Dynamite is hitting me in the FEELS💖💖

im sorry!! I had to take this chapter down and post it again bc something was wrong with wattpad

XLI: Jungkook

Jin has a complete meltdown when he sees us coming into the house.

We are covered in soot, ash, and burns, with pine stuck in our clothes. Jin rushes to get the first-aid kit, while Lisa openly gapes, sticky dough still on her fingers.

"What happened?" She asks. I just shake my head, too numb for words.

We all retire to the living room, where a large oak desk spread with maps stands in the center. Yoongi and Namjoon are leaning over it, muttering, but they look up when we enter. Yoongi lets out a gasp, dropping his compass and running to Jimin to envelop him in a hug.

"What in the hells did you three do?" He asks, not letting go of Jimin. "I thought you were going back to Armad for a quick visit! Instead you're covered with scratches and burns―"

"Let's all sit down," Hoseok interrupts. "Please." Yoongi grudgingly seats himself on one of the couches encircling the table, pulling Jimin onto his lap. I sit next to him, and Hoseok takes a seat on a chair. Everyone sits down on the opposite couch, waiting to know what had happened.

Pausing bit by bit, Hoseok relays how we found Armad Castle deserted, and the fire which had broken out. How we had found Taehyung in the woods, the monster, and everything in between. I can't help but feel tears pricking at the corner of my eyes as Hoseok tells them about how Taehyung tried to fight off the monster. All that remains in my mind is his warm touch and even gentler kiss, which I don't know how long I must wait to get again.

When he's finished, everyone is silent, slowly taking in the information. Lisa looks confused, like she still can't believe what's happening, and Baekhyun draws a shuddering breath.

"So that's it then." Namjoon says, breaking the silence. "Armad Castle is... gone. The place where all the Sirius clan rulers lived; burned, just like that." Even Yoongi seemed shocked at the news, holding Jimin tight in his arms.

"And you three almost died," Jin whispers. "I can't believe it. As it is, Taehyung has turned into this... monster, which he has no way of controlling." He shakes his head. "I thought it was weird that he sent us away without any explanation. Why didn't he tell us this sooner? We could have tried to help him."

"Exactly. He didn't want to put you all in danger," Lisa says. "He knew that if he told all of you, none of you would ever agree to leaving. And you heard just how easily the monster destroyed Armad. If you all had been in there, what would have happened? The monster would have killed you all without a thought. He saved us all, by hiding the truth."

"And got himself taken over in the process," Jimin murmurs. "The monster... Great Above, his eyes. We're no match for something like that. Hell knows how Taehyung managed to keep it dormant for so long."

"There has to be some way, any way to help Taehyung!" I burst out, unable to bear it anymore. "I can't just sit here and wait until the monster somehow calms down. The monster must have some kind of weakness. Something we can exploit. We have to do everything in our power to try and save him!"

"Then we need someone who specializes in darkness," Hoseok says. "Someone who has spent their whole life studying it. That's how we'll learn any weaknesses the monster may have."

"What do you mean?" Jin says, looking at Hoseok with an eyebrow raised.

"We should seek advice from the person that the monster resents the most. A person he'll never see coming. And quite conveniently, this same person also has unlimited knowledge on darkness."

"And that is?" Jimin asks.

Hoseok looks around the room, making eye contact with everyone before speaking. "Alastair Kim. Taehyung's grandfather."

The silence in the room is deafening as everyone processes the idea. Alastair Kim. Taehyung's grandfather. The same person I had met years ago back in Armad, who criticized Taehyung's decision to take me as his queen. His cold blue eyes which seemed to pierce through you and are always dark with disapproval. That was the man who we should ask for help?

"Why in the hells are we seeking help from that old man?" Jin says, clearly sharing my amount of enthusiasm. "He hates Taehyung! There's no reason for him to help us."

"But he was still the king of the Sirius clan once," Hoseok argues. "He has a love for his people. If the monster was daring enough to burn down Armad Castle, who knows what it'll do to the clan itself? Alastair won't just stand around seeing his clan burn, that's for sure."

"And his main course in Bloodcrest was the essence of darkness," Baekhyun chimes in. "Maybe he can tell us how to defeat the monster!"

Jimin shakes his head. "I feel it's too risky. If we go to the mountains of Blackcliff to meet him, there's no saying that he'll help us. Besides, he has a whole army stationed there. They could easily outnumber us in a fight." Murmurs start to break out, as the vampires think of the possible outcomes.

"I think it's a good plan," Lisa speaks up unexpectedly. When everyone turns to look at her, she shrugs. "It doesn't change the fact that I absolutely hate his guts. But I admit that he knows everything to do with darkness. He studied it. If anyone can help us understand the monster, it's him. And I don't think that he'll try to attack us. Honor tells him that it is wrong to fight fellow clanmates, and he values his honor more than anything." The bitterness in her voice is clear. "Even his family."

After a slight pause, Namjoon speaks. "I agree with Lisa. We should first learn everything we can about the enemy. It seems foolish to let personal opinions override our sense of judgement. Let's at least give it a try. There's no harm in that."

"Well, our two smartest people have spoken," Yoongi says, earning looks from both Lisa and Namjoon. "What about the rest of you? Personally, I agree we should give it a shot. Unless, of course, anyone else has better ideas."

Jin sighs. "I don't like this. But I can't think of anything else we could do, and he seems like our best option at this point. Now isn't the time for us to be picky. So I vote yes."

"I vote yes too," Jimin and Baekhyun say at the same time. Then they look at each other and trade death glares.

"You all already know what I think," Hoseok says. "We should do it. I vote yes."

Everyone turns to look at me. With a start, I realize that I am the last one yet to decide.

"Well, Jungkook?" Jimin asks kindly. "What do you want to do?"

I don't like Taehyung's grandfather. That much I can admit to myself. But what did it matter what I liked? Taehyung needed help. If this was the only way I would get it, I would do everything. I look at the seven pairs of eyes on me, and nod. "If there's even a remote hope that he'll be able to help Taehyung, I'm in."

Yoongi nods. "Well, then it's unanimous. If we leave now," He points to the map on the table. "We should be able to get to the mountains of Blackcliff by daybreak. Though we should probably rest for a bit before going." He looks at Hoseok, Jimin, and I in turn, and the message is clear in his eyes. You three need rest.

"No, Yoongi," Jimin puts a hand on his soulmate's arm. "If we go any later, the sun will be too hot for us to fly in. And we can't afford to wait a day. We can rest once we get to Blackcliff, I promise." His eyes find Hoseok's and mine. "Are you two okay with that?"

"Perfect," I say, and Hoseok nods.

Yoongi sighs. "Fine. But don't you dare go back on your promise. I want you sitting and resting the moment we set foot in the castle. Understand?"

"Of course." Jimin kisses Yoongi on the cheek, being the only person who could kiss him without finding a scim through his body. Yoongi smiles.

"Then we leave at moonhigh."

☆☆☆

"How in the hells do you guys levitate?" I groan, after landing on my back for the fifth time. My backbone hurts, and my head aches from the concentration.

Jimin smiles. "Just let your mind clear. Your vision should focus on one thing. Imagine yourself as a bird, or air, or anything else that rises. Like this," He closes his eyes and plants his feet on the ground. Slowly he starts to lift into the air, barely wobbling at all. Opening his eyes, he looks down at me. "You can do it!" He calls.

Easier said than done. All my five tries had ended in failure, and the time I had managed to rise a foot above the ground, I had quickly lost my balance.

Sighing, I rise to my feet again, bending my knees. All of a sudden, Taehyung's calm voice fills my head, his encouraging words echoing. Plant your feet firmly on the ground, Jungkook. Chin up. Focus on the hills in the distance. Let your body become weightless. Imagining that Taehyung was here, coaching me, I let my limbs relax, my eyes resting on the green, gently sloping hills. I don't even realize that I've floated up until Jimin claps.

"You did it!" Walking towards me in the air, he takes my hand. "Come on. I can steady you while we levitate." With Jimin leading, I hesitantly start to walk on air, surprised at finding that it wasn't very different from walking on land. We rejoin the group farther up in the sky, me still holding onto Jimin's hand for support.

"Ready?" Yoongi asks, bundled up in a thick navy blue cloak, which is the same as mine. We both nod, and he leads the way, flying through the sky. The home gets farther and farther away until it is only a speck in the distance, the gently rolling meadows just a green blur. We pass small clustered villages down below, and entire forests beneath us. I'm glad that we don't have to fly over Armad's charred remains. I'm not sure if I can handle seeing the home I lived in burned to the ground, and the forest where Taehyung had given me his last goodbye. And this is no time to burst into tears.

I become increasingly glad for my thick cloak as the landscape gets more and more barren, and bitter winds attack us from all sides.

"Why would anyone want to make their home in a mountain?" I ask Jimin over the whistling of the wind. "It's so cold and desolate."

"After he retired, Alastair wanted some privacy from the world. Blackcliff's mountains are impossible to reach by foot, and are only accessible by air. It... cuts down on the number of visitors he gets. I guess he just wants to be alone," Jimin yells back. I frown, wondering if that was what made him so hostile and bad-tempered.

After about two hours of nonstop flying, I start to see a line of mountains in the distance, their snow-covered peaks in high contrast with their unwelcomingly black slopes. As we get closer, I can make out a type of building built directly into the mountain, so that it's barely visible from far away.

The gray stone walls blend in with the mountain it was carved out of, towering high into the sky. The walls, twice as high as Armad's, are almost ornate, with frieze columns, and gargoyles staring down at us from the pale gray rock. Jagged spires jut out from the top, the black marble cut to resemble sharp spikes. Two vampires stand at the entrance, silver spears gleaming in their hands. When we land on the bridge leading up to the massive double-iron doors, the guards ready their weapons.

"Halt! State your name and business."

"Min Yoongi, Head Guard of the Sirius army." Yoongi pushes through us to stand at the front. "Others include members of the Sirius clan guard, and Jeon Jungkook, queen of the Sirius clan. We wish to have an audience with Sir Alastair Kim. On matters yet to be disclosed."

"Queen of the Sirius clan?" The left guard stares at me, tilting his head. "Do you have anything to prove your story?"

"Uh―" I look at the others. I didn't think that we had to give them proof. Yoongi frowns. "Is that really necessary? If Sir Alastair sees him, he'll know―"

"We cannot let you in without solid evidence of who you claim to be. If you have nothing, we must ask you to leave." The right guard picks at the point of his spear. "By force, if necessary."

"Wait!" I slide the moonstone ring off my finger which Taehyung had gifted to me. "Will this do?" The guard takes it from me, examining it from all sides. I bite my lip, hoping that they would give it back quickly. I had rarely ever taken it off during the years, and it felt wrong to have it off. It was the only thing I had left of Taehyung.

"Very well," The guards hand the ring back to me, and I gratefully put it back on my finger. "It has the briar rose, the symbol of the Sirius Clan, on the band. That is sufficient proof. Enter." The guards stand aside, and the iron doors creak open. As soon as we're all safely inside, the doors clang shut again, and I flinch. Suddenly, I have second thoughts about coming to such a dark place. For Taehyung, I remind myself. This is for Taehyung.

The inside is a cavernous foyer, with a pure black chandelier dangling from the ceiling. The inside walls are also made of smooth rock, and a blood red carpet lies at our feet. Torches flicker on the walls, but their blue flames barely do anything to penetrate through the gathering darkness. It doesn't look completely unlike the entryway at Armad Castle, but the atmosphere cannot be more different. While in Armad, there was a sense of comfort, of calm, there is nothing remotely close to that feeling here. Everything is rigid and dark, not a shred of light entering from the windows close to the domed ceiling.

"About damned time," A gruff voice says from the shadows, and we all jump. A tall, powerful looking vampire with snow white hair materializes out of the darkness, cold azure eyes glaring at us. "I expected you all days ago. Whatever you've come for better be good. I'd hate to think I gave you a chance only to have to throw you off the edge of the mountain."