"DO YOU even know where we're going?" minho asked after he and felix had been walking the streets of porthaven for some time. felix's silence was enough to answer the baker's question. "is there not a spell you could use to track hyunjin down? if not, we're basically on a wild dragon chase here."

felix snapped his fingers. "a tracking spell! i nearly forgot i had one of those! you're a genius, minho!"

sometimes i seriously doubt that he has a brain, minho thought exasperatedly while felix rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt. "you might want to stand back, mate," he said, extending his arms in front of him. "my spells can be a little...unpredictable." minho hurriedly backed up as felix yelled, "magic, run as far as you can! show me where to find this man: hwang hyunjin!"

for a moment, the wind seemed to pick up, pushing minho forward into felix's back. but alas, the air stilled once more, and the baker was left confused. "did... did it not work?"

felix turned, glee shining in his eyes. "it did!" he replied giddily. "this spell reveals hyunjin's footprints to me and no one else. i had tried it in the past, but it didn't work. maybe changbin's training is working after all!"

"changbin's training?"

felix slapped a hand over his mouth. "ah... i said something i wasn't supposed to. well, we should be heading on our way!" he chuckled nervously before breaking out into a sprint, leaving minho in the dust.

"wait! you imbecile! i don't know where we're supposed to go!" minho cried, taking off after him.

❂❂❂

it took hours to finally reach hyunjin's location. it turned out that the wizard had stopped at many different shops beforehand, and felix, ever the optimist, insisted that they look in every single one just in case he was inside. (he wasn't.) finally, they ended their search at a lavish-looking home on the outskirts of the city where felix claimed the footprints led inside.

"what do we do now?" minho whispered. the two were hiding behind a manicured hedge outside of the property's gates.

"don't worry, i've got a plan." felix wiggled his fingers and hissed, "give us hooves and give us fangs; make our bodies rearrange!"

a tingling sensation rushed across minho's body and the world slowly grew smaller. or, rather, he was growing bigger. he looked down to see that he was no longer a human but instead...

"a horse?" minho yelped. "felix, out of every animal you could've turned me into, you chose a horse?"

"apologies, mate." minho looked down to find that an orange tabby was now in felix's place. "that's the only transformation spell i know. but at least hyunjin won't recognize you!"

if minho had less of a heart he would've stomped on felix with his hooves right then and there. "yes, but this form is not very good for spying on him! i'm too obvious! what kind of horse just wanders onto someone's property?"

felix opened his mouth to retort but clamped it shut when his ears began to twitch. "quiet! there are people coming!" he said, and disappeared into the hedge.

what in the queen's name am i supposed to do? minho thought. i can't just jump into a bush! i'm going to have to escape somehow.

"father! a horse!" a young girl with dark braids emerged from the gates of the property and raced towards minho, latching herself onto his leg. "can we keep it in the stables with the others?"

a lanky man with a curly mustache appeared. "nayeon! get away from that thing! it could be diseased!"

nayeon pouted and reluctantly let go. "even if it was, jaebum could still heal me! he knows all about animals!"

the man pinched the bridge of his nose. "darling, knowing how to properly dissect an animal is not the same thing as knowing all about them. what does your brother know about medicine?"

"i'm sure he knows a lot!"

minho could have cared less about the father and daughter's conversation. at the moment, he was trying to figure out where he could bolt to as soon as an opportunity arose for him to escape. it was when the man threw his hands up in the air that minho's attention was caught.

"fine. we'll take the horse to your brother. he can chop it up and do what he pleases with it. see if i care."

what? minho thought as nayeon cheered. before he could even take a step, the girl delivered four swift kicks to each of his legs, causing him to crumple to the ground. she peered at his frantic eyes with a toothy grin. "jaebum never lets me help in the lab, but he taught me what to do to catch the animals! isn't that great, father?"

"if i have another child that is obsessed with mutilating creatures," the man muttered, grabbing minho by the hooves and dragging him through the gate, "i'm going to leave this family."

minho's heart raced. am i going to die here? there was no feeling in any of his legs at all— he couldn't move them one bit. what did that girl do to me? how am i going to get back to the castle? seungmin... i won't be able to protect him if i'm dead!

the man dropped minho at the foot of the house. "come, nayeon. let's see if your brother is still with his customer so he can take care of this thing." the little girl nodded and the two of them left the motionless stallion on the ground. he thought that he was alone until he heard a familiar voice.

"minho!" felix scampered over to him. "good news! i spotted hyunjin inside! you should be glad you weren't there— the place he was in was disgusting. he was in a room lined wall to wall with hearts. real hearts! i don't know if they were human or animal but they were all different shapes and sizes and i was—"

"hurry and get to the point before they return," minho snapped.

"sorry. anyway, hyunjin was talking to a man about purchasing a dragon heart. that's when i knew that something shady was going on because dragon hearts are incredibly rare. i think that's why he had left: to find one himself!"

right as felix finished his sentence, the door burst open and the little girl bounded down the steps. "see, jaebum? i found a horse for you!" she gasped upon seeing felix. "and a cat, too! even more subjects for you to dissect!"

if animals could pale, both felix and minho would have. not only was the girl's statement horrifying, but another sight was as well. standing next to an intimidating cat-eyed man— assumably jaebum, the older brother minho had heard about— was hyunjin, and his green gaze pierced through them as if he could see into their souls. something about that was even more terrifying than the prospect of getting cut open.

"very good job, nayeon!" jaebum praised, patting the girl on the head. "both of them look to be in good shape. i think i can use them."

well, shit, minho thought, i guess this is the end. i never thought i'd be spending my last day on earth as a goddamn horse. life sure is strange.

but, like a miracle from the heavens above, hyunjin stepped forward. "yongbok!" he cooed, reaching down and scooping felix into his arms. "my baby! why did you follow me all the way out here? you were supposed to stay home!"

jaebum gasped. "oh! does the cat belong to you?"

hyunjin nodded. "the horse is mine, too. you didn't think i arrived here on foot, did you?"

nayeon's face dropped. "oh no! i'm so sorry, sir samuel! let me fix him back up for you right now." she skipped around to minho's legs and kicked each one again, and almost instantly the feeling returned to them. the horse bit back an agonized grunt. the little girl's kicks hurt.

"lovely," hyunjin said with a brilliant smile. helping minho back to his feet, he said, "thank you for your service, sir jaebum. i will be sure to repay you for what you've done for me someday."

jaebum laughed and waved as hyunjin left with felix and minho in tow. as soon as they were a good distance away, hyunjin snapped his fingers and watched with a blank face as felix and minho transformed back into their regular bodies. "i expected felix, but seeing the baker here surprised me. you did a disastrous job at disguising yourselves." felix frowned and looked like he was about to say something, but hyunjin cut him off. "sometimes the places that i go to are too dangerous for anyone to follow. you two are very lucky that i found what i needed close to home instead of halfway across the kingdom. if either of you got hurt trying to follow me somewhere dangerous, i wouldn't be able to forgive myself." the wizard steeled his gaze on the two men. "i never want this to happen again. and if it does, you'll get off with more than a mere scolding." he turned and stalked away, his dark cloak swishing behind him and his boots clicking against the cobbled road.

minho scratched the back of his neck where it was flushed with shame. "boy, did we sure get it from him," he mumbled, glancing over to see how felix was faring. the apprentice looked like a kicked puppy, his lower lip wobbling slightly. "oh, felix. don't cry. come here." minho pulled the younger boy into his arms. "sometimes adventures aren't all good. ours could have ended better, but at least we got what we came for, right?"

felix sniffed. "that's true..."

"exactly. now, come on; once we get home, i'll bake you a pie so sweet it'll make your teeth fall out."

"now that sounds like a much better ending to this adventure!"