your bed, wordlessly goes to the kitchen to get chips while mumbling something about needing snacks to calm down, and then sits next to you to watch you fall asleep

obviously NOW you can’t fall asleep because there’s a stranger in your bedroom??? eating your snacks???

he does not explain anything, he just sits there grinning to himself while snacking away

only when you scream in terror that you’re going to call the police, he gets up

“Whoa there, no need to go that far.”

explains that he’s just some apparition and you’re actually already sleeping and you’re just having this hyperrealistic dream to process some kind of hidden worry??

decides that he could just have a bit of fun with you before doing his work, so he crawls out from his hideaway every other night to chat with you

eventually he also convinces you to play games with him and to cook midnight snacks together

he originally made this all a part of his plan to get you to trust him but actually?? spending time with you??? is a lot of fun??

also maybe he’s developing a little crush on you and he can’t decide if that makes it more dreadful or more fun to take your soul later on

he ends up getting really attached to you and clings to you all the time

that is until one night, another demon comes to take your soul and he protects you, ending up explaining everything to you

becomes your personal guardian and gaming buddy after that

Jaemin:

the responsible demon

one day he simply appears and starts telling you what to do??

nags you to do your homework and teaches you how to do taxes

gets really annoying when you don’t do your chores

“I cannot have you live like this.”

lists 74385723 reasons why you should keep your house clean and take care of yourself (literally who askeddddd???)

threatens you to take your soul on the spot if you don’t do what he says aksjdflka

actually very caring and means well, but just cannot watch you procrastinate on stuff that needs to be done eventually

at this point he doesn’t feel like an intruder anymore, so you just accept that there’s this supernatural being somehow supporting you in getting your life together

he also doesn’t really give you the time to figure out that maybe keeping him around could potentially be dangerous to you

either way, you actually come to appreciate his efforts in motivating you, and as he too gets more used to you and takes a liking to you, his words become more gentle

that doesn’t mean he will let you slack off and procrastinate on things that are just stressing you out unnecessarily because you keep not doing them

also has weirdly specific household tips and tricks for you??

if you attempt to cut into your sleep time by staying up too late, he will literally pull you to your bed and not let you get up again until morning kjsdflkas

forces you into taking good care of yourself, and he’s somehow both the nicest and the most annoying being you know

but as a responsible demon, he still has to do his job of taking your soul eventually

however, there’s still some time until then; after all he has to make sure you’re eating three healthy meals a day and that your tax return is filled out correctly

Chenle:

the melancholic demon

tells you in detail about how life on earth was 800 years ago

you think you’re having a fever dream when someone suddenly emerges from under your bed and starts off a conversation with “You know, back in my days…”

dude, you’re like 20, what are you talking about???

really, he’s been wandering this world for hundreds of years, not aging physically due to him being a demon

and now he’s here to take your soul - he doesn’t literally tell you that though

instead, he starts openly explaining how he’s taken the souls of many other people and how you can’t escape him anyway, due to his experience and knowledge of the human mind

basically he’s explaining to you in the most chill and unfazed way possible that he’s about to kill you, while throwing in some memories here and there, feeling nostalgic

you’re in for a very long night, because this guy just won’t stop talking and sharing his wisdom, and at times it seems like he doesn’t even care if you’re listening or not

at some point asks if you happen to have a good bottle of wine at home??? kind of like a last supper he wants to have with you??

what is wrong with him

eventually you join in on the conversation and he finds what you’re saying so interesting that he takes an instant interest in you

maybe he won’t take your soul right away?

you somehow end up talking until sunrise, and to your surprise he simply crawls back under your bed and disappears? you feel even more like you just had a very long fever dream now

however, the following night he returns to talk to you again, claiming that he had so much fun and for as long as you manage to entertain him he will spare you

obviously you feel very pressured now, maybe even so pressured that you fail to find something to talk about at all

rest assured though, he’s been in this for long enough to not let any chance to enjoy the small things in life slip away, so he always helps you out in finding a topic for a conversation

Jisung:

the awkward demon

has no clue what he’s doing

like that villain who always explains his grand plan of evil to you before actually executing it, except make it very awkward and also there is no actual execution of the plan that follows

he’s a shy bean and who even ever thought he’d do well as an entity designed entirely to take people’s souls???

and it’s his first time taking someone’s soul too, so he’s just very anxious, and what if he embarrasses himself??? (like that’s the part he should be most worried about???)

anyway, he has a super-foolproof plan (at least he thinks it’s foolproof), which already fails at step one

so one night you’re lying in your bed, about to fall asleep, when you hear something rustling under your bed

you don’t think much of it, but when you hear the noise again you decide to get up and take a look

you turn on the lights and find a person hiding there in plain sight, eyes squinting because it’s too bright and holding a huge bag of sweets in his arms

he’s very dumbfounded

eventually he holds out the sweets to you and goes “Let me take your soul in exchange for these treats!”

you start screaming, because there is a complete stranger under your bed and how did he even get there??? so he finally jumps out, slamming his hand over your mouth

“Shh!! What if someone hears us or finds out I’m here?”

eventually changes his bribe into you shutting up about him in exchange for the sweets, and also slips up somewhere in between, revealing that he is - in fact - a demon

now he feels so guilty for inconveniencing you that he’s unable to take your soul

therefore he simply surprises you every night with a new supply of sweets

he still has a lot to learn, sigh…

[what-if-nct]

Renjun: Kun, Yangyang told me to ask you if he can come play Ouija boards in the woods with me and Haechan.

Kun: Yangyang did you tell Renjun to ask me cause you thought I'd say yes to him?

Yangyang: You always say no to me it's worth a shot.

Kun: Cause you want to do things like play with Ouija boards in the woods.

Renjun: It's safe I promise, spirits fear Haechan it's safe plus we watch Supernatural. We know what to do.

Yangyang: I have my demon slaying knife right here.

Renjun: Yeah don't get that too close to Haechan. He'll be fine but it might burn him.

Kun: Fine, Fine Winwin go with them.

Winwin: Okay, let's go boys I'll get you McDonald's after we pick up Haechan.

Renjun: Wait do you happen to have a bag of cat fur?

Kun: Why would we-

Ten: Yeah, which cat's fur? Or a mix of all four?

Renjun: All four.

Ten: *pulls out a container full of bags of cat fur* Alright, here you go.

Kun: What do you need it for? And why do you have this much saved cat fur?

Renjun: Don't worry about it.

Ten: I don't think that's any of your business.

[hydroyaksha]

Soleil’s fic recs

EXO:

Yixing- king! “The Lotus king and his jade” @sweetjekyll

Kyungsoo- hogwarts! “Spellbound” @whimsical-ness

Sehun- X-EXO! “GREED” @/quokkacore

Sehun -(X-EXO) “LIBERALITY” @quokkacore

Baekhyun - idols! “The rumors were true” @eomayas

Kyungsoo - yandere! “I love you, I love you, I love you.” (Made by me!)

STRAYKIDS - [separate link]

Chan/ Felix - polyamory! Hogwarts! “Detention” @dreamescapeswriting

Felix - demon slayer! “If you tell me about myself” @skazoo

Felix - enemies to lovers! “Strawberry kisses” @softsan

Felix - dick joke centered! CEO! “Penis heart” @staysuki

Felix - Agent! Scientist! “A normal Thursday” @abiaswreck

Hyunjin - mafia! “Ice” @healinghyunjin

Hyunjin - mafia! “Not a stranger” @straywrds

OT8 - ABO! “No control” @cherryeol04

Hyunjin - Hanahaki! (With a good ending) “forget me not” @hhjs

Bangchan - Indian performer! Idol! “Butterfly wings” @straykidshoe

Lee know - siren! “Call of the siren” @tasteleeknow

Lee know - hogwarts! “Green flames” @streetlight11

Jeongin - android! “Alive” @rainy-bangbeom

Felix - royalty! Best friends! “Fairy flowers” @hyunsvngs

Felix - bodyguard! “Your bodyguard, Felix” @skzdarlings

Jisung - ghostface! “It’s a scream baby!” @tyunphoria

Felix - dating show! “TOO HOT TO HANDLE” @seospicybin

Felix - prince! “Forgive me for what I haven’t done” @rachalixie

NCT:

OT23 - yandere! Cult! “Connect” @mymoodwriting

WAYV:

OT7 - yandere! “Awaken” @/mymoodwriting

TEN - vampire!Hunter! “Blood wars” @things-we-cant-say

LUCAS - hybrid! “Please don’t bite me” @/quokkacore

NCT127:

NCT127 - yandere! Aliens! “Who is sticker?” @/mymoodwriting

Taeyong/ Yuta - Angels! Devils! Yandere! “Watching over you” @whiteteadreams

Jaehyun - Dog hybrid! “Competitive spirit” @flowerboykun

OT9 - vampires! Witches! “Black magic” @stayarmytinyzenmoa-l

Jaehyun - hogwarts! “Head over brooms” @sehunniepotwrites

NCT DREAM:

Mark - supernatural! “grit your f*ckin’ teeth” @irtza

Haechan - yandere! “Inseparable” @mint-yoongi

Jaemin - athlete! “on the rebound” @lunena

Jaemin - “Crazy in love” @mayaflowerxs

Renjun - classmates! “Blondes are done with fun” @rrxnjun

00’ line + Mark - arcana! “Arcane” @neonacity

Haechan - hockey player! “Ice ice baby” @cozyjae

Haechan - uni! “Learning languages” @tonicandjins

NCT TOKYO:

Sungchan - superhero! “Through the webs” @yutafrita

ENHYPHEN:

ENHYPHEN - scenario! “How they’re protective over you” @foresdxw

NI-KI - scenario! Idols! “Cookies - shattered glass” @ilovehimyourhonor

JAY - bad boy! Good girl! Dancer! “Opposites attract” @dazed-hee

NI-KI spiderman! “Spider-Man loves you” @misoxhappy

TXT:

Beomgyu- hybrid! “Until it hurts a little less” @horanghoe

Beomgyu - fae! “Dasies” @thru-the-grapevine

Soobin - AI! “Artificial love” @bb-eilish

Beomgyu- Spider-Man! “Not your average boyfriend” @slytherinshua

Yeonjun- fox hybrid! “Silly fox baby” @seowhorebin

BTS:

Taehyung - Android! “A human touch” @snackhobi

SHINee:

KEY - A/B/O! “Out of love” @mymoodwriting

THE BOYZ

OT11 - android! “The boyz become human” @tbznewberry

[sluttyten]

UNHOLY - Chapter Eighteen

full masterlist || UNHOLY chapter index

summary: you've been anxiously waiting the reunion with Ten and Yuta. But first, you have to break them out of their imprisonment in Hell. And, who knows, maybe while you're there, you'll learn some new stuff about yourself, too

length: 19,907 words

tags: supernatural, demons, happy stuff, stressful and nervous stuff, scared and angry stuff

<-previous || next–>

You wish you could say the first day of planning went splendidly and you were ready to go marching into Hell the next day. 

That wasn’t the case. 

Each day, your planning meetings end with nothing truly decided. Each night, you dream again of Hell, of the Queen of the Night, of the torture that Yuta and Ten are enduring. Each morning you wake feeling more stressed than you had been the day before, more afraid of what is happening to them, and how different you might find them – they’ve been imprisoned in two separate prisons, possibly tortured, who knows what sort of effect that’s had on them since you last saw them.

You cover lots of things in the meetings that should reassure you of the success of this mission, but they don’t necessarily reassure you of anything.

Jeno and Jaemin tell you about the layout of Hell, of secret entrances and passages and exits while they also regale you with amusing stories of their time at Hell’s boarding school. Johnny tells each of you how shadows work – not the obvious way, but the magical way that lets him twine them around his fingers and send them away to do his bidding. There are skills lessons – Ira instructing you more in the ways of the Watchers, Jaemin and Jeno giving you more information about demons that they’d learned in their demonic boarding school, combat lessons from Jaehyun the werewolf (which Haechan seems only too eager to go head-to-head with some of your new companions). Ira and the sirens discuss various plans to leave the island and to return, revealing the secrets you’ve been wondering about since Renjun brought you here.

You keep your distance from the sirens, still a little wary of them after the dream you had a week ago in which they’d drowned you. It doesn’t help that all three of them have a mildly terrifying aura anyway, and it only gets worse every time that you see Seulgi watching all of you like you’re her prey during Jaehyun’s combat lessons. But you know that the sirens are actually rather sweet. Sunmi is kind and truly nurturing with her sisters. Seulgi actually is quite adorable and soft-hearted when it comes down to it — one day after Johnny’s shadow-talks, you see Seulgi playing with his shadow tendrils like they’re kittens while Johnny watches on with amusement. 

Minnie, though, shows such affection for Renjun. She acts cute and flirty and clingy, constantly trying to steal his attention away from Haechan who, in turn, tries to steal Renjun’s attention back. 

You try hard not to find the dynamic between the elf, the vampire, and the siren very amusing and familiar. 

Finally on the morning of the seventh day, you wake in the darkness of your bedroom to find that Mark’s side of the bed is empty.

It’s late. Or early. The sky outside the window of your bedroom is still a deep, dark shade of blue with stars just barely visible, tiny pinpricks of silver light in the sky. You can see the ink of the sea in the distance, whitecap waves reflecting moonlight.

The night is truly silent tonight. Your view out the window could be nothing more than just a pretty picture in the frame for all the sound you catch – no wind blowing, you can’t hear the waves rushing against the shoreline. No one whispers in the halls or other rooms of Ira’s house. The only sound is the thundering of your own heart in your ears and the dull sizzling sound of your handprints you’ve burnt into the sheets where you’ve been clutching them.

A nightmare is what woke you.

It’s similar to the one you had a week ago, centered on Hell. Every part of it was confusing and disappointing as each element of your plot to rescue Ten and Yuta fell through completely. You woke when the dream couldn’t possibly have gotten any worse.

You saw them burning. 

Everyone.

Everyone burned. Yuta and Ten, although that should have been impossible. Mark and WinWin, Ira, the sirens, the others that Ira has drawn here to his island to help you with this mission. 

They were all burning in your dream. The dream was so vivid that you could smell burning hair and flesh; you could see the terror in their eyes; you could hear their cries and screams. You had heard the vile laughter of the Queen of the Night, cackling with wicked delight while they burned and she made you watch.

Now, as you lie here in the waking aftermath of your nightmare, you try to focus on your surroundings to ground you in the present. 

Behind you, WinWin is unmoving, an arm pitched above his head, the sheets twisted around his hips, one exposed leg visible and covered in white scars like lightning bolts originating from the silvery bite mark left behind by the Fell Beasts. Tonight he’s unbothered, deep in dreams so he doesn’t budge even as you leave the bed, as you quietly dress yourself. 

Soft snores sound from the bedrooms you pass. There’s no sign of anyone being awake, no sounds of the unsleeping vampires being aware of you moving through the house. You creep down the spiral stairs, taking careful steps to keep quiet as you make your way out through the front door. 

Dawn is just beginning to touch the perfect blue darkness of night. Peach colored sunrise swirls through the navy clouds and the steel gray of the choppy sea. Deep shadows remain over much of the island, and you stick to them, remembering Johnny’s advice of bending shadows to help hide you, which you apply skillfully as you leave the eaves of the house towards the cliff’s edge.

As you walk forward, you glance backwards, attempting to look up at the lighthouse tower’s peak, trying to see if maybe Mark is up there. You know he’s got a tendency to climb up the tower so he can sit there and stare at the stars. If he’s up there right now, you can’t distinguish him from the dark. And if he is up there, he must not notice you because he doesn’t descend to join you or stop you either way.

You don’t want him to join you.

The nightmares that have been plaguing you all week have been bad enough, but the one you just awoke from truly has put you in a state of panic. No one else can come with you, you saw the argument for that in your dream. Everyone here on the island has been helpful in these planning stages, but if they come with you, they’re just weaknesses for you, they’ll hold you back and make you much more noticeable than if you just go by yourself.

You know how to get off the island now, and you have a plan for exactly how you’re going to get into Hell, how you’re going to locate Ten and Yuta, and how you’re going to escape. You’ve even got a Plan B tucked away in the back of your mind in case your original plan goes awry.

The beach looks nearly the same as it had the day that you arrived. Foamy white waves crash against the shore, rushing through the pebbles as you near the water’s edge. 

Since your arrival to Ira’s island, you’d wondered several times how the portal magic worked for the island. Ira and Renjun had made it clear that it was only possible to enter the island via portal, and that made sense. Up until a few days ago when one rescue strategy had been discussed, you hadn’t known how to leave the island. At what point did the sea become a portal back to the rest of the world?

Ira had led all of the group out onto the porch outside the front door. With his arm outstretched, he pointed out at the sea visible beyond the cliff’s edge. “See the water, where it turns from a shallow turquoise to a darker blue? Do you see the circle of turquoise out a little further? It’s straight out from the inlet where you all came in.”

The sea faded from turquoise closer to the shore to a deeper blue as the sea floor dropped off, but then there was in fact a pocket of lighter color out in the deep.

“This portal works a bit different from other portals. To exit the secure space I’ve placed this island in, you have to have a specific mental picture of your destination, you have to focus on it and push through.”

“Push through? It’s in the middle of the water. How will we know when we’ve reached the portal to push through and to focus?” Jeno had turned to your father in confusion. 

Mark, standing beside you in the shadow of the house’s doorway, grimaced. “Trust me, you’ll know. Coming through is easy enough, but when we left to find you guys, I thought like you. It was in the middle of the water, so how would we know? But it’s like hitting an invisible wall. You have to focus on holding your destination in mind while you also push through what feels like a solid wall of water.”

Ira nods. “I didn’t make it easy to come and go.”

And now, in the present moment as you stand on the shore and face the morning gray of the sea, you hope you’ll be able to find the portal. From down here at the water level, you can’t see a difference in the water like you’d been able to from up above. It’s impossible to tell how far out you’re going to have to swim.

You stare out at the water. 

If you don’t go now, you’re going to lose your nerve.

Images of your dream last night flash through your mind.

Ten screaming as hungry flames consumed him. Yuta’s body stretched out on the floor as veins of poisoned fire wrapped around his throat, crawling over his cheeks and mouth. 

It had all seemed so real, so terrifying. You can’t take another night of not knowing that they’re safe, of not having them in your arms again.

The seawater is cool where it touches your bare ankle. 

Ira had said the portal is just a straight swim out from the shore. You can do this. 

You take a few steps more out into the water, shivering as the cool water rises up your body, as the waves splash it even higher. 

You pull in a deep, full breath and with one last glimpse back at the cliffs behind you – halfway hoping to see a familiar face, halfway checking to make sure that there isn’t anyone watching. There isn’t anyone. You face the horizon again, and you dive beneath the surface.

Below the water, the world is dark and still. You’re still close to the shore, in only a few feet of water, but as you begin swimming forward, the bottom falls away beneath you. Darkness grows around you when you reach the open water of the sea. There’s a different feeling to the water, a hollowness and a pull of gravity as the forever black maw opens beneath you.

High above you, the sunrise bursts in prismatic colors over the surface. Your lungs begin to ache and your heart longs for you to rise to the surface again, to feel the heat of the sunrise on your face and a fresh breath of air filling your lungs, but instead you keep swimming forward into the endless, deep dark.

The pressure grows stronger  in your chest, in your head, in your throat, and you feel like you’re being squeezed to death and frozen as the sea around you becomes entirely black. Momentarily, the thought crosses your mind that you’ve slipped right through the portal without being aware, that you’ve been somehow sucked into that Abyss that Yuta and Ten once told you about – the place where soulless supernaturals go when they die.

And then, you feel it.

A wall of pressure.

You pull an image of your destination into your mind, focusing on it with every part of you that’s not worrying about being able to breathe, and you push forward.

You feel as if you’re making absolutely no progress no matter how hard you push against it, and for a moment you’re right back trapped in that mirror at the House of the Watchers – again, you can’t breathe, you’re trapped against a barrier with everything you want on the other side. You push and you push, trying to keep a river a million miles away held in your mind, pushing, pushing, feeling your lungs seizing in your chest and dots of blackness and sparks of impossible light spark across your vision.

The world breaks around you, shattering and transforming into a world of bright sound and heat and so much air.

Each breath sears your lungs, your chest burning in an entirely unpleasant manner, but you can’t help gasping for more and more air. Your hair drips into your eyes, making them sting. There’s so much noise, and after the suffocation of the deep sea, all of this everything is very disorienting.

It takes a moment or two of treading water before you realize that your escape from the island actually worked.

River water stains your skin with tiny granules of silt, a twig has tangled itself in your hair as well as a slimy piece of plant life that has twisted through your fingers. You shake it off, pluck the twig from your hair, and you look back up to the banks of the river you’re in, at the high city buildings reaching up into the orange haze of the sky.

You’ve come back to Hell City.

Something silvery flickers by you in the water, and it takes a moment too long for you to realize what it is. Another pale streak rushes by you, and this time you recognize it for what it is. A memory rises to the surface of your mind.

In your early days here, as Ten and Yuta showed you around the city, they’d brought you here to the riverwalk along this river that marks the border of Hell City. Right now, you’re a bit upriver from that spot where the river splits in two, but you still remember clearly leaning against the railing with Yuta beside you, his arm wound around your waist to keep you from tipping into the dangerous water.

It’s the memory of that day that has inspired your rescue plan. 

“What do you see when you look at the water?” Yuta had asked you that day. And that morning, just as right now, you’d seen a whitish silver ribbon twisting through the water. With his hands on you, keeping you safely planted on solid ground, Yuta had explained to you, “Those are spirits of the damned. This river leads straight to Hell. Proper Hell, not just this city. Water is a transmitter, or conductor, carrying the spirits down where they belong. A little way down the way, the river vanishes underground, and it never resurfaces.”

It’s funny, thinking back on that now. You’ve definitely learned that water works as a pathway – it’s taken you to Purgatory and to Ira’s little special corner of the universe, and it’s brought you back here.

And if your plan works, this river is going to take you straight to Hell.

This is something that has come up in your week of planning. Jaemin’s voice echoes from the back of your mind. “Once you’re in that river, it’s a certainty as to where you’re going. Because the river is a one-way ticket to Hell. Spirit Express, no stops, no clear return.”

In the present moment, you can already feel the current of the river sucking at you, pulling you downstream. A cold wave slaps into the side of your head, and you swear you hear a voice whispering a death song in your ear, and you keep your mouth closed tightly, trying to keep your face above water, even as the current pulls you along, threatening to drag you under even as you fight to stay afloat.

And then you see it just up ahead. The river forks.

One branch of the river continues on through the regular, mortal, unmagical world towards the ocean. The other branch grows darker and darker until eventually it delves underground, passing briefly through Hell City’s underground, and then surging even deeper below to the realm of the demons; this branch of the river is the one that has you in its gravity.

And suddenly it really has a grip on you. You’re being propelled forward in the water, carried along faster than you had been just a moment before, racing towards the place where the river disappears underground.

The moment is obvious when the power of the great river of the damned finally overpowers the simple current of the natural river. One moment, you’re still able to fight to keep your head above water, and the next you can feel the force of the water pulling you downward.

You keep getting pulled under, managing one final gasp for breath in the instant before it’s impossible, sucking in a little of the river water despite all of your previous attempts. It tastes like poison as it trickles over your tongue, and the moment you resurface, you cough and gag, trying to expel the toxic water. Repeat.

Occasionally, you feel something else in the water, hitting against you, bumping and slithering and slimy. Mostly it feels incorporeal, as if you’re just feeling passing souls. Until you feel the tug at your ankles, the gravity pushing you down further from the surface.

You wish you had something to hold onto, some easier way to get to Hell than this, but Jaemin and Jeno had assured you that this was going to be the easiest way for all of you to get there, and even though you’re going this alone now, you don’t know any other way to get to Hell. 

You’re being sucked downward, and you flail around, trying to claw your way back to the surface for one last breath, one last glimpse of the sunlight –

Free-fall.

You’re in free-fall, no longer controlled by the river’s current but by gravity.

Lights flicker to life – far away and below you, growing rapidly bigger and closer.

You recognize where you are, but you’ve never seen it from this perspective.

You’re tumbling in the waterfall you’ve seen before, racing through Hell City’s underground, and within seconds you’ll be crashing into the next layer of the underworld. Streams of silvery light surround you, and if you could really force your eyes to focus on anything, you feel certain that you might be able to make out features of faces or limbs. These are souls, after all.

The air is full of voices – whispers of the souls, your own screams.

You feel the impact as your body crashes into the pool of water at the base of Hell City’s underground waterfall. It doesn’t hurt necessarily, but you can feel the water passing like a heavy wave beating against you when you stand unprepared in the surf. And then everything is dark and cool again. The air is filled with the rushing sound of water and passing air and all the whispers of the souls around you. And you’re spinning.

It takes a moment to really realize that, but soon you come to understand that you’re spiraling downwards in tighter and tighter curls, moving faster and faster, you and all of these souls are funneled to a point.

You’re spinning in the darkness, and then suddenly you’re not.

In a great cold splash and a burst of warm light, you’re standing dripping wet on a stone floor. 

“What the fuck?” You hiss, blinking and looking around.

Directly in front of you is the broad back of a very tall, large man. He doesn't turn to look at you, only shuffling forward a step. 

A cold wave of water rushes over your feet as a considerable splash sounds from behind you.

You glance over your shoulder and find an elderly woman standing there with round glasses sliding toward the tip of her nose, her hair curling loose down to her shoulders. She doesn’t seem to take too much notice of you. Momentarily, there’s another big splash, a second wave assaulting your feet as a spout of water shoots down from the distant blackness of the ceiling, the jet of water deposits another soul in what appears to be a line growing behind you.

You twist around to the front, leaning around the broad man in front of you to get a look at what you’re in line for.

“What the fuck?” You repeat, looking at the line that stretches into the impenetrable distance. It winds forward, twisting around rocky structures that jut up from the floor. A deep reddish-orange glow semi-illuminates this vast space, but the end of the line in either direction – as the spout of water continues to deposit an endless string of souls behind you in line – is swallowed by the same darkness that resides above your head.

But do you really have to wait in line?

None of the others around you pay any attention to you or anyone else. They all wear bored, resigned expressions, content to shuffle forward step by step as the line slowly shifts forward with some unknown signal.

It is eerily silent. Your brain can’t comprehend the absolute lack of sound when you can see so many people. You should be able to hear breathing or some slight shifting, fabric brushing together, feet moving on the floor, an exasperated sigh or grumbling under the breath. You even half expect to hear a distant echo, water droplets trickling down from somewhere or even dripping from clothes, but as the Hell Delivery System waterfall moves ever farther down the line, you can’t even hear its roar of delivery anymore.

And you’re soaking wet. Uncomfortably so.

You know that you could easily call your demon fire and make quick work of drying yourself off, but some instinctive feeling in your belly is telling you not to do that. It might just draw attention to you.

Not that there seems to be anyone overseeing this line, enforcing behavior. If you just stand here waiting in line for some unknown end, you’ll just be wasting time. There probably isn’t anyone who will even notice if you cut the line a little.

You’ve moved only a dozen paces since your arrival. 

You take a step out of line, pause, waiting for something to happen.

After a few beats, nothing has happened.

You begin to move, passing up the column of this endless queue. No one moves or spares you a glance, speaks or breathes or anything. So you walk, and you walk and walk and walk, searching for the front of the line.

Is this Hell? Just this, waiting in line forever? Moving forward inch by inch for all of eternity. Because you’ve been walking for at least half an hour, and the front of the line doesn’t seem anywhere in sight. Although, the scenery has slightly changed. There seem to be more outcroppings of rock here, and there are large torches mounted to the walls, providing a stronger orange light than the previous ambient red-orange glow.

Another fifteen minutes pass by in unchanging silence. You look behind you to see the line vanishing back into dim light some distance back, twisting out of sight around a big boulder. Ahead of you looks pretty much the same.

But then you hear something.

It sounds like footsteps, so you freeze. Sharp clicking footsteps pass over the stone floor. Heavy breathing and the acrid scent of brimstone.

A demon.

You don’t dare to move even a little bit. Wherever this demon is, it must be ahead of you, around the next curve of the line, but you’re sure even a slight move would draw its attention to exactly where you are as it prowls along the line.

Sure enough, around the curve ahead, you see a puff of black smoke, a shadow painted on the wall of a beast. It’s coming towards you.

You clench your hands into fists, and you feel your nails bite against your palms hard enough to break skin.

The demon’s shadow on the wall twitches, head tilting curiously to the side, and you glance down to see a trickle of your blood as it drips from your hand.

A sharp whistle cuts through the never-ending space, echoing off the rock walls and the invisible ceiling. The demon twists around, a growl rumbling from it. A second whistle, and the beast sets off in the opposite direction. You hear a grinding sound of stone against stone, a third whistle and another growl from the demon.

You take a step forward, conscious of the coarse sand that dusts the stone floor, aware that even a slightly wrong move could cause sound. If only there was some way to silence your footsteps so you could sneak forward, hopefully catching a glimpse around the next curve of the line, maybe to see what is happening ahead. Have you finally found the front of the line?

You take a tentative step forward, and there’s a soft crunch of a pebble beneath your foot.

Your heart leaps in your throat, but then you remember.

During the weeks of Ira’s lack of availability and assistance with this plan, you’d dug into any and all of the books he had in his home. There were boring books about gardening and maintenance, cookbooks, and even self-help books, but there had also been histories of the Watchers, but these were ancient texts that you felt must be from the early days of the Watchers because they were just histories, they held information pertaining to the instruction of young Watchers. 

Those texts you had devoured, pouring over them for long hours until Mark or WinWin had dragged you away, providing you with ample distraction. 

But you had learned some things from those texts about the powers of the Watchers, the abilities that you possess. You’d practiced a few things, but you are fully aware that you’re a long way from being adept at the skills. 

Although, one of the magical skills you’d read about, and that you’d once attempted semi-successfully, had been the power to become undetectable – invisible and silent – for up to an hour. You’d used that experiment to sneak up on WinWin and scare him, for which you’d had to apologize and make it up to him when you returned to detectability about ten minutes later.

But isn’t that what you need right now? To be undetectable?

Luckily, the process had been rather simple, and you’d made certain to memorize it before even attempting it that first time. 

The powers of the Watchers were magic like you’d not quite seen it before. Sure, some of it involved fancy words and waving your hands around, but there was a simplicity to it all that almost seems deceptive, like you feel like it should be much more difficult than it is, and by finding it easy, you must be doing it wrong. But that’s not the case at all. Maybe it seems that way because you’re so new to this power that you were actually born with; it’s a part of you, so natural that it just flows without having to work too hard at it. 

Either way, the effort to become undetectable right now is simple. 

The sandy soil underfoot is actually much more fine than you’d believed. It’s a soft, reddish-brown powder that clings to your fingertips as you crouch and gather a handful. Disturbingly, it reminds you of dried blood. 

You spit into the small pile of soil in your hand, mixing it into a paste that you try not to think too much about as you dip your paste-coated fingers and paint them around your face.

It’s more difficult without a mirror to know if you’re getting the runes correct, but you hope that you don’t fuck it up too much.

You can tell it’s taking effect, and you begin to hurry before you lose the ability of physical touch. This spell truly makes you undetectable – invisible, silent, and intangible.

Just as you put the finishing touches on yourself, you see your fingertips fading away.

You lift your hand to your face, and you can feel your breath on your fingertips, and you think that maybe there’s the barest imprint on the air in front of you, but you can’t actually see anything there. Beneath you – where your feet should be – there’s no sign of your footprints, not even when you take a step forward.

As you walk around the curve, you don’t find the front of the line. You’re certainly closer to the front, but now the line straightens out instead of curving, moving forward into the far distance where you can see looming high in the shadows, the faintly lit arch of a massive doorway. But right here beside the line, just on this side of that curve in the rocks, is a hidden doorway. You can still see a glowing outline of it as you reach it, but your intangible fingers can’t find any purchase to pry the door open.

Again, this is where you’re grateful to be part Watcher. There’s a magical phrase for this, and a moment later the hidden doorway is grinding open again, revealing a narrow hallway roughly carved through the rock, winding away and downward. To a certain degree, it reminds you of the passages Yuta and Ten had led you through to take you from the surface of Hell City down into its underground, although these tunnels of Hell are much better illuminated. 

Once you’re through the entrance, you close the door again with a simple wave of your hand.

The rocky ridges in the walls of the tunnel are a warmer reddish brown than where the evenly spaced torches along the walls illuminate. You get a vague impression that you’re staring down a great beast’s throat, looking at the insides of its ribcage. As you pass silently down the tunnel – footsteps leaving no mark in the sandy floor nor even a scuff or sound of your footfalls – you grow even more aware of how you’re sinking further and further into Hell.

The flickering light of the torches on the ribbed walls of the tunnel truly gives the sense of being slowly swallowed by a beast, and you’re terrified and exhilarated to learn what awaits you.

And then you see it.

A small archway up ahead, open and unguarded.

Slipping through the archway into Hell Proper is easy, but what you find immediately on the other side is less so.

The hidden tunnel didn’t just bypass the rest of Hell’s eternal waiting line to the Great Gates. You managed to bypass a lot of the structure of Hell, and the tunnel has spat you out into the one place that you’ve feared and yet dreamed about for too long now.

You’re in the throne room of the Queen of the Night.

You’re in the very belly of the beast.

And you’re not alone.

You melt into the shadows at the edge of the throne room, pressing your back to the wall, your shoulders blend into an enormous woven tapestry as you make an attempt to conceal yourself even more against its pattern. There are too many people – or demons, you suppose – for you to feel safe even with your Watcher spell making you undetectable. Your heart pounds as you look around, observing the space. 

The ceiling vanishes above you into darkness just as it had in Hell’s lobby, but here there’s at least a hint of architecture. Something sort of Gothic, sort of Art Nouveau which adds an odd bit of whimsy to the otherwise imposing aura. Columns span the length of the room, leading your eye toward the apse – a semicircular space at the far end of the room, the ceiling ribbed and vaulted. The back curved wall of the apse is more window than wall, and it reminds you of something you might have seen in a Church before, although it’s much more dark and whimsical than the structured beauty of a Church’s stained glass window. It has an organic feel to it, like the wall is covered in vines that have grown around irregularly shaped black windows. 

You try not to imagine those windows as eyes, but it’s difficult to do. You feel as if you’re being observed. 

Seated there above it all, doing nothing to help the feeling of being watched, is the Queen’s throne. The high seat is housed in the apse, and you’ve seen it before.

Her throne is exactly as you’d pictured it in your dreams. Massive. An unscalable monolith, carved of black stone that reflects torchlight from the walls, thin trails of liquid darkness seep from unknown pores in the throne, and although you can’t see the base of the throne at the moment due to the throng of of demons in the way, you know that black liquid is dripping down into the black pool the throne rises from. You’d dreamed it exactly like this. 

And also like your dreams, seated atop the throne is the Queen herself, veiled in shadow.

All you can see of her are her hands, which are clawed and deformed. Her twisted long fingers are pale as bone until they taper at the tips into black points which she taps against the arms of her throne. Her voice is a rasp, reminiscent of dry leaves rattling against each other, like bare branches snapping in a strong breeze, and an underlying tone of train wheels screeching on the track. Whatever language she’s speaking in, you can’t understand it, although the demons around you certainly seem to.

They cheer at whatever it is that she’s rasping in her unholy voice.

A demon rises up above the crowd on stilt-like legs, pronouncing something that you still can’t understand. A few others respond, and the Queen laughs – her voice echoes sharply around the room, bounced back at you by all the hard stone. 

And then you hear the rattle of chains. An eerie clinking.

You need to get closer.

Even sticking to the edges of the throne room, skirting the gathered court, you narrowly avoid detection. There are guards stationed along the walls, as well as court members whose presences overflow even beyond their physical forms – similar to Johnny back on Ira’s island, with his shadows that reach beyond himself. 

At one point, you swear one of the demons turns its head to look in your direction, but it can’t see through your Watcher magic, so it turns back to face the Queen.

You keep moving until you reach the front of the crowd, until you can see the black pool beneath the throne. Heavy chains in the dark water, just like your dreams. But unlike your dreams, the chains aren’t looped around the limbs of your boyfriends. Now the chains lie limp in the water, empty.

You’re not sure if you feel relief or some other unnamed combination of fear and horror and frustration.

If they’re not here, like they had been in your dream, then where are they?

Are they hiding on the other side of the throne? Perhaps they’re just not visible from your vantage point here, and if you could just squeeze through the crowd….

It’s easier said than done.

More than once, one of the demons bumps into you, which shouldn’t be possible unless your undetectability is wearing off. Luckily, those that bump into you seem to think they’ve just bumped into another demon in the crowd with them, and they brush it off, but each time it happens you curl in a little tighter on yourself, pushing onward.

And then someone steps directly into your path, and you pull up short. 

Another demon stands slightly behind the first, reaching up to adjust the collar of the first demon’s jacket, to brush nonexistent lint from the demon’s shoulders. 

“Stop,” the demon hisses. 

The second demon drops his hands from the other’s shoulders, murmuring a quiet, “Yes, my Prince.”

A Prince of Hell. 

Ten and Yuta had once briefly mentioned the Princes to you in passing. The five Princes of Hell mostly kept to themselves, although both of your boyfriends had met them a few times. 

The Prince standing before you is very handsome. Dark reddish brown hair curls around his ears. His eyes glow a deep red as he turns to look over his shoulder at what must surely be a servant. 

Suddenly, another demon shoulders his way forward through the crowd. He’s taller than the first Prince, his hair a smooth ebony encircled by a crown of obsidian. 

“Kun,” he says, “We missed you.”

Prince Kun — the first Prince — turns to his brother. “Mother had me handling some business.” He faces the Queen, listening intently as she continues speaking her demonic tongue. “Hendery, don’t you ever wonder why she tries to keep us separate from our people? It’s only times like these she allows us among them, and even then she wants us to be kept apart. To be just simply out on display.” 

Hendery’s head turns slightly, and you follow his gaze to a small dais off to the side. Three other Princes sit there on thrones carved of dark stone, looking bored. 

“You know why,” Hendery answers. “It’s to keep us safe.”

When Kun looks at his younger brother, his eyes seem to flare a shade brighter. “If we’re never among our people, how can they ever hope to know us? How are we to ever understand them? And if they don’t know us and we don’t know them, what hope do any of us ever have of ruling them?”

His jaw clenches, hands curling into fists at his sides. Hendery only gives his brother a look of mild confusion. 

“Sometimes, Hendery, I think that Mother never plans to pass the throne on.” Kun’s voice has lowered to the point that you need to strain to hear it, meant only for his brother’s ears. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have to steal it from her so I can fulfill my destiny as King.”

“Don’t say that.” There’s now a tick in Hendery’s jaw. 

“I’ve made it clear how I feel in the past about Mother’s rule, the changes and improvements I will make when I’m King. Don’t act like this is anything new.” Kun turns to face his brother, and you spot other demons in the crowd casting sideways glances at their two Princes. 

A third Prince, this one with silver hair and a light and bright expression, appears and throws his arms around the shoulders of his brothers. “Come, brothers. Let’s go sit. Mom says there’s a feast after her speech.”

Unwilling to continue their argument in front of their younger brother, both Kun and Hendery drop it. They carve a path through the crowd on the way back to the dais. You take the opportunity created in their wake, and you make your way clear through the crowd, following them although you don’t plan to reach their thrones with them. 

Instead, once you reach the edge of the Queen of the Night's audience, you turn your attention again to the pool at the base of her throne and the chains rusting in the liquid. 

On this side of the throne room, you can see that the pool of water trails away toward the sides of the room, trickling through a grated section at the back of the apse. There are more chains scattered throughout the water, all of them empty. Well, mostly empty. You try not to look too closely as you catch a pearly gleam of bones tangled in one of the lengths of chain. 

There’s a narrow strip of raised stone along the edge of the room just below where some of the chains are bolted into the walls. The dark water swirls, a light current keeping it moving on the way toward those grates in the back. 

High above you on the throne, the Queen’s voice still echoes out over her people. As you’re still invisible and unable to understand what the Queen of the Night is saying, you decide to take the opportunity to explore the apse.

The narrow pathway is just wide enough for you to fit without touching the water. Every few feet as you shuffle along it, you glance backwards.

All of the demons are still gazing upwards at their Queen. The dais of Princes are the only ones who aren’t devoting all of their attention to her. Kun is sitting on his throne, his left ankle resting on his knee as he disinterestedly picks at his nails. The dark-haired Hendery keeps casting glances at his elder brother. The young silver-haired prince is distractedly stroking the backs of the phantom shadow cats that twine around his ankles and stand on his shoulders and rest on the arms of his throne; as you watch, one stretches up to place its paws on his chest and rub its shadowy head beneath his chin. 

There are two other Princes sitting there, both of them with their heads bowed together in quiet conversation, although they appear to be joking around, judging by the barely suppressed laughter. One of them looks as if he’s part-bat – large membranous wings are tucked behind him. His wings are dark and angular, although the webbing is thin and paler in color. He’s very handsome, despite the bat wings and the vicious blood red color of his eyes. His hair is a deep, dark brown color, parted precisely down the middle, and two sections of his bangs fall down to perfectly frame his face.

The last Prince is round-faced, pale, and very relaxed. He’s handsome as well, although at this point you’re half-certain that being extremely handsome is a demonic condition. His jaw is so strong, his eyes gleam with mirth as he whispers with his brother. He exudes a sense of casualness, a very go-with-the-flow vibe that immediately puts you at ease even as you’re sneaking around behind his mother’s throne.

Perhaps it puts you a little too at ease.

Upon your next step, your foot slips.

Your toes dip into the water, and to your surprise, a few shallow ripples spread out over the surface of the dark liquid.

You dart a glance toward the high throne, toward the crowd, and to the Princes. 

Prince Kun has turned to look in your direction, his eyebrows furrowed together as he scans the shadows where you hide. You hope that your spell of undetectability, which is clearly beginning to wear off, stands up beneath the Prince’s scrutiny. His eyes narrow, focusing on the back section of the apse, but after another moment, he blinks and returns to his nails.

Moving forward, you go more carefully.

You’re not sure exactly what you expect to find back here. Maybe it’s something about those dark eye-like windows staring down at you, but you feel drawn into the shadows at the back of the apse, to the place where you can hear the dark water trickling and tink tink tinking down through the grate. 

When you reach the end of the stone edging, you’re right there upon the grating.

There’s an odd swoop in your belly as you take the first step onto the drain. Maybe it’s because it’s not a solid surface, and you halfway expect the thin bars to give way beneath your weight. But they hold and you take another step and another, making your way to the very back of the apse. 

There’s a doorway.

The door is recessed, half hidden in the shadows between intricate carvings, a leering gargoyle with wings like the Prince back on the dais. 

Of course, the strange pull you’re feeling is guiding you towards that doorway. 

You take a step towards the doorway, and as you do, the gargoyle moves.

A flutter of its wings. A shake of its head. 

It turns away from you, its ears tilting like dog ears do when they’re listening for something. You hold your breath, pleading with the universe to let your undetectability hold for just a little longer. You walk lightly, quietly, without breathing, and you slip right by the gargoyle, into the recessed doorway.

A yawning mouth opens before you. 

Almost literally.

The doorway has stalactites hanging from the top like jagged teeth. A cool draft plays with your hair as it breathes by you from the dark maw beyond the doorway. The air is damp, carrying with it the smell of mildew and sulfur. 

The knot in your belly tightens, rising in your throat as you whisper another helpful spell Ira’s books had taught you. Nightvision. 

Although the path had been pitch black a moment before, the way before you suddenly blooms in color. The night vision provided by the spell isn’t quite like what you thought counted as night vision in your old life. It’s not all green and black, like you’d seen in movies and on TV. Everything is just… glowy. Like there is an ambient faint light source providing just enough light that you can see the cracks in the stones on the floor and the walls. You can see where a few feet ahead of you the path becomes stairs diving down into the unknown. 

You take those stairs carefully, trying not to slip on the damp, slick stone where it’s been worn smooth by use over the eons. 

Down and down and down deeper you wind, until at last you reach the bottom, only to find a barred door padlocked shut. You’re surprised that you can see a little bit better through the barred window of the door, and as you peer into the dark, you think the increased visibility is due to a faint light source from high above; you can hear a soft trickle, and you realize that the light and the water sound is likely coming from the drain grate high overhead. 

You can see little else than some rough rocks – large boulder-like monoliths that glisten wetly. You think for a moment that you hear the rattle of a chain, but then there’s nothing. No movement, no sound. What if you’ve come all the way down here, and this is just the chamber where the Queen of the Night keeps some horrid, monstrous pet? 

But still, there’s a weight in your belly, a magnetic pull that swoops as you step right up to the bars of the door, as you curl your hands around the bar and press your face between the gap, trying to get a better look around even as the rusty texture of the bars scrapes against your cheeks.

High above you, there’s a distant roar. It takes a moment for you to realize it’s the clamor of the crowd gathered before the Queen. They’re cheering about something. Thunder rumbles overhead, and you swear a few pebbles dislodge from the faraway ceiling, shaken loose by the drumbeats of footsteps in celebration as the demons continue their rallying.

Again, you hear movement. A chain’s rattle. The quiet echo of a single footstep followed by a quiet incomprehensible murmur.

Your heart thuds a beat harder.

You reach for the padlock, and without waiting, without thinking about if this is a terrible idea that you’ll come to regret, you reach below your surface for the fire that’s always there. 

Demon fire bursts to life in your hand, glowing white-hot and then flaring blue at the core of your hand, wrapped around the padlock until the metal softens and then melts, dripping to the floor like small drops of starlight.

The cell door groans slightly as your luminous hand pushes at it, melting the metal even as it swings open on rusty hinges. 

In the light given off by your skin, you can see what you hadn’t been able to before.

At first you think it is a statue, as still as it is with its face upturned to the light and sound above. Then, you realize it’s another gargoyle. 

Ram’s horns curl from the sides of his head, clawed feet and fingers of abnormal length. He stands nude with his back to you, and where you would imagine wings would jut from his shoulders, there are instead cracked lines in the shape of wings stretching from the nape of his neck down to his tailbone. At his feet another gargoyle kneels, also nude with wings etched into his back, a tail curls over his thigh, shaggy hair reaches almost to his shoulders, and two sharp horns rise from the top of his head, curving slightly forward.

It’s only when the one standing turns his head that you gasp.

The eyes are sunken in shadow. The face is gaunt and pale.

But you would recognize those eyes anywhere.

“Yuta,” you choke out, tears rising to your eyes as you stumble forward. 

The kneeling one lifts his head at the sound of your voice, his eyes striking against your soul. 

“Ten?” You collapse on your knees in front of them both. 

Now that you’re closer you can see the manacles on their ankles, the chains stretching back towards the wall. You reach for Ten’s face first, your palms gentle as you touch his sharp, unfamiliar bone structure. “What happened to you?”

Ten turns his head, unable to meet your gaze. 

“Are you really here?” Yuta rasps, his voice dry and rattling in his chest. “How are you here? Did she find you?”

You tug on Ten’s chin, turning his face back towards yours. He meets your eyes once briefly before looking at the floor again – they’re the yellow cat eyes that he used to flash at you on occasion. You stroke his cheek tenderly; he might not look how he did the last time you saw him, but that doesn’t change anything. 

“No, she didn’t find me,” You answer Yuta, “Renjun got us out of the House of the Watchers; he got us safely to my father,” you tell them. 

Ten lifts his head, his eyes bright. “He did?”

Your heart warms in your chest when he looks into your eyes. “Yes. And the first thing I made my father promise was that we would come rescue you. Now here I am, and I’m getting you out of here, bringing you to safety under my father’s protection.” You rise to your feet again.

Yuta shifts towards you, and when you reach for him, he stops you with his fingers light on your wrist. “My love, you can’t.”

You jerk your hand away from his hold. “What do you mean ‘I can’t?’ What can’t I do?”

With a clanking sound, Ten stands as well. 

“You can’t break us out of here,” Ten explains softly. “We’re bound here by the Queen’s law. And if she finds you here, she’s going to destroy you.” Now he lays his hand on your cheek, just as gentle as you’d been with him.

“Fuck that. I can save you both. I didn’t come all of this way, sneaking out of my father’s place, finding my way to Hell’s entrance, and sneaking in here all alone just to find you and not save you. Why would I give up so easily?” You take a half step back, looking between your boyfriends. You haven’t even properly had the time to rejoice in finding them, and they’re trying to drown your mood with this dark pessimism?

Yuta shakes his head. “For the moment, we’re going to ignore that you just said you’re here alone, which is insane. You don't understand. You can’t break us out. We’re chained in here. We’ve never seen a key, and these chains are impervious to everything we’ve tried, which isn’t too much honestly because all that’s down here is rocks. We can’t even really use magic because demon magic doesn’t work well within the walls of this chamber; trust me, we’ve tried. 

“For weeks, each of us has tried time and again to get a message out to you, to contact you in some way or see you through a veil. We tried to build a binding connection between ourselves and you so maybe we could pass a message along, show you how to find us. A few weeks ago, Ten thought he was almost successful at opening a tiny window, but all we saw was starlit darkness and a tall light blazing in the distance.” 

You remember that night on the island when you and WinWin and Renjun sat on the porch. You thought you’d seen something in the distance. A blip of something. A light, maybe. Could that have been them? 

“Trying to reach you has taken all of what natural energy remained; it’s why we look like this. Our true forms.” Yuta holds his arms out so you can see all of him bared in the light from above. “How can you still want us when we look like this?”

You scoff. “Seriously? You think I’m so shallow that I care what you look like right now? I love you both. I have fought my way through Hell and high water – literally – to get here. And I’m not going to pretend, but I’m honestly a little distracted and turned on by the sight of Ten’s dick right now. So yeah, I still want you now.” You cast a small glance between Ten’s legs where there’s an actual goddamned forked penis. “Which I was right about your dick, Ten, and you lied, I’d just like to point out.”

For the first time in too long, you see a ghost of Ten’s smile. Before you first had sex, he’d told you that he definitely didn’t have a forked penis or a tail or horns; but now you’re seeing the real him, and it turns out he’s actually got all three.

“And as for the chains, I’m sure I can find a way to break them.” You take a step back, looking down at the chains and manacles keeping them prisoner down here. “I just need to think.”

Overhead, the sound of the Queen and the crowd pours down through the grate. 

“What’s going on up there, anyway?” You ask, crouching to get a closer look at the manacle on Yuta’s ankle.

Silence is the only answer you receive until you look up.

Both of your boyfriends look down at you. You ask, “What?”

Ten looks at Yuta. “Just tell her.”

Yuta sighs. “A trial. The Queen and the Princes and all of the court are up there, right? She only does that for a big trial.” He pauses, lifting a hand up to touch one of his ram’s horns. “Specifically, this is our trial. Although, it’s as much a trial as the one the Watcher’s were going to give us. Our Queen seeks the death penalty for our disobedience and disloyalty; and who among her court and sons are going to tell her no?”

Immediately, the red-haired Prince Kun appears in your mind. But that’s unimportant right now. What is important is breaking these chains. Once you break them, you’ll nearly be done with the rescue.

You grab Yuta’s chain in both hands, and you pull, putting all of your strength and reaching down into that well of power within you to summon your fire. 

Nothing.

“Told you,” Ten says, “Demon powers don’t work in here. If they did, we’d have prettied ourselves up for you, and burned our way out of here forever ago.”

Yuta clucks softly. “We appreciate it, my love, but the trial sounds pretty decided up there. You should leave while you can.”

Both of them flinch at the loud, jarring sound of the chain smacking against the floor as you throw it down and stand up. You’re not anywhere near tall enough to come nose-to-nose with Yuta when he’s in his pure demon form, but you do your best. 

“I’m not leaving you. You’re both absolute idiots if you think I’m going anywhere without you now.” You spin around, turning your back to the both of them as you think. You close your eyes, trying to picture everything that you’ve read and learned and plotted back on Ira’s island. Surely someone in all the planning had come up with something about how to actually break them out. Surely not all of your plans had relied on magic? 

You should’ve brought a crowbar. Would a crowbar help, though? Surely there are tools that would help in this situation that you could’ve toted through your journey to Hell? You should’ve brought a blowtorch or something. 

Ten actually laughs when you say that aloud.

You glare at him. 

“What? I’m just imagining you busting in here with a whole blowtorch, the welder mask, a fuel cylinder, and an oxygen cylinder strapped to your back.” Ten laughs again.

“I wouldn’t need all of that if I’d thought ahead. I could’ve just manifested something that works like it’s got all of that, but it could be small and portable, able to just fit in my hand.” You frown. You’ve created original things before; objects that you’d imagined up and wanted in your apartment in Hell City. You could create whatever you wanted there, in the House of the Watchers, on Ira’s island – shit, you’d even created your own miniature solar system.

Oh.

You’d created your own stars and moons and planets before. 

That hadn’t been just basic manifestation, Ira had assured you when you brought it up one day. That was the Watcher magic that made that possible. Being a Watcher meant that you had the power of creation. It was completely separate from your demon magic. 

You drop to your knees again at the feet of your boyfriends. When you cup your hands together and close your eyes, Ten makes a noise of confusion.

“What are you doing? We told you already that–” He starts, but you cut him off with a quick shh.

Yuta and Ten watch as you dip into your well of power again, and this time you dig deeper, searching for the warm glow of your Watcher powers, focusing on bringing it all together into your hands. You can feel the moment it begins to work, when you feel heat pooling in your palms, when the buzzing in your mind becomes the quiet whispering of thermal energy eating the air, radiant light glowing through your eyelids.

“Maybe you should both look away,” you advise, and you can almost feel the power on your tongue and lips. You can feel the shift of power as the miniature white star takes form in your hands, as you have to keep your mind focused to control it. The star hisses in the damp air, sending up spirals of steam as you move carefully, bringing it closer to Ten’s chain.

When the star meets the chain, it’s a similar effect to your fiery hand encircling the padlock to the cell. Gobs of molten metal drip to the floor as the star liquefies the chain.

Ten gasps when the strain disappears from his ankle. 

Without another moment wasted, you move to Yuta’s bond, melting through his chain just as quickly. As soon as what remains of Yuta’s tether hits the floor, you sink back on your heels, let your hands fall apart, and you focus on dissipating the star safely, cooling it until it sinks, just a perfectly round black pebble resting in the center of your palm.

Again, there is cheering from far above you, and then the cry of the Queen’s voice in one final declaration.

Ten and Yuta look at each other.

“What?” You ask, rising to your feet once again. You slip the dead star into your pocket. “What’s happening up there?”

Ten swallows hard. Yuta shakes his head. 

“It’s over.” Yuta looks at you. “The trial, I mean. She just cried out ‘Death to the disloyal.’”

Your heart does something very strange – it stops beating or beats harder or just simply jerks in your chest – whatever it is, you gasp, clutching at your chest. This can’t happen. You won’t let it. You didn’t come all this way, do all of these things, create a whole fucking white dwarf star to cut your boyfriends free only to have them give up because some fucking Queen up there decided that they should die. 

No. 

You won’t let them.

“You’re not dying today,” you command them. “I refuse to let that happen. We’re leaving. Fuck the Queen. There’s got to be some way out of here that won’t take us back up into the throne room.”

After a moment of uncertainty, Ten looks at you and Yuta. “Well, there is one thing I think we could try.”

Yuta nods. “Then let’s go.”

You try not to look too closely as your boyfriends begin moving. Since you’ve never seen them in their true demon forms before, you’ve never seen them moving, and it’s mildly disturbing honestly. Yuta has backwards knees like an animal, so each step he takes, his knees bend the opposite way that you’re used to seeing. Ten just seems to float a couple inches off the ground. With the horns and the tail and the deep scars down their backs, it feels entirely new to look at them, and you’re beyond grateful when Ten takes the first step through the doorway of their prison and immediately the version of him that you’re used to snaps into place. 

As soon as Yuta follows Ten out, he resumes his usual appearance as well. But you don’t have time to stand there and admire them. Each of them pulls together some semblance of clothing that seems to knit itself from the damp shadows around the edges of the room, covering up their nudity.

“Come on,” Ten whispers, and he glances up the long staircase that leads up to the throne room. 

Darkness puddles in the space under the staircase, and to your surprise, that’s where Ten leads you and Yuta. “I used to explore the palace when I was skipping out on guard duty,” Ten explains in a whisper, “I found plenty of the secret passages and trapdoors and all sorts of secret things. And there’s one that comes out right back here.”

In the dim light, you watch Ten feel along the stone wall until finally his fingers catch in the gap between one stone and the next. There’s a faint click, and then with a grinding sound, a door slides inward to reveal a dark passage within. 

Ten steps in first, then you, and Yuta takes up the end. Once the door swings closed behind you, the tunnel is plunged into darkness. 

You bring a tiny white star to life again in your hands, and for a brief moment you see Ten and Yuta’s faces. You don’t have time to admire them, to actually rejoice in the reunion with your soulmates. You can feel it in the air, in the stones, in the tense set of Ten’s shoulders as he turns and walks away: you’re short on time. 

“Go on, my love.” Yuta’s hand is light against your lower back. “Keep up.”

The tunnel is long and dark, cool and damp. It branches off a few times, it narrows and the ceiling drops to the point that all three of you must crawl on your hands and knees to pass through to a section with a little more height. But Ten seems to know where he’s going, and with the help of your little light and Yuta’s warm hand occasionally reminding you of his presence behind you, you steadily make your way forward. 

“Where are we going?” You ask after several long minutes. 

“There are three exits from Hell,” Ten explains in a whisper. “The first is the entrance, although it’s a little more difficult to leave that way since we’d be going against the flow of souls. The second is the way the Queen brought Yuta and I in; she’s in possession of a mirror that acts as a portal, and that’s how she usually dispatched us on important missions as it’s the most private method of exit.” 

He pauses then at a fork in the path. 

“And the last one?” You ask, stepping up beside him. 

There’s a draft coming from the pathway to the left, but there’s almost a pull trying to guide you down the one on the right. You can see a faint light rightwards, perhaps a little sound of music that makes you want to dance.

“What’s that way?” You take a step ahead, face turned towards the music and the light

Ten and Yuta each grasp one of your wrists. 

“No,” Yuta rasps, “Not that way.”

Again, you feel the draft on your left cheek. The air has a breath of something sweet, something that reminds you of autumn. 

“This way.” Ten takes the lead again, and neither of them releases their hold on your wrists. “This way is the third exit option. It’s the one we’re taking.”

The path toward the light had curved deeper down into Hell, but you realize that the autumn path is leading slightly upward, the incline causing a slight burn in your calves and your breathing comes out harder than you expected as the path grows steeper and steeper until eventually you’re basically facing a wall.

Far above you, you see a light. But in between that light and the three of you down here at the bottom of this wall are about a hundred rungs of a ladder carved into the stone. 

Ten starts climbing, and you have no choice but to follow. You’ve made it up about maybe twenty rungs before your arms start burning, unused to working like this. You wish that you were able to give yourself fully functioning wings so you could fly the rest of the way out of here, but instead you double-down your focus, breathe, and keep climbing.

You barely even notice when Ten disappears from a few rungs above you. It’s only when you reach for the next rung of the ladder and find your hand placed into Ten’s instead, that you realize you’ve reached the top. He hauls you up to your feet on solid ground, and you grip onto his arm as you look around.

You’ve emerged from what is basically a crack in the wall. There’s a crumbling bit of pathway directly in front of you that extends to your left where it eventually joins with a well-kept path. 

The realm opens up in front of you in a cavernous space. Curved bridges arc over canyons you can see down into. Fires of all colors illuminate the paths and bridges and buildings. It’s still rocky, still everything has the cast of the red-brown dirt that made up the tunnels and the entryway, but it’s so much more open than you were expecting it to be. 

Behind you, Yuta clambers up through the crack, joining you and Ten.

“That’s where we’re going,” Ten says, pointing ahead. 

From here, you can’t really tell what it is that he’s pointing at other than a bridge that leads to a floating platform of stone that branches off into four more bridges. 

Off in the distance, you hear a loud, angry cry.

Yuta’s face pales. “That’s her. She must have realized we’ve gone.”

“We don’t have long, then.” Ten grabs your hand.

You run. The three of you fly along the path, scree kicked over the edge to tumble down into the abyss below. You reach the first bridge, and you try your best to not look over the side; you don’t really want to see how far the canyon goes down, nor do you want to see what might exist at the bottom of it. Luckily, with Ten’s hand still firm around yours, you don’t have the time to worry either about what would happen if you slipped. Ten runs quickly and smoothly, and you have no choice but to keep up with him, Yuta sticking behind you like your shadow. 

You fly over the platform, taking another bridge that shoots you off in another direction, and now you can better see that there are many bridges and deep crevasses all over the place. A wary peek shows you that Hell continues beneath you in many layers – bridges connect islands of stone suspended in the canyons, and you can see the true fires of Hell burning deep below. There are stairs and ramps that lead down below, and you realize you’re just at the top of Hell.

There are buildings here on occasion. You pass a bridge and find yourself jogging down a street with buildings on either side and lampposts giving off a flickering red light. You pass by what could be a park perhaps with grotesque statues and benches and what you’re almost positive is a sand volleyball court. 

Each time you think that you must finally be approaching the spot Ten said would be the exit, he keeps going. Yuta keeps up a steady pace behind you. 

“Aren’t we almost there? How big is Hell, anyway?” You gasp when Ten suddenly jerks your arm, dragging you along another new bridge. Surely you must be getting close because you can see another great wall of stone looming out of the darkness before you, much like the one you’d climbed out of what feels like forever ago. 

“Almost there,” Yuta says from behind you. “And it’s damn near infinite, but that’s when you go downwards.”

Again, you try not to look too hard at what extends beneath you. Instead you focus on what’s ahead. 

This bridge leads to a grove of sorts. Trees made of shiny black stone cling to the edges of this stone island, their roots dangling over the edge, dipping out through the seemingly solid stone they grow from. It must be solid enough to hold the whole weight of this grove of obsidian trees. Their leaves shimmer and shiver in a nonexistent breeze, changing between moonsilver and steel, like blades. You scan the branches as the three of you jog along a cleared path, half-expecting to find nothing, but also hoping to see some little creatures in the branches — birds or squirrels, insects or bats even. 

A fork in the path through the dark trees presents you the choice between a small bridge over a crack through which the level of Hell beneath you is visible before it curves out across the open space to another area of Hell, or you can choose a path that winds deeper into the forest. 

Ten, of course, drags you towards the left branch, deeper into the trees. 

You do hear something above you in the branches. It snaps a branch in one tree before landing in another. But even when you look up, you can’t tell what it is. You can only see the silvery leaves fluttering down towards you, although they vanish in a puff of smoke before they reach you. 

And Yuta swears viciously behind you. Ten forces you to run faster. 

And then you hear voices. 

Sibilant whispers through the trees. A cackle of laughter. 

Up ahead there is a glimmer through the trees, as of a handheld light swinging. The volume of the voices increases, still just incomprehensible whispers. 

Ten breaks from the path, branches tear along your arm, tugging at your clothes and your hair. One twig burns across your cheek. The light continues swinging through the trees, and you find yourself rushing forward to meet it. 

And then there you are. 

Ten comes to a complete stop. You crash into his back, and he reaches back to steady you. Yuta steps around you, moving so he’s shoulder-to-shoulder with Ten, both of them acting as a barrier between you and what lies ahead. 

At first you think it is just a small, empty clearing. 

But then you see the truth. 

A black pool of liquid sits restlessly in the center of the clearing, the surface of it is choppy and bubbling, a gray mist hovers above the surface. A hook beside the pool holds one lantern, casting light down on the pool’s surface, but another light is held by a demon that stands among his peers at the edge of the pool. 

They all turn to look at the three of you. 

“Ah,” drawls Prince Kun, drawing himself up straight. “There you are.”

His gaze passes casually over your boyfriends before settling on you. He lingers, cocking his head slightly to the side, the look of an intelligent predator glowing in his eyes. At his sides, his brothers shift on their feet, sizing up Ten and Yuta and, to a lesser extent, you. 

“Move out of the way, Kun,” Yuta hisses. “We just want to be free, not to hurt you or your brothers.”

“Well, Mother just wants to put you to death.” One of the younger Princes steps forward. “So who are we to stop her from that? We’re just here to stall you until she can arrive.”

“Chenle!” Prince Hendery hisses at the young Prince, jabbing him with his elbow. 

Prince Kun glances at his younger brothers, then back at you. “Forgive my brother. He doesn’t truly understand what we’re doing here.”

Yuta curls his hands into fists at his sides. “And what’s that?”

Kun grins, cocky and sly. “We are definitely stalling for Mother to arrive. But not for the reasons he thinks.”

In that moment, you recall Kun’s hushed words in the throne room exchanged between him and Hendery. “Sometimes I wonder if I’ll have to steal it from her so I can fulfill my destiny as King,” Kun had said. And here he stands now, posted between you and your freedom, poised with three escapees who will do anything to escape from the Queen’s clutches. 

You lean forward, squeezing between Yuta and Ten. “You’re plotting to involve us in something, aren’t you? You’re the Prince who longs to be King, but as long as your mother sits the throne, that’s not possible. And she doesn’t show any signs of abdicating anytime soon, so you’re thinking a little coup…. A convenient ‘accidental’ death by two death-sentenced fugitives in an escape attempt would do well to insure your placement upon the throne without the eternal wait. Hmm?”

Yuta turns to look at you, Ten squeezes your wrist. But you don’t look away from Prince Kun’s vibrant eyes, suddenly alive with hunger as he grins. 

“You’re smart. I can see why Yuta and Ten like you so much.” He takes a step towards you. “We used to know each other well, your boyfriends and I. They were my personal guard, best of the best up until my mother decided they were too good to be left on my service, and she repurposed them for a more special mission.” 

Again, Yuta and Ten move so they’re blocking you. 

“Don’t worry,” Kun placates them, holding his hands up as he says, “Your girlfriend is right.”

Hendery frowns. Chenle takes a step back, casting quick looks at his other two remaining brothers. 

The silver haired Prince who interrupted conversation earlier in the throne room interrupts again by stepping forward and placing his hand on Kun’s shoulder. “I’m with you,” he agrees. “You know I’m sick of her control. I want some freedom.”

Kun nods. “Thank you, YangYang.”

The final brother, the one who possesses wings like a bat, shakes his wings at that moment. It’s a dry leathery sound that draws every eye in the clearing to him. He looks first at Hendery and Chenle, then says, “Don’t act like you’ve never thought of it. We’ve all been under the thumb of tyranny for too long. Haven’t we longed for freedom too? To be able to take a short trip up to the mortal world just to see it? To feel the wind on our faces? Feel the light of the sun?”

“She’s our mother.” Chenle bristles. 

The brothers turn upon each other then, bickering as they face each other. 

Ten turns his head, his eye catching yours. “The pond,” he mutters out of the side of his mouth. “That is the last exit from here. We just have to get in, keep swimming, and we’ll come out where we’re supposed to.”

You understand that magic. Something you’ve come to understand here is that the lines of magic between Watchers and demons and even with Renjun’s elf magic is that they’re all drawn quite closely together, overlapping in many places. 

“Make a run for it?” Yuta asks. “While they’re distracted?”

And then everything falls quiet. The Princes cease their arguments. The leaves grow still. Whatever small movements you’d heard in the trees earlier stop altogether. The air turns chill and so fragile that you feel as if a single sound could shatter everything. 

She comes from across the clearing, which is one moment empty and then it’s not. She moves silently and smoothly, her long gown dirty at the hem as she passes barefoot over the obsidian soil and detritus of shiny leaves. Her hair hangs free and wild around her shoulders, only a thin gossamer veil hides her face. The air crackles faintly as she moves, the way it does before lightning strikes. 

You stare as the Queen of the Night takes a seat, building herself a glittering black throne of shadow and stone as she lowers herself, trusting in her magic to catch her. . 

 “At last,” she says, her voice a sigh and a rasp, the creak of branches on a stormy night. Even though she wears the veil, which still muddles her features, you can tell she’s got her sights set on you as she continues, “At last we meet, face-to-face, my dear. I’ve waited years for this moment.”

“Mom,” YangYang begins, but the Queen flicks her fingers in his direction, and the young Prince falls silent. 

“Your birth, dear child, was an abomination.” Her words are a hiss. “The fact of your creation is disgusting.” 

You shrink into yourself at her words, but you can’t bring yourself to look away from her. 

“The power held in your bones is enough to transform the world, has anyone told you that?” She leans forward on her throne. “Power enough to feed me for eons if I could just get a taste.”

Yuta firmly steps in front of you, which draws a horrifyingly shrill scale of laughter from the Queen. 

“Oh, Yuta, do you think you could really stop me now? You’re weak, both of you,” she says with a lazy gesture towards Ten. “And her blood belongs to me, it calls to me, like to like.”

A chill climbs your spine. “I’m nothing like you.”

Again, the laughter. 

“Darling,” the Queen tips her head back, her laughter climbing up into the branches of the obsidian trees. “Just because I don’t share the same toxic combination of blood as you, doesn’t mean we’re not still alike.” 

The veil flutters away from her face, folded back over her wild hair by an invisible breeze, and she tilts her face forward again to look at you. 

Your heart free falls through the bottom of your stomach, and you clutch at Yuta and Ten as your knees threaten to buckle. 

The Queen of the Night wears your mother’s face. 

A pleased smile grows on her face at your reaction. “We share blood, my dear. Since learning the truth of your heritage, haven’t you ever wondered why the Queen of demons would spare your mother for her traitorous dalliance with your father? I wouldn’t have done that for anyone, nor would I have offered forgiveness so easily to anyone but my own sister.”

As your shock clears, you see now that her face differs slightly from your mother, but the similarities are certainly there. Her mouth sits a little different, her lips wind a little tighter. She doesn’t have the small mole your mother had beneath her right eye, or the faint scar that cut through her eyebrow. Close but different. Sisters. 

“You still did cause her death, though,” Ten interjects. “You may not have chosen to kill her right away, but you did call for her death, as well as the death of the Watcher.”

The Queen snarls, “I had my reasons, Ten. My sister was set to inherit the throne from our father. She had more power, so she should have been Queen of the Night, but she never wanted it.” The Queen laughs before saying, “She fell pregnant, began losing her powers once the holy seed of that Watcher took root, and she slunk away to the mortal world, glad that she no longer would be forced to the throne. But then she produced you.”

Her gaze is piercing, a blade of black ice straight to your heart. 

“That is the great irony, of course,” she says to you, “Your mother never wanted power, but she gave life to someone more powerful than any demon, than any Watcher. I took the throne from the King before he could make a deal with my sister, and my first aim was to take your life before you could grow up and realize that you have a claim to my throne. But the Watchers sought you out as well because they were afraid and intrigued by the result of a union between our kinds. We fought a war over your cradle, and it was only because your mother possessed such power that we were thwarted time and again until finally we settled on a treatise for peace. 

“You were to be raised in ignorance, never aware of your powers, ignorant of your heritage, of the entire supernatural world that you come from. So long as my sister could keep you unaware of this throne, and of the immensity of power you could have, we weren’t to touch a hair on your little head. My throne would be safe as long as you were blind to its existence, and the Watchers need not worry about your power if you didn’t realize you had it either.” She leers at you, such violence in your eyes that you can tell some part of the Queen – your mother’s own sister – longs to throw herself at you and attack.

To your surprise, it’s the youngest prince that speaks up now. “So what happened, Mother?”

She spares her son a minute glance. “I found a loophole, Chenle. I couldn’t have a living risk to my throne, despite the treaty. I knew the Watchers were surely looking for a way around it as well. Like I said, a half-demon half-Watcher is an abomination. Your mother was my sister, dear,” she addresses you again, “and I loved her dearly. But there was this tiny little loophole in our peace accord that meant you were only safe from us while you were under her protection. So, yes, I called for her death. And for good measure, the death of that Watcher as well.”

The Queen claps her hands, brushing her palms against each other as if ridding herself of dirt. “I sent a small troop of demons after her. They were to dispatch her and the mortal lover she took to help raise you, and once they were both gone, my demons were supposed to locate you as well, to bring you to me.” Her smile goes sharp as she says, “But they returned empty-handed, to my never-ending disappointment, and there was no sign of you. Somehow you were still protected by my sister even after her death. So, I set Yuta and Ten on your trail, and like the loyal bloodhounds they were, they eagerly went in search of you.”

The Princes – your cousins, apparently – all stand there, staring at their mother as she unleashes this story. You’re at least relieved to see that none of them look at her with any approval or admiration. Kun actually looks more angry and more determined than he did before.

“Raging cunt,” Yuta whispers under his breath. 

The Queen looks at him, her mouth twisting in a tight smile. “I wanted them to bring me your heart. But strangely their loyalty wavered as soon as they met you, and they hid you in Hell City, knowing that I couldn’t go there myself. Of course, them hiding you from me only made me want you more. Originally, I planned to only consume your power, and send you back to the mortal world to live your sad, plain mortal life.”

You can’t imagine going back to your life before. You’ve tried that once already since having your eyes opened to this world, and you couldn’t do it. She would have to erase all of your memories of this — of Ten, Yuta, WinWin, and Mark; of the Watchers and demons; of everyone and everything that has transformed your life over the last several months. 

You do not want that. 

Not that you’d be willing to give her your power regardless. You’ve barely met her, but judging by the hate her own sons feel towards her, you doubt she would do any good with the powers she would steal from you. 

“Now that they’ve betrayed me,” the Queen continues, “I have to show some punishment in return, do I not? No longer do I long just to punish Ten and Yuta with their own demise, nor to satisfy myself with your power and sending you merrily on your way. Now that you’ve conveniently dropped yourself into my lap, dear niece…” Her lips curl in a wicked grin, her sharp teeth shine in the light as she declares, “I’m going to eat your heart and make them watch.”

Suddenly, it doesn’t matter what Prince Kun was planning. You don’t give a damn if he was going to end his mother quickly or brutally unleash years of pent up rage on her.

All you know in that moment is that Yuta and Ten both lunge for the Queen. And you are filled with a white-hot rage that your physical body simply can’t contain – the inferno breaks through the barrier of your skin, and you can see yourself reflected in the black mirror of the Queen’s eyes.

In that moment you are more demon than anything else, just a raging inferno incarnate, hurtling at the Queen. 

Her sons stand frozen, watching. 

Yuta and Ten fall back, at your sides like two wings of shadow as you fly across the clearing, and the Watcher part of you pulls together your flames into the shape of a fiery blade, casting you in its golden light, painting you as a vision of a vengeful angel.

The Queen’s eyes widen, but her lips curl in an awed smile — full of terror and delight as you come soaring towards her — even at the very moment that you swing your blade, as it connects with her throat. 

Her wicked head separates from the rest of her unholy body.

Her smile doesn’t falter even as her head falls from her shoulders, her tangled hair twisting over her face as her head rolls across the floor of the clearing.

One of the Princes cries out, another turns and you hear him vomiting into the grass.

You point the tip of your fiery blade at the corpse of your mother’s sister, the Queen of the Night. A twisted, dark part of you considers cutting open her chest, pulling out her heart, and eating it in front of her sons much like she had wanted to do to you. But you restrain yourself, satisfying the urge by simply touching the tip of the blade to her body and watching it engulf her in flames.

A hand falls on your shoulder as you watch the body burn.

“That’s enough, my love.” Yuta’s voice is gentle, placating, trying to get you to draw back into yourself because you’re still masquerading as a vengeful angel, wreathed in dancing flames.

Ten reaches for your hand that isn’t clutching the sword. “Come back to us, darling.”

You’re not sure whether you drop the sword or if it just simply vanishes from your grip, but your hand is empty as you lift it to Ten’s face. His eyes flutter shut as you brush the backs of your still-afire fingers against his cheek. His fingers trace up your burning skin from the bend of your elbow up to the softness of your inner wrist, and when his fingertips connect in a loop around your wrist, Ten opens his eyes as he turns his head and sighs over your skin.

His breath is a gentle wave, extinguishing your flames in a domino effect beginning with your fingertips and spreading everywhere until you stand as normal before them. A little smokier and charred than usual perhaps, but otherwise normal. Your clothes seem to have barely survived your personal inferno.

Beside you, Prince Kun clears his throat.

Ten drops his hold on your wrist, but he doesn’t let go of your other hand, nor does Yuta release your shoulder. 

Kun’s brothers are gone from the clearing, save Prince YangYang who lingers at the mouth of the path, looking back at you and his eldest brother, although you can tell he’s determinedly not looking at what remains of his mother – her head and the smoking lump that used to be her body. 

“Can I have a moment alone with the Prince… or King?” You ask your boyfriends. You’re looking at Kun, but he’s not looking at you. 

Yuta squeezes your shoulder and takes a step back, but when Ten lingers, Yuta has to take him by the hand and pull him away to the other end of the clearing. YangYang disappears too, leaving just you and Kun and the dead Queen.

“Well, that’s done,” Kun sighs after a few moments. He lifts his gaze from the corpse, and to your surprise, he offers you his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, cousin. She never told us that’s what you were to us. Actually, I’m not entirely sure how much my younger brothers knew of her hunt for you.” 

You look over at the path down which YangYang disappeared. “I know this is along the lines of what you wanted, Prince Kun. But what of your brothers? They may have agreed to having her off the throne, but was this too much?”

He shrugs. “I don’t know how they thought it was going to happen. But once she started threatening you, I could see where it was going. Honestly,” Kun says, nudging his mother’s disembodied head with the toe of his shiny shoe, “I don’t know what she thought would happen. As if you were just going to peacefully give yourself up and let your lovers watch you be eaten by her?” He scoffs and turns away from the smoking remains of the former Queen of the Night. “You should leave, cousin. Now, before the realm realizes what you’ve done. There’s deeply-rooted demon magic in this place, and if you don’t hurry, I can’t guarantee that you’ll make it out.”

Your first thought is his brothers – that they’ll turn on you and sic the demon army and all sorts of horrible beasts after you. But Kun quickly clarifies, “Whatever magic was used to build this place knows who is in charge, and if it senses that the Queen was murdered, it might do things to ensure that you don’t escape. It’ll close the exits, set the hellhounds after you. My brothers won’t get involved, don’t worry about that.”

A knot works its way up your throat, drawing tighter and tighter until you force out the question that’s been bothering you. “And what of you, Your Highness? Are you going to pursue justice for your mother after I leave? Am I going to continue being hunted by demonkind for the crimes I’ve committed here, for the power I possess that apparently gives me a claim to a throne that I swear I don’t want?”

Kun smiles and shakes his head. “Trust me, cousin, I don’t give a damn what you do with the rest of your life. Be free. Take Yuta and Ten with you, and be happy. As long as you don’t try to make a bid for my throne, you’re free to live your life in the mortal world or in Purgatory with the other Watchers; you can even visit or live in Hell, I don’t care.”

You know exactly where you want to be. You want to return to Ira’s island, safely with Ten and Yuta in tow. You want to be reunited with WinWin and Mark because although it’s only been a day since you left them behind, it feels like it’s been months. And it’s been even longer since you’ve had all four of your boys together, and you just know that it’s going to feel so good to have them together, all yours.

But now the Queen is out of the way, Kun is telling you that you’re free to go, and the pond that Ten says is the portal back to the surface world is right there. 

You sigh. 

You’ve almost got everything you want.

And then the surface of the pond begins to bubble and slosh over the sides. With a vast cloud of steam that erupts and fills the air with the smell of burnt rubber, the pond dries up entirely.

“Shit,” Kun swears, “That’ll be the deep magic I was telling you about. It’s trying to lock you in.”

Distantly, you hear baying – howling and barking that sends an uncontrollable shiver through your entire body. 

“And that’ll be the hellhounds. As I recall, the alpha Cerberus wasn’t particularly fond of Yuta the last time they encountered each other.” Kun looks past your shoulder towards your boyfriends. “Run. I highly recommend going as fast as you can back to the palace. Ten should know the way to the mirror.”

You turn away, ready to heed Kun’s words as you can already tell the hellhounds are growing closer. 

Kun catches your wrist before you can take two steps. “My last piece of parting advice, if the hellhounds catch up to you… don’t look back. Not even once you’re through the portal.”

You don’t ask why. You don’t linger for another moment as a loud snarl sounds from somewhere along the path across the clearing.

“Let’s go!” Yuta hisses, racing forward to grab your hand.

Ten leads the way, setting out full pelt. Yuta’s fingers stay laced with yours as you sprint back through the obsidian forest, across a bridge, down a crumbling set of stairs to the next level of Hell. The whole time, you can hear the growling of the hellhounds chasing after you, and whether it’s through your own supernatural strength or just pure luck, you manage to keep ahead of them.

Ten winds and wends you through Hell, up and down stairs and through tunnels. At one point he leads you and Yuta to leap over a chasm between two areas, a deep river of magma swirling at an incredible heat beneath you. 

You wish you had the chance to actually look around and explore Hell because from what you can see of it, it truly looks like an interesting place. But any time you slow even slightly to admire the bizarre architecture and landscaping of this realm, you hear the scraping of claws against stone, the panting of the hounds, and Yuta’s grip drags on your hand to speed you along after Ten. 

“When we reach the mirror,” Yuta tells you, his voice shaken with each labored breath, “You’re going first. Ten and I will be behind you to try to fend off the hounds if they follow. We’ll be right behind you.”

“No, I want you two in front of me where I can see you, so I know that we’re all making it out of here.” You try to argue, but that’s pretty hard to do when Yuta’s suddenly jerking you around a sharp corner, Ten’s footsteps slap against the stone ahead of you, and you can see the three of you are rapidly approaching a wall.

Ten skids to a stop, and you watch as he starts touching the wall, running his hands along it at eye-level, searching for a seam. Just as his fingers catch on something that you can’t see, as you hear a faint click and a panel in the wall pops inward slightly, you hear the clatter of tiny pebbles being kicked across the floor and claws scrambling to turn a sharp corner.

You don’t even realize you’ve begun to turn your head towards the sound until Yuta’s palms are warm on your cheeks, keeping your head from facing back. “No, you can’t look at them. That’s how the hounds trap souls that attempt escape. If you look at them, if they look back at you, they’ll capture your soul and you’ll be stuck. Don’t look at them. Follow Ten.”

“Come on!” Ten cries as he holds open the door he’s found, waving you and Yuta forward.

No sooner have you both crossed the threshold than the door slams shut behind you. A split second after that, there’s an immense bang as a heavy body throws itself against the door.

“They might not be able to open this door,” Ten says, “But it’s not going to stop them from finding us for long.”

“Where are we?” The space you’re in is almost entirely black, only a faint glow emanates from small crystals embedded in the walls. 

Yuta answers, “The palace. This is a servant’s entrance to the royal baths.”

Ten snaps his fingers, and a ball of fire appears in his palm, illuminating his face. “I wish that we could take you to the baths, darling. They’re exquisite. Heated by the magma core, so it’s delightfully warm. There’s every scent of every kind of body care you could hope for. When we were in Prince Kun’s service, I admit I spent quite a bit of time in the baths.”

“Too much time enjoying the pleasures of the baths rather than working, if I recall,” Yuta laughs. “And as wonderful as a nice bath sounds right now, shouldn’t you be taking us to the Queen’s mirror? I assume you know some secret, faster way to get there?”

Ten grins. “Like I said earlier, I spent plenty of time exploring the secrets of the palace.” He looks at you, his dark eyes reflecting the light of his flame, the heat of his passion. “I know a shortcut that’ll get us there in no time. And the sooner we’re free and it’s just us, the better. I’ve missed you so much, darling. I fully plan to make up for lost time, and remind Mark and WinWin that we were your lovers first.”

His fingers brush your collarbone where your shirt has been burnt away, and you know there’s probably a hickey or the lasting imprint of Mark’s teeth there. 

Yuta is smiling. “I’m excited to see them, too.”

“Then let’s go. The sooner, the better.”

Ten nods, turns, and begins walking off down the dark tunnel. Behind you, there’s another solid thud against the door, the baying howl of a frustrated hound, and then silence. 

“There’s a main door to the palace not too far from here,” Yuta tells you, “So we’d better hurry before the hounds reach it. I fucking hope Ten knows the secret passages as well as he thinks he does.” He waits for you to take off at a jog before he follows at the same pace, chasing after Ten’s distant flame. 

When you step out into an open chamber, you’re surprised by the stunningly humid air ripe with floral scent until you realize this is the royal baths. The baths have been dug into the floor, and their surfaces give off curls of steam that rise to caress the ceiling, lovingly wrap around you and welcome you in. Iridescent bubbles float from the surface of one bath that smells like cotton candy, and another bath you pass by shimmers like the water is made of molten gold. 

Ten’s light is just a hazy orange glow ahead of you, and you nearly lose sight of him as the steam grows thicker around you and Yuta. Yuta has one hand touching your lower back as you wind carefully through the pools that make up the baths. At one point, in a narrow ledge between two pools, your foot does slip on the slick surface, and it’s only by Yuta quickly grabbing the back of your clothes that you manage to not take a dip in the unnaturally blue water. 

You can feel the humidity threading through your hair, dampening it until it sticks against your face and neck. You’re sure you almost look as if you had actually fallen into the pool, but as you finally draw up next to Ten, you’re pleased to see that he looks the same, and Yuta does as well although he’s raked his fingers through his hair to push it back away from his face. 

“Here,” Ten murmurs, “One of you hold this.”

You offer up your hands, and Ten pours his flame into your palms. 

You’re reminded of the first day you made your own flame, sitting with Ten, his hands warm on yours, his flame passed from his fingertip to yours, the way it had felt like a fluttering heartbeat. Now you feel that way again, and you realize how familiar Ten’s fire feels, like a welcome kiss from your long lost lover. 

You pull your hands towards your chest, longing to press his flame over your heart. 

Ten crouches on the floor in the middle of the room. 

Here, the floor is made up of a million tiny tiles all coming together to make a mosaic image of a figure upon a throne over the burning masses below. An interesting choice of artwork for a relaxing bath space, but whatever, everyone has their own taste in artwork. 

Ten runs his fingers over the tiles, and you watch the colors shift, responding to his touch. Until he reaches the small tiled throne. It glows as his fingers pass over it, and then it transforms into a handle, raised from the floor just an inch or two. 

“Yuta, help,” Ten grunts as he fits his fingers around the handle and attempts to haul open this secret passage’s door. 

Yuta crouches beside him, and you watch in the wavering light of your handheld flame as they both work in tandem to lift open the hatch. 

Ten jumps down, you follow, and Yuta brings up the rear again, dragging the door shut easily as he comes. You pass Ten’s flame back over to his hands so he can lead the way. The passage goes straight for a short distance before it becomes a set of stairs rising upwards. 

You’re surprised you only stumble once or twice as the three of you climb the stairs at a run, though luckily it is only a few flights before Ten shoves against a wall, and it swings outwards.

You run out into a large, beautiful chamber. It’s full of rich reds and golds, marble tiles, a large fur rug that looks as though it comes from a massive beast or many pelts sewn together, heavy furniture and fine fabrics. You look around in awe, trying to catch your breath even as Ten drags you forward by the hand. 

“It’s just over here.” He directs the words over his shoulder. 

Various doors lead out of this room. A large set of double-doors probably lead back out into the rest of the palace, if you had to guess. A smaller set of doors have panes of glass set in them, through which you can make out the dim firelight of Hell, so you assume those doors lead out to a balcony. You’re sure one of the doorways leads to the late-Queen’s bedchamber, another possibly to some kind of an office, and then there’s the small door Ten leads you and Yuta to. 

It’s rather nondescript, nearly blending into the wall itself. 

You’re just a few short feet from it when you hear a sound coming from the other side of the large double-doors. 

Raised voices, panic and heavy footsteps moving rapidly along a corridor outside. And then, amidst the clamor of the guards, the keening howl of hellhounds on the hunt. 

“Fucking shit!” Yuta is right behind you, close enough that you feel the kiss of heat as he summons his flames. “Go, Ten. Get her through the mirror. If they make it through, I’ll hold them off.”

Your arm wrenches painfully as you twist around and plant your feet. Ten is still trying to drag you towards the door that leads to the mirror portal, but you won’t leave Yuta. 

“No, you can’t stay here!” You argue. “Come with us. If we just run, they won’t catch us.”

Yuta’s fire is burning hot enough to distort the air between you with waves. “I’m not staying behind, I swear. Just until you’re through the portal, and I’ll be right behind you.”

No. 

You’re this close.

You reach for him, reaching through the waves of intense heat, and you clasp your hand around his wrist. “Defend our position from inside the room, then. Not from out here.”

There’s a softness in Yuta’s eyes when he’s and your face. His flames dim slightly. “Alright, I guess that works too.”

Ten throws open the small door to the portal room, waving you in first. 

The room on the other side is a small, dirt room. There’s nothing to it — dirt walls, dirt floor, dirt ceiling, a singular torch with its end planted in the ground illuminates the bare room; its light is only intensified by the only decoration: the large gilt mirror that stands tall enough and wide enough to be able to admit two tall men standing abreast of each other. 

Yuta bumps against your back before sliding around you, and then Ten is there too, his hand at your waist as the door to the room clicks shut. 

You can see your image reflected in the mirror — the unwavering image of all three of you standing side by side. 

A knot forms in your throat, but now is not the time to cry. You can do that later when you’re all safe and free back in your father’s little bubble, when you’re reunited with Mark and WinWin as well. 

On the other side of the door, you hear the loud bang of the double-doors being thrown open. Footsteps, the clacking of claws, the whines of the hounds. 

Yuta turns, his flames rising in heat and brightness as he faces the last door between you and the hounds. 

Ten wraps his arm around your waist dragging you along with him towards the mirror. 

As you stand facing the mirror this time, knowing you’re about to travel through it, you hope it goes smoother than the last time. You lift a hand to the surface, and as your fingertips brush along the image, minuscule ripples expand across the mirror. This mirror feels so much more liquid, like actual cool water, no resistance. 

“Go,” Ten urges, “Now. Think of our destination as you pass through, and that’s where this will lead. Go.”

A thud that shakes loose a few clumps of dirt from around the door. You can hear claws scraping against the door, you can see the shadowy movement as one hellhound attempts to dig under the door. The door holds, though it rattles in place. 

“Go,” Ten repeats. 

“I’ll hold them off,” Yuta growls, and his fire is still building. “But you have to get through.”

“I’m right here, right behind you,” Ten keeps his voice gentle, encouraging. “Just step through the portal, my darling.”

He’s holding one of your hands lightly in his own, and you use that hold of his to have him help you balance as you lift a foot to step through the frame. 

Ira’s island, you think, imagining the sight of the lighthouse, of the island, the kitchen, the study, the living room, the cove with the sirens. 

The mirror smoothly drinks you in, wrapping around you like stepping into blessedly cool air conditioning after standing in the disgustingly sticky heat of a humid summer day. A long passage extends before you, which is somewhat different from the mirror journey you experienced with Renjun, but it feels so blessedly cool on this side that you don’t hesitate to keep pulling yourself through the mirror. You pass through until all that remains on the other side is your fingertips pinched between Ten’s, but even then, Ten lets go, and the last of you sinks inside the mirror. 

Ten stands just on the other side, staring at you through a faintly blue tint. 

“Come on,” you say, “Hurry.”

The door into the chamber bursts open. Yuta sends up a wall of flame. 

Ten whips around to aid Yuta. You step back towards them, ready to throw yourself through the mirror as well to help, but your palms crash against the inside of the mirror as if it were back to being solid glass, no longer the fluid surface that let you in. 

You slam your hands against the glass. You yell, scream, cry, swear. 

Both Yuta and Ten stand wreathed in flames, putting up walls of fire between the door and the mirror at their backs. They’re being pushed back, you realize. Soon they’ll be backed against the mirror. 

You can see Yuta gritting his teeth together as he puts his all into maintaining the inferno he’s creating. His usual appearance is fading slightly, you can see his true demon features beginning to peek through. The same can be said for Ten. 

You hit the glass one more time. 

Ten twists his head around to look at you. His eyes are the piercing narrow-eyed slits of his cat-like eyes. “You need to go,” he calls to you. 

“No, not without you.” You lean your forehead against the glass. “I can’t come back through. I can’t come to you. Come here, hurry!” You can see shadows, smoky figures moving in the walls of flame Yuta and Ten have thrown up. “Hurry!”

“Go!” Ten shouts, his voice raw, raging, echoing up the passage behind you. And then, a little more gently, “We’re right behind you, I promise. Just trust that we’re behind you, and don’t look back! Now, go!”

This time he says it with enough power in his voice that you stumble back from the force of it. 

On the other side of the mirror, Ten turns back to face forward, to face his flames and the hellhounds. 

You take another step backward up the passage even though everything in you is telling you not to leave, to run back at the mirror and do something to make it let you through it, even though your mind is saying that, your body won’t obey. Your body is listening to Ten as you turn and start running up the passage. 

Your throat feels raw as you pant for breath, but you keep going, running up the sloping tunnel even as you feel as if your chest is going to cave in and your heart is going to burst. You can’t hear anything at all over the racing of your heart and the thunder of your breathing, so you can’t even hear if Ten and Yuta are behind you. Hell, you can’t even tell if the hounds are still pursuing you or not. 

Kun’s warning and Ten’s last words ring in your ears.

Don’t look back.

You just have to trust.

Sobs tear from your throat with each jolt of your feet against the ground. You feel like you’ve been running for hours, days, weeks. You just want to peek backwards, to know if they’re behind you because if they’re not then all of this will have been in vain, and they’ll be re-imprisoned in Hell for the crime of the Queen’s death.

Don’t look back.

You’re almost certain you hear a footfall behind you, rock scattering under someone else’s foot. Was that a breath? Was it an echo of your own breathing, or was it the panting of a hellhound almost upon you?

Don’t look back.

An entire lifetime ago, you’d sat in a literature class that taught mythology. At the time, you’d felt a bizarre mixture of shame and interest – your highly religious upbringing made you feel that learning these stories was improper as they were based on false idols, but you were so intrigued by the pantheon of gods, their many stories and interactions with mortals that differed so greatly from the stories of the One God that you were familiar with.

Among those many myths you’d learned in that stuffy classroom, there was the tale of Orpheus and Eurydice. The woman who died from a snakebite, and her lover who journeyed into the Underworld to bring her back. 

The story comes back to you now. 

Orpheus, who rescued Eurydice, who was allowed to bring her back to the mortal world on the sole condition that he didn’t look back at her until they were both in the mortal world. And now, more than ever, you understand that story. You have two lovers behind you, death nipping at your heels, and as you race out of Hell, you can’t look back – it’s a warning you’ve received now twice, and as much as you want to look back to be certain that Ten and Yuta are behind you, you know the mistake Orpheus made; in the last moments before success, Orpheus looked back. 

Eurydice was lost forevermore.

It could have just been a tale, except that when poring over tomes and tales at Ira’s kitchen table during the useless planning of this rescue, one account had been that of Orpheus. 

A miserable tale that you’d barely been able to stomach reading given your circumstances. How Orpheus, barred from telling her that he was forbidden to look back at her, marched before his wife out of the Underworld, both of them in cold silence. He heard no sign of her – not a footstep or a sniffle, not the sound of her voice or a whisper of her breath as they walked for an eternity – and he wondered if she was truly there, or were the words of the gods false and he was walking this endless path from Hades for no reason? 

With mere footsteps left before he and his wife rejoined the mortal world, with hope burning bright in his heart as the light of the Sun warmed his bones, Orpheus couldn’t stand the suspense any longer. As he turned, he heard her anguished cry of his name, he saw the horror on Eurydice’s face, and Orpheus had no choice but to watch as she was reclaimed by shadow and drawn back down into the Underworld, screaming for him.

Don’t look back, Kun and Ten had both uttered the warning, Orpheus’ tale echoing the words at you again.

You run until your knees feel like liquid and your feet like stones, your chest burns with each breath, and surely if you didn’t have the power of your mother and father both in your veins, you’d have collapsed long ago. How far can this path from Hell possibly be? 

Your toe catches a loose stone on the floor, and you stumble. Your palms burn as they scuff along the rough floor, your knees bruise and sting where the tatters of your clothes don’t cover them. 

There’s no sound behind you. No hands reach forward to help you up and urge you on as you stay there for a moment – hands and knees on the dirty floor with your head bowed as your tears drip into the dirt, your ragged breath still loud in your ears. 

Are you alone? Or is that deeply-rooted demon magic Kun mentioned holding Yuta and Ten under the same spell as Eurydice had been – unable to make a sound or touch you, unable to make their real presence known to you?

You find the strength to push to your feet again, to start forward again. Your mind races, and you can’t help thinking, I just want to go home, to be free of all of this. I just want to be happy with my boyfriends again, like we were in our apartment. All four of us. Why did everything have to go so wrong? Why did everything have to play out like this? 

You run even as your bones ache and your mouth dries out. You feel hollow.

And then the ground evens out. 

And you look up, and you can see watery daylight ahead of you.

You remember this: the sight of the world through the inside of the mirror. The watery distortion of everything when Renjun first led you through a mirror portal to escape the dungeon of the Watchers. You pray the exit runs smoother this time than the last – that you won’t feel like you’re drowning and suffocating and stuck within a glue trap as you had last time.

A fresh burst of energy rolls through you as you see it so close, close enough you can reach out and touch it.

Your fingertips pass through like reaching into water.

Your toe catches the inner lip of the mirror.

The world tilts and blurs, nausea rolls your stomach as you fly through the mirror and dash yourself against the floor on the right side of the mirror.

And you wait.

You don’t dare to turn to look into the mirror. You don’t know what you would be able to see. Does it look just like a regular mirror, reflecting only you and the room you’re in? Is it semi-transparent, so you’re able to see back into the passageway you’ve just escaped through? 

But more terrifying than that – in some version of Orpheus and Eurydice, he reached the safety of the mortal world, and rejoicing in that, he turned to celebrate with his wife, only to find that she had yet to pass the border between the realm of Hades and the surface. Thus, he lost her because they were not both with their feet safely on the soil and in the sunlight.

You won’t make that mistake, even if it means you have to wait here forever with your cheek pressed against the wood of the floor, your clothes crumbling even more into charred bits after the rough friction of passing through the mirror and colliding with the world. 

Tears still spill down your cheeks, and you squeeze your eyes shut because you’ve nothing to look at anyway. 

<-previous || next–>

a/n: Thank you for reading! I'm so excited to see what y'all think about the rescue finally happening! It was a little bit different than originally planned, both in the opinion of the characters, and also different than I originally planned lol This chapter is the reason it took me so long to finally finish writing this story.

As usual, likes, comments in the tags, reblogs, messages about your thoughts, all of that is of the highest value to me! I love feedback, and I hope you can share this story with more people too 💗

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𝗧𝗛𝗘𝗠𝗘: 𝗥𝗢𝗢𝗠𝗠𝗔𝗧𝗘𝗦

week five: 29.08.23 — 05.09.23

seventeen:

the very first night | kim mingyu | @shuadrive

boy, you write your name (i can do the same) | choi seungcheol | @97-liners

nct:

mine | huang renjun | @njmverse

housemating | nct | @notnctu

pussy fiend | lee donghyuck | @domjaehyun

safety zone | mark lee | @cherryeoniis

to be human | han jisung | @soobnny

be there for you | lee jeno | @neokive

this is the story of how we fell in love, apparently. | lee donghyuck | @navyhyuck

dude, but like romantically | mark lee | @dat-town

enhypen:

my accidental demon roommate | park sunghoon | @jaeminvore

the boyz:

and they were roommates! | jacob bae | @sankyeom

blurred lines | kim sunwoo | @biaswreckingfics

stray kids:

and they were roommates. | lee minho | @huenjin