Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait. I hope I'll be able to update more frequently from now on! :)

Unedited.

LVI: Jungkook

I can't control my body as I lean forward and wrap my arms around Taehyung's neck. Broken sobs wrack my body as we roll onto the grass, each trying to support the other. Taehyung's arms are warm and familiar around me, and I bury my face in his shoulder. It's him. It's really him. My Taehyung. He's murmuring comforting words into my ear, but I barely hear him over the sound of my own relief. We both cling to each other, finding comfort in the other's warmth.

After a while, I realize that Taehyung's gone silent, and raise my head, wondering what was wrong. He stares at me with a mixture of horror and pain, his gaze resting on the scars marring my cheeks. With the leaves in my hair, and a bit of blood on my tunic, I must look pretty bad. Taehyung gets off me and sits up, his eyes blank. I slowly sit up too, eyes never leaving Taehyung. He looks... sick.

"What have I done, Jungkook?" He whispers, looking blankly around. "What have I done to you? To everyone?"

"Tae..." I reach out, entwining our fingers. His hand is deathly cold. "You're fine now. See? Everything's fine."

"Jimin and Yoongi..." Taehyung's voice cracks. "Are they really... gone?" At my silence, his face whitens. His red eyes stand out even more against his pale skin, and suddenly, he looks much older than before.

"It's all my fault," Taehyung's voice is ragged. "It's my fault they're dead. The worst part is, I saw it happen. I watched their deaths unfold right before my eyes, and I couldn't do anything to stop it. I had a dream, a long time ago, in which I was told my future. I saw Yoongi and Jimin's body there. I knew what was going to happen. I could have tried to stop it. But instead, I just watched." His hands tremble, and he buries his face in them. My heart breaks, seeing my soulmate this broken.

"Stop it!" I pry his fingers away from his face. "Stop blaming yourself Tae! It's not your fault." But he doesn't seem to be able to hear me. His crimson eyes focus on my face, and with a jolt, he pulls away from me. Like he's seen a ghost instead of me. He pulls his hands out of my grip, backing away a few steps. His red eyes look... haunted.

"I'll hurt you," The words come out in a rush. "I hurt everyone that gets close to me. I saw your body too, on the nightmare battlefield. Get away from me, Jungkook, while you still can. Run."

"I won't." My body shakes, but I meet his gaze with defiance. "I don't know what battlefield you saw, but it's not real. I'm real, Tae. And I've spent more days than I want to count without you at my side. I know you're afraid of hurting me, but you don't seem to realize that nothing can hurt me more than getting separated from you for a second time. So please, don't shut me out. If there's a problem, we can think through it together. Separation isn't the answer. It never was. And if you try to shake me off again and go off on your own, I'll follow you. I'll follow you to the ends of this earth if I have to, but I won't let you go. Not now, not ever." The pain of losing Taehyung hits me again, harder than ever, and I feel hot tears trickling down my cheeks. Taehyung merely stares at me, a shocked expression clouding his face. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he nods.

"Come here," His arms once again encircle me as I sink gratefully into them, reveling in the touch of his body against mine. He's still here. He hasn't left me. Neither of us speaks for a long time, but I don't want to let go. I'm afraid if I do, he'll suddenly walk away, or disappear, leaving me to chase after him. So I cling onto him as hard as I can, and he doesn't loosen his grip on me either. Finally, Taehyung breaks the silence.

"Jungkook, you won't be happy with me." I don't look up at him. I can imagine his face well enough, with those sad eyes, and cautious words. Careful. He was always so careful with me. "I can't promise you an easy life, nor a peaceful one. You saw what I did back in Shadow Valley. You know I'm dangerous. I can't promise any of the things that other kings may tell their queens. If there's anything I can give you, it's only my promise to love and cherish you for eternity. And you deserve so much more than that. So much more than I can give you. After all of this, do you still want to be my queen?" His voice is uncertain, cracking at the edges.

"Do you remember?" My voice comes out muffled by his shirt. "That day in London, when the specters were chasing us, you told me that you wouldn't run anymore because you had something to protect. And that was me. Now, it's my turn to protect you. I don't care that you can't give me all those things. They all pale in comparison to being with you. And you think that I want anything more than your love?" A laugh bubbles up from my throat, and I can tell Taehyung is surprised. "Tae, that's the only thing I want. If you can give me that, nothing else matters. I love you, Kim Taehyung. Never forget that." And with that, I reach up to plant a kiss on his lips.

It's a soft kiss, filled to the brim with love. Our lips mold together in a way only soulmate's lips do, and Taehyung's hands find themselves on the small of my back. He kisses me like he does all things: so dedicated and wholeheartedly that it threatens to sweep me away. My hands curl around his tunic, wanting to feel every inch of his lips. When the kiss is finally broken, we stare at each other, both of us with a dazed look in our eyes.

"So is that a yes?" Taehyung asks, his breath comes out short. "Will you be my queen?"

"I never stopped being your queen," I answer, and Taehyung's eyes sparkle. He no longer looks like the man hardened from suffering and loss, but a young boy bursting with life. I want to freeze time, and keep this memory preserved forever. As a reminder of what had happened today, under the fading starlight of twilight. But when Taehyung smirks, the memory shatters.

"So," Taehyung's mouth quirks. "You and V. I never would have imagined it."

My cheeks burn, and I fiddle with my hands. I'm struck by the sudden change of topic. With all the chaos around me, I had not stopped to think about how my relationship with his shadow might affect Taehyung. But he wasn't... jealous, was he? He had no reason to be. I take a tentative look up at his face, and though he isn't smiling, he doesn't look mad, either. As if guessing what I'm thinking, Taehyung sighs, drawing me closer to him.

"I'm not mad, if that's what you think. Watching you kiss him was not the best moment of my day, Jungkook. In fact, it was far from it. But as long as you promise never to do that again with any other man, I'm willing to overlook it."

"I won't," I promise, and Taehyung finally smiles. "You have nothing to be jealous of," I add. "My heart belongs to you and you only."

"Who said I was jealous?" Taehyung teases, kissing my cheek. "I already know you're mine. You have my mark on you. That's proof enough." His lips find their way down to my neck, and a soft sigh escapes my mouth. The mark is clearly visible beneath my tunic, and Taehyung kisses it through the shirt; the thin fabric being almost no barrier at all, yet far too much of a barrier. His large hands cup my face, and I can see that his eyes linger longest on the scars on my cheeks. His thumb carefully traces the outline of the wound. "This will probably be permanent scarring. I'm not sure if even Jin can fix it."

"I'm not sure I want the scars to go away," I admit, leaning on his shoulder.

Taehyung smiles. "Of course not. V was right about one thing: they are beautiful. Beautiful, just like you. It's a mark of your bravery, really." His hand combs through my hair, and I allow myself to relax into his touch.

Turning my head towards him, I take in the sharp profile of his face. I can't help but notice how attractive he looks, with his ruffled dark brown hair, and effortlessly clear skin. Even after being taken over by a shadow spirit for a few weeks, he looks perfectly composed and glowing. Unlike me. After having fallen off from a high cliff, and running through the forest in freezing weather, I probably looked a mess. And yet, the way Taehyung stares at me, you would think that I was draped in jewels and the finest silk. A queen.

I put my hands lightly on either side of his face, and kiss him. He kisses back instantly, his lips soft and warm. The kiss is both encircling comfort and burning urgency, a flash of emotion that jolts down my body like lightning. I love that I can feel bare skin beneath my palms, instead of the eerie coolness of the mask. When we finally pull away, Taehyung tilts his forehead down to rest against mine, and pulls me closer. Enveloped in his arms, I find a sense of comfort I've lacked for so long. His hugs feel of home, of love, of all the good things in the world. His wings stretch out behind him, and he gives them an experimental flap, before nodding.

"I'm strong enough to fly us both back to Shadow Valley. Best not to keep all our friends waiting any longer. What do you say about a romantic flight under starlight?" He holds out his hand, and I gratefully take it. His tunic is soft under my touch, and I lay my head on his chest as his hands find their place around my waist. "I would love that."

"Remember, don't look down." He says, and with one massive push from his wings, we lift off the ground, soaring into the air. The last stars are just beginning to blink out of existence in the indigo sky, and a light breeze nips at my hair. The whole forest is a carpet of green below me, and the leaves are bathed in the rosy light of dawn before the sun rises. It's beautiful, and even though Taehyung had told me not to look down, I can't help but take a few peeks here and there. As I look past Taehyung's shoulder into the horizon, I'm struck by how large the forest actually is. It stretches on for miles and miles, and without the ring, I'm sure that I would have never found V, no matter how hard I searched.

Speaking of the ring, I glance at my hand, expecting to see the stone shimmering on my finger. But it's not there. I turn my hand over, heart racing.

"Tae!" I gasp, and Taehyung looks down, alarmed. "The ring! It's gone!" Taehyung's shoulders visibly relax, and I can tell he doesn't think of this as a terrible danger. I, on the other hand, am troubled.

"Do you think I could have dropped it somewhere?" I bite my lip, worried. "I've had it on for so many years. I can't believe I didn't notice it missing. I'm sorry Tae. I didn't mean to lose your gift..."

"It's not your fault Kookie," Taehyung says gently. "The ring must have exhausted its magic. I enchanted it so that it acted as a sort of pathfinder, but a thing as small as that can only hold a bit of magic. You must have used up all the magic in your quest to find me, so the ring disappeared."

"Oh..." I examine my hand, a bit pained that I can't feel the familiar weight that the ring had anymore. Taehyung notices, and his large hand curls around my slim fingers. "I'll make you a new one," he promises. "One even better than the last."

We fly in comfortable silence for a short while, the only sound being the wind and my steady breathing. As the first lights of dawn start to penetrate the horizon, I realize I have an important question.

"Tae?"

"Hmm?"

"Where do you think V is now?"

He looks down at me, eyebrows raised. "Why so suddenly? He's a shadow spirit, so he must be aimlessly drifting somewhere. Now that he's free, I'm honestly not sure what he's going to do. He may even take human form again to terrorize some other poor clan. If he does, I'm sure we'll hear about it soon enough." He clearly doesn't like the idea, because his words turn bitter at the end.

"I don't think so," I murmur. "I think he's nicer now. I think if he stayed, he could have been our friend." Taehyung's smile looks forced, and he opts to kiss me rather than answer.

My grip on Taehyung's tunic tightens as we climb higher into the sky. In the distance, I think I can just make out the tall steeple towers of Shadow Valley rising above the still-smoking wreckage that was once a bustling city. Taehyung draws in a sharp breath, and I know he's staring at the burned remnants of Shadow Valley as well. The hands holding me tremble slightly, and his eyes are still trained on the burning clan even when I reach up to kiss him. He looks horrified, and I can't blame him.

"Jungkook..." His voice shakes. "Is that what I think it is?"

"Shadow Valley." I feel horrible when I see the pain etched on his face. Maybe this wasn't a good idea after all. "If you want, we could go back―"

"No." The word is soft, but spoken firmly. "I need to face the destruction I caused sooner or later. Now seems as good a time as any."

"I'll be with you every step of the way." I assure him, and he gives me a look full of love and gratitude. But as he glances over my head, that expression turns into one of utmost surprise and alarm. And when I turn around, I realize why.

It would be hard to miss the sharp silver arrow shooting straight at us.