"There's something in my mirror
And it lacks a soul
It whispers in my ear "You're all alone"
Raising the stakes
To fill a void
Ran out of space
And out of choice"

Point of No Return - Lana Lubany
(this is jimin's character theme song so listen PLZ!!)

🌌

Jimin

Jimin's mind, his soul, thrived in chaos.

That is why the last week before spring felt unsettling. An end to death. The beginning of new life.

Time was running out, but he had learned to be patient.

Ever since he was a child something never felt quite right. His low birth, his standing in the court. His neglectful parents, Clarisse the servant and a dutiful chef. Whom died when he was the mere age of 12 years old.

And Jimin, who had been graced with the splendor of shadows.

It happened a night after a fight with a servent boy. He'd spilled some of his blood. And he was angry. So angry, a scream had ripped through his body, filling the room and waking his sister.

That's when he's become blind. The entire room seeping with a darkness so thick, it seemed to wrap around him.

When he'd mentioned this to the woman who had raised him, she had paled. Knowing only one other person who had that gift in her bloodline.

The one who taught him how to control it.

His tutor he thought to be very strange. An arrangement that made little sense, and yet all the sense in the world. Now, at least.

Even with this great power, this marvelous feat he was nothing. And he had been genuinely grateful for his life. Grateful to be the prince's lap dog. His friend. His shadow. Tampering down at any bitterness that threatened to rise to the surface.

Out of love. Out of loyalty.

Before, none of his life made sense.

I owe Solis everything.

Because after the night he was visited by the deity, everything changed. Jimin realized that his own fealty towards his friends, his family made him weak. Docile. Unsuspecting.

Pitiful. A waste of something that could be great.

It had been cathartic, a breaking of a wall. That allowed him to feel all the terrible things he'd pushed away all the years before. That he had been right to believe there was more to life than his servitude.

Solis.

They chose him, him above the beloved prince. The one that was blessed with the light of the sun.

And as if the unuttered thought of their name called them, the deity resurrected from their hiding.

Jimin clenched his jaw, holding the tiny jar he had pulled out of his top drawer that had been locked by his bedside. There was no point in hiding, the deity saw everything.

He felt the sharp prick of magic, the tightening in his chest as if all the oxygen in the room had been swallowed by it's immense power. So long, he'd been left to his own devices. Letting Lily do his bidding.

It had been peaceful without the deities whispered words scraping against his skull.

"I am in no mood Solis." He called out, tucking the empty jar into the pocket of his trousers.

The deities' laughter clicked and flitted around the air, like a branch carving across stone. The back of his neck tingled, and yet the fear did not find him anymore.

Before, he'd always been pushed into greatness. An event, a mistake causing him to forge a path of destruction.

He'd finally been pushed towards the edge. And now found freedom in the fall.

I am chosen.

I am in control.

This is my doing. I am solely bringing the prince to his knees. Not Solis, but I.

There many voices sound in his ear, too close, mockingly dejected, "But nightfall? I have so much to divulge to you. It will help to lessen your pain of killing the girl."

Jimin let the wince go in a fit of silence, contorting his face to hide any reaction. He turned away from his dresser, facing out into the room.

Leila without color. Leila without the smell of lavender and amber on her wrist. Leila without biting off his head every time he did something wrong.

Leila looking at Taehyung the way he wished she'd look at him.

"I feel no pain."

The ethereal glow of the deity seemed to dim over time. The once bright gold fading into a copper that reminded him of a bronze goblet dripping with blood during a feast.

"You hid your magic well from moon child and the sun prince. One used blood magic to call upon deceit."

He did his best not to preen at the deity's approval but failed. He knew the idea to be glorious. Why else would the prince have show ponied the entire court other than to sniff out crueler intentions?

He lifted his chin gallantly, a smirk curving upon his lips, "Shadows are a form of light magic. But they can be easily disguised as air. I let my shadows perform translucent, so that it seemed like I bent the air instead of light. And for the rest, I used blood magic to taint everyone else's trace so it was impossible to target. I have more tricks like that. Endless amounts really. He'll never catch me."

If I play my cards right, the prince nor the princess will ever suspect me.

The glow of the deity wanes in an out, and orbit around him in the center of his room. It was strange, how he could tell at this very moment that this disembodied creature was prideful of his actions.

"Truly brilliant. A creation of my own. Now, nightfall, there is something you should know about that witch."

Jimin huffed, knowing the creature would not let up. They never did spare him anything. He hurried the deity along with the flick of his hand,
"Go on. The quicker you tell me what it is you want the quicker you leave."

After all this I will rise above a god.

"So daring to talk to a deity like that. But it is why I prefer you to the prince. One that does not submit or revere is dangerous. Volatile. Worthy of my grace." Solis paused, dimming further, "It is why I shall tell you of the pair, the sun and the moon favor only their own deceit. The spoke of turning on you, of killing you in the carriage as you slept. To ease their involvement with each other."

Damn Solis. Damn himself.

It was moments like these, moments that ripped like barbed wire across his chest that he wished he'd been raised like Leila. With the humanity already cut out of her.

Jimin had to rip his out himself.

And sometimes, sometimes in these moments he found the remaining fragments of which he had yet to discard.

They wished to kill me? Anger, hurt, confusion raced through him, the river Styx.

Taehyung?

Leila?

For their own selfish purposes? Just to get me out of the way. An inconvenience. A transgression that felt too much like the past that it bled into him. Seeping.

Jimin, Jimin going to set things right. He was going to give the sun back to the world, a feat Taehyung was too cowardice to do. Too weak.

"In the carriage?" Jimin questioned, his eyes narrowing as he paced forward. Needing all the information gathered.

"Yes, they desecrate you." The deity's voice hisses out the words, "They laugh in your face, and kiss on your desolation. They do more than that as you sleep. Not caring to cause you pain if you were to awake."

The advisor nods once, a huff of breath exhaling through his nose. Before he turns and grabs an oil lamp, and hurling it across the room. The vibrant glass shatters, spattering the liquid across the wall and he breathed heavily. In and out and in and out until he forgets how to.

Leila. He had fawned over the ways in which she wasn't like him. But the deity had said too much. How she let Taehyung indulge and violate her in his presence.

She is gentle.

But all I hear is their loud breathing, mingled.

She is empathetic.

But I hear is her saying she'd kill me.

She kissed me.

And all I can see is his lips stealing her own. And making her bend, break, and breathe in all the ways he could only imagine.

Images upon nightmares tumbled into his head. Turning his vision red, his body gray.

Jimin turned, grabbing onto his desk. Hearing wood splinter under his grasp and feeling sharp stabs at his flesh and he did not care.

Taehyung. Taehyung his dear friend, who swore he did not want her. Over and over again he swore it. Even as his eyes traced over her like the last drop of blood on earth, like she were the fucking sun itself he swore it. And he let Jimin get close.

He told the male to watch her. And he did. He found out that she tosses and turns in her sleep. That she read books until her eyes tinged pink and the pads of her fingers dry. She preferred tea to water, and liked wearing purple. He watched her take all the spineless, putrid nonsense thrown at her and devour it in her numbness.

Who does not look at the moon in the sky and eventually not fall in love with it? Even a cold, dead thing with a heart full of ash.

It turned out the Prince fell for the same reasons.

But once she chose Jimin, chose him several times over. That is when the prince decided to grow some fucking balls after all these years.
And after all these years. Of brotherhood, of elevating him to higher levels of the court. To treating him like family. Never letting him get mistreated, or undermined.

Now after moments of soiled lust, he wished Jimin dead?

The deity crept closer, the dull glow pulsing around his quaking body. To comfort him? Surely not.

"What if I told you that the daughter of the moon was destined for you? That she's denied fate, and he helped her to do it." Solis offered, voice slithering to his right ear.

I will hear no more.

The wood splintered further beneath him. Felt the shadows brewing under the surface of his skin, clawing their way out.

"That's impossible. The curse proves it to be so."

Taehyung was the direct descendant of the king. The one graced with the power of the sun. The opposite to daughter of the moon. The curse made them opposites, parallels within the fabric of the universe.

Jimin's role was a perverse aversion. Granted with only time, power, and birth. An affront to the gods that wished to attain balance.

That she is mine? To have it ripped away from him would...

I will hear no more. I will hear no more.

"I told you of the curse's rightness, and the human's wrongness. Without the little mishap, she would've been yours. The prince of the eclipse stole her from you. That I promise to be true." The deity continued, without paying any mind to the immortui fraying like ribbon beneath their being.

"Stop it." Jimin pushed out between crucified lips. His head throbbing, his heart splintering like the wood beneath him. Puncturing his hands and washing away his sins with blood.

The prince of the eclipse stole her from you.

He'd made Lily do his bidding. Telling her what the deity had told him, many months before. Is this how she felt? When he tore apart her existence, everything she thought she knew?

The divine entity curled around him, blinding him with bloodied gold, "She's just another thing he's taken from you. Another thing rightfully yours. The power, the glory, it was all meant for you. It is what I want."

"Are you telling the truth?"

"You are more powerful. Your magic more worthy. It is what is true nightfall. Do not let this weaken you. Let it fortify your mind so that you do what is necessary to take it all back. If she dies, you will gain everything. It is what us gods prefer."

Her tea was poisoned every night.

But only now, did Jimin realize he was going to kill her. Throughly, without redemption. Without a change of heart or mine. With his life, could only come her death. And in her death, all she would be in his mind a happy memory of what could have been good for him. Of all the ways in his youth he could've been someone else. A person who simply loves, who laughs, who is kind. A version of both of them that never really existed, where she would read and he would stoke the fire long enough for her to fall asleep with the pages open beneath her bent fingers.

But he plucked out the last vestiges of his heart, an eagle to Prometheus. Anywhere she still remained. Anywhere where Taehyung still clung to him. It was useless to him, for it wouldn't change a goddamn thing.

Darkness felt much better. Stronger. Worthy. Indestructible.

It made him the victor.

🌙🌙🌙🌙🌙
Leila

The secrets between the prince and her had dwindled.

But they still existed.

Days after Taehyung fed from her she had began making visits to the sanctioned storage room. Once she made Lily tell her the area was unmarked with blood magic, she'd plotted her way in.

It happened while the princess had been having sleepovers with Lily and Setareh in her room to keep her company. And while she was practically a supernova of excitement with what she now knew, some of her intensity mollified with their presence.

She couldn't tell them.

No, they would not understand. Especially her younger sister, who had only been told the history of the castle and the previous curse holders recently. Who was practically like herself when she first arrived, confused and without direction. Their relationship and strengthened with the help of Lily, who had grown up with a sibling. In her time with them she'd learned her sister was smart, yet hid it, had a quick sense of humor, and really loved taking care of animals. But Setareh still seemed lost in the lake of novelty, knowing and accepting that she had a gift of her own. That she had no home to return back to.

That Leila was her only family left.

Still it did not stop Leila from finding time apart, after tricking that information out of Lily. Dear friend, she'd apologize later. That led her to sneaking away from the two girls for long enough periods of time to make it to the storage area. Sneaking in.

And...had been filling an empty barrel with her blood. Possibly. Very much so. And she sort of knew that if Taehyung heard what she was doing, he'd be furious. But she thought better to do it now while he was gone, allow him to get angry later, and then finally warm him up and urge him be thankful that she sacrificed a little of herself to keep everyone satiated.

Leila hurried with bated breath, quickly finding the rooms without being seen. She shuffled in, coughing out the cloud of dust that lifted with the slam of the heavy door. Letting her eyes adjust to the musty darkness, and filter in enough light to see the rest of the pine soaked barrels that sat before her. After days of this routine, she felt like she'd mastered the route. She wanted to fill the barrel up one last time before he returned to the castle.

Her thoughts ran wildly as she lifted the top off of the quarter filled barrel. Unfurling the knife from her thigh, she cut a thin stripe along her vein. Smiling, barely feeling the pain of it as her mind went far away. Far beyond the trickle of her silver blood into the small puddle at the bottom.

Today was the day that she'd tell him the truth. About Sorina and his father.

She awoke the next morning after her dream, ready to run to him. To let him know that they did not have to hold their hearts back, if they do wished. That his father was not the cruel man he thought of, nor Sorina abused and tormented.

The king and Sorina had loved one another. And the curse had not been broken.

Leila wasn't sure of his feelings, but her own grew more clear everyday.

They had a chance. A new beginning. Time, most of all. To figure it all out. To find a new way to end the darkness of the world.

A new thread of fate.

But it fate had not allowed her relief yet.

A note had been laying by her side. Stating that the prince would be gone with Noble Min for official duty within magicked mines. And how desperately he'd wish to find her lips again, how every flower paled in comparison to her scent, how he wished he could be there to extinguish the flame of her hearth when she let it run too long, and how he wished he could take her along with him. Because surely her quips would make much better company than the miners.

He even remembered to tell her that her favorite book was hiding somewhere in his personal library. That he had found an ancient copy of Emma, an old love story.

When a disappointed, yet feverish Leila padded to his room, she was even more surprised to find the book had another note hidden between its pages.

'I can only see what you show on the outside, but I want to know your mind. Write your thoughts with ink, and I will drown myself in them in my return'

Now he'd finally returned. Leila had filled the pages with her thoughts, bursting with Sorina's dream and the way he could touch upon her with words dripped from a quill.

He made her smile even from afar. Feel seen in ways she could only imagine after long days of abandonment. He already knew everything about her, and he only wished to uncover more. They had divulged everything from their childhoods. Their hobbies. Foods they disliked and ones that the vipera couldn't even ingest. Talked about philosophies and morals they wish they had. History they wish they experienced. What life would be like if they didn't have powers. Leila had spoken of her fears of never knowing who she truly was. Like she didn't exist until she arrived.

But he didn't let her feel like any less than a person. He'd remind her.

You're wise. You have a strong sense of right and wrong. You're courageous, more than I. You choose what is right. You fight, and you're quiet about the fact you could rip this world apart if you so chose to. And you're unapologetic to your potential. You trust yourself more than anyone else, and that you should. You fight for what you want. You forgive. You frighten grown men and women. You are soft, and impenetrable all at once. So soft. You always smell like cinnamon, amber, and oud. You're terrible at comforting people because it makes you uncomfortable, but somehow you are the best at it. Your affinity for new emotions makes them potent, all consuming and all who care about you love to watch you experience them. I like it when you're kind to people that don't deserve it. I like it when you're unkind to people who deserve it. You've always been all of this. It's just been locked within you, hidden.

This is you. You are you. You are Leila.

The words are simple.

I repeat it to myself several times everyday he is gone.

Most days he was so insistent on being human with her she forgot their divinity even existed.

She had never felt so cherished in her life. And she wanted to return the favor tenfold. That is why she tightened her fist, letting more blood rush forward into the barrel.

He would be here soon. She could feel it. In the sea salt air that drafted through open windows. In the quickened pace of her heart beat at every new hour-

The door to the storage room cracked open, filtering in more light and breaking her thoughts with a dry creak.

Fuck.

With her back turned and her open wound bleeding, she was left with little time to hide. She lifted her skirts wiping at the bloody mess, knowing it was futile due to the fact more than likely whoever walked in was an Immortui and would scent it.

As the footsteps walked surely forward, a quiet slap along the stone, she bit her lip and braced herself.

Please let it be Lily. She'll be annoyed I used her information to go off on my own, but at least we can laugh about it later.

Oh, and she wouldn't be taken over by blood lust and kill me.

The person settled behind her, seemingly frozen.

Please be Lily, please be Lily—

"What in Solis' name are you doing?" Jimin's astonished voice rung out from behind her. The girl slumped with her relief, despite his disgusting ton, "Do you need the healer? Several? Perhaps one for your lost mind."

The other twin, she could deal with. Who would not blink twice at her doing something without the prince's knowledge.

She smiled broadly, flexing her wounded arm as she turned to face the advisor. He was already staring down his sloped nose at her, his smaller eyes narrowed. Confusion contorting his fine features, as he stood with his hands behind his back as she responded back.

"Whatever you're doing down here."

His lips curled up fiendishly, "Now that would be very interesting indeed dear sacrifice. But, I saw you letting your blood drip into that barrel. I will keep it to myself that you've been filling it with your own, because we both now the prince won't like it hurting your delicate sensibilities. Considering he won't feed from you."

Leila nodded, not correcting the man that the oh so righteous prince had fed from her. The wave of heat rushed down her spine at the memory. She lifted her chin, "And you? Down here taking inventory before the prince arrives?"

A muscle in the advisor's jaw jumped, his expression darkening to the black of his uniform, "He's already here."

"Oh." She hid the butterflies that swarmed in her stomach, settling into a glade at the thought of seeing the prince once again. Choking on the rise of elation in her throat. Forgetting to further inquire why Jimin was even here. She kept her face neutral, her hands clasped in front of her.

Jimin raked his gaze over her, keeping his dark eyes shielded since she hadn't looked away, "Yes?"

Leila smiled softly, feeling his expression turn speculative. Like whatever answer she gave, he'd pry it open and dissect its innards for failure. She didn't know why she held back her anticipation from a person who believed they were still having an affair.

Her feelings for Taehyung were for herself. How deep they ran, what exactly they shrouded. She wanted to keep that secret for herself.

Yet, she instead reverted the conversation back to the advisor, "Well since he's back and he'll be taking over his responsibilities again, you should our evening talks. I promise you that you'll find out everyone's dirty little secrets to use against them later in court."

She'd been monitoring everyone the prince had dismissed as possible traitors. Her sister, Lily, no matter how little evidence pointed towards them. While Jimin was not high on her list, his previous episodes did not speak of his innocence.

And if he was innocent, she simply got to spend more time with a friend who had been avoiding her ever since the run in with her sister. And if she were to be a true ruler of this kingdom, she'd have to learn how to deal with their thirst affliction.

Jimin rolled his eyes, moving smoothly to another barrel. Taking note of single closed object in the room.

"As enticing as that sounds, I've heard the incessant giggling from down the hall in my room every night. I find myself not particularly inclined to join you all. I'd rather avoid my twin at all costs."

The princess laughed at their sibling rivalry, imagining Lily's embarrassed pout at his words. She watched carefully as the advisor slithered through the room, inspecting barrels at varying levels.

Her amusement died.

Even though she wanted to run from the room, to run to him she stayed. Because Jimin was not taking inventory. It was clear after watching him, that he kept no count. He moved haphazardly, without pattern. She remembered that Taehyung kept track. On that flimsy piece of paper that he had. And that Lily had said that their were no protections on storage because only Taehyung himself went inside.

So what exactly is he doing here?

The dark haired brunette stood taller, her eyes moving around the room following him. Breathing slowly, so that he wouldn't detect her change in behavior. Instead, she kept friendliness in her tone.

"She's been acting a little strange lately. Is she okay?" Leila asked absentmindedly, letting her finger trail across the wood of the closest barrel. Keeping her voice level.

The advisor did not fluster under her too casual stare. Instead his dry amusement only increased, his eyes finding hers even in the dark blue of the room.

"You're asking me why Lily is strange...I wish I knew." Jimin's voice trailed off lethargically, as he bent to his knees to inspect the oak. His gaze flicking back and forth from his task to her.

His answer was easy enough. Genuine. It wasn't hard to believe he was so self involved, he hadn't been paying attention to the pale cast to his sister's face. The tired stretches of gray that remained even under orange lamp light.

"You're her twin. You should know." Leila urged, "Better than anyone, really."

The man stood up to his full height, movements so graceful they almost blurred. It was moments like this that she forgot she was surrounded by people less human than herself. He ran a hand through his hazelnut hair, moving around an object so that he could place himself directly in front of her. Leila tried to remain calm, they had been close many times. His affinity for secrecy beyond what she could understand put her on edge, making her surrender a step back.

Jimin caught the movement, his white teeth showing entirely too much to be a smile. No, it was more a grimace. The curve of his mouth not meeting his eyes as he questioned her back in a derisive manner, "Well, why has Taehyung been strange? He was so...positively aroused to life when he left days ago. And you say he hasn't fed from you? I just cannot help but doubt the bastard would let go long enough to do so. Restraint is so boring, and yet it has him in a chokehold around you."

She blushed at his careful wording. His eyes and ears that maybe had seen and heard too much. That is how he avoided answering her, too good at splaying out her own sins before her.

And still, in his intense focus she felt the potent need to defend the prince. Though she knew that Jimin often showed his care through insults, it wasn't fair.

He took blood from me, deep and slow. So sensually it was like what I imagine making love to be. So carefully, he sucked from her like taking the pigment from a rose petal. All while his hands on her body remained rough. Gasping. Desperate. Immoral, in all the ways I wanted.

Her cheeks heated at her depraved thoughts, the vehemence in which she felt them. Even as Jimin lifted a brow, leaning against the hollow of a barrel as he awaited for her answer. She suddenly felt like she was in a game, however she chose to answer, she would lose. The urge to tell him off, to show Taehyung wasn't the holy prince around her.

But the pit in her stomach that flared forced her to bite her tongue.

"He is afraid to hurt me. That is all." Leila said, her voice only shaking slightly. Feeling breathless as she lifted her hand, letting her fingers brush her hair away from her neck. Luckily no mark had remained.

But the slightest touch sent fire through her veins.

Jimin's eyes traced where she touched, his usually expressive face becoming void.

And then he was gone.

Leila blinked her eyes rapidly, turning to both her left and her right to see if she had imagined him there. If she truly saw him at all. Her breath caught nervously, as she opened her mouth to scream his name.

All attempts left her as she felt a body press against her own. The burnt caramel scent of him enveloping her. Jimin. The dauntless man tilted his head down, so close to her ear she could feel his every breath. And he was cold, so cold.

"Oh, I wouldn't mind." He whispered bitterly, carnally. His fingers fanning and dragging down her neck.

And Leila was frozen, bewildered into a paralyzed state. Leaving her no time to fight as he lifted her sleeve, and pressed the pad of his thumb into her wound. The princess whimpered out a yelp, his grip letting up enough for her to pull away from him.

The princess whirled on him, furious as he chuckled. His eyes watched the way her silver blood trickled from his thumb, down to his palm.

And then, he licked from the center of his palm to the tip of his thumb. His head falling back as the blood coated his lips. A silver smile spreading across his face, revealing his fangs.

(a/n: miss Leila doesn't want him...but can I have him? 😋this is ultimate fan service for you guys, enjoy this.)

"Jimin! What the fuck?!" Leila screamed out, feeling so of kilter she wasn't sure if she imagined this entire interaction.

The male provided no explanation. His silence and the harsh breathing that rushed from her mouth, telling her everything she needed to know.

Leila thought back to his anger at her staying here when she first arrived to the territory. The first night, when she had been cut with glass, he had pressed himself into her cut. She had wondered why he had stared at it so intensely. Laughed when she'd asked if he had been Taehyung's lover. Had told her he had very different taste.

I am at the edge of cliff. The wind threatens to blow me into the sea. And I am not sure if I can swim.

I want to go back. But I am not sure he wants to come to shore.

The man finally makes eye contact with her, though his entire expression metamorphized. His eyes were soft, centered on her in a way she had never seen from him before. His voice without spirited splendor, just simple acceptance. Truth.

"Lavender." His smile was mournful as he gazed upon her. His usually biting voice impossibly tender. Like he was sharing with her a grave secret, "Always like lavender."

There. It was always there. That little plume of darkness that reminded her that once a little while ago it seemed as if something within him felt for her in ways that she couldn't fathom.

Realization froze her blood, a trickle of awareness halting her breath. Her wound pounded with her discouraged heart. She placed a hand on her stomach, stumbling back only slightly.

Shit. Shit, Jimin had fucking lied.

She had believed him before, when he said he felt nothing more than basic attraction. But in this moment, in this moment she knew she'd been fooled.

The lingering touches. She wasn't an idiot, and though he had respected her as her hand maid, he'd let his hands graze along her more than necessary. The biting quips and petty flirtations. The way his eyes would trail her across the room. The night they danced together and he revealed himself to know just how much he paid attention to her. He'd kissed her. Teased her. And as much as he urged her towards the prince, he seemed to want to pull her in the opposite direction.

It would explain his erratic behavior around her. His outbursts towards the prince.

He had feelings for her. Even before that night that she arrived.

Why? Why tell me now?

And that is why he wanted her gone. He didn't want the prince to have her. Did not want to watch it happen before his eyes, the petty man he is.

Shock consorted with deep skepticism. She eyed him carefully, watching as he remained still. So still he could have been molded from stone.

Could that be it?

If he had feelings for her, if they were deeper in any capacity, would that be enough to betray his friend? To betray her? Or maybe his guarded attempt to hide his feelings is the deception she'd been sensing. But then she almost snorted aloud. After being avoided for so long, it seemed incomprehensible that one man, let alone two would like her in any capacity.

Jimin? Betraying his best friend for her affections? That would be ridiculous.

To risk everything for a girl who thought love didn't exist.

It didn't matter. This is something he will get over.

It doesn't matter.

She kept repeating to herself. Even as he stared at her.

Stared at her like he would risk everything.

Leila decided to play the fool, no matter whether he believed it or not. Because she had already made her boundaries, and her feelings clear. She did not want to hurt his feelings, and she wasn't entirely sure if Jimin had any.

This could be something, or nothing.

So she decided to keep it as nothing. If she didn't acknowledge what he said, it wouldn't exist between them. Her breath trembled, just thinking of Taehyung's reaction if she were to tell him.

Knowing that there were worse punishments than death.

"I need to see the prince. Do you know where he headed?" Leila asked briskly, shoving her sleeve over her still bleeding arm. Avoiding his eyes, that questioned her every move.

He's just a rakish man. And she's just a pretty girl. These things happen.

It will go away.

He is my friend.

It will go away.

He would not betray the prince for her. No, he wouldn't. The thought alone was absurd and again a nervous chuckle bubbled in her throat. She could barely hide it, coughing as she moved to the storage door. Further away from him. From everything he had placed before her.

She placed her hand on the door knob, her head turned as she waited for a response. It remained quiet for a few more seconds, before the advisor filled the silence. Realizing that she was not going to ask him anymore questions.

Not even going to give him a chance.

"Why are you so..."He started, his injured voice cut across the air. Her shoulders lifted in a cringe, not wanting to know her effect on him.

She remembered the weeks of unrequited feelings for the prince. How his every avoidance of her was like a knife in the chest. She just begged, begged that is wasn't the same for Jimin. Because she could not offer him reprieve. Her heart belonged to another, who she desperately wished to see.

"Busy?"Leila tittered out, her hand slipping on the doorknob as she began to perspirate.

I need to get away from him.

She heard fabric rustle. As if the man shook his head.

"You're happy." The words came out monotone, but decisive.

Leila's pride got the best of her, as she turned back to him. Inquiring back in an icy tone that she hoped made it's target, "Is that so hard to believe?"

The fair skinned man flexed his hands, cocking his neck to side as he inspected her. Taking in the angry set of her jaw, the protection she veiled over the prince, even without his presence.

Jimin scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Losing some of his inhuman stillness.

"Because of him? Did he finally grow some balls and tell you how he truly feels." He swallowed deeply, his voice hoarse. Leila wondered if he referred to the prince, or himself. Though from his defensive stance, the repulsed curl of his lip, he would never admit it. He spoke again, "The prince has never been good with putting words to his feelings."

"I don't know Jimin, I think he does it quite beautifully. But some parts of him you're not supposed to see. Some parts of him are for just me, and me alone."

She turned, fleeing before she could see his reaction. But she still felt his gaze following her as she left the room. That icy feeling bit at her neck.

"You'll find him in the baths." He yelled after her, slamming the door.

Leila flinched at the sound, making her step falter. Her stomach folded in on itself, nausea. A heart wrenching fear clutching onto her.

She walked quickly, imagining Taehyung's voice in her ear to calm her thoughts. She took deep breaths in, letting her feet carry her to the familiar space.

Taehyung. I am going to see Taehyung.

Every second she was further away from the storage room calmed her. And soon enough, in the gray and black stoned hallway, the weight that settled on her chest finally lifted.

I can feel him.

As Leila drew closer to the prince her mood brightened. A smile spread across her face. One without reproach, or a worry in the world.

Knowing there was little she could do about the possible situation until later. She'd have to remain close to Jimin, gather enough evidence to either exonerate him or incapacitate him. For the prince loved him ever too much to believe that he would go that far. Leila's own heart barely believing it herself. She couldn't, she couldn't let herself go blind to those close to her once more.

Yet all thoughts of deceit, of anything else left her as she stood in front of the passage way to the bath area.

Her heart pounded so loudly, there was little else she could hear. Her own thoughts drowned out by her frenzied disposition. She thought of his laugh, his pretty words. Finally feeling them traced across her skin with his lips, and not ink across paper.

It had been only a few days, and again she was taken by just how much she missed him. A feeling that was more new to her than anything else. That the castle was barren without him, and home was with him.

I love him. I become more sure of it everyday. Like Sorina recognized the gaze of the king, I recognize the swell in Sorina's chest as she thought of him.

But does he feel the same?

She has to tell him. Everything.

Leila's hand shook slightly as she lifted her already wounded arm to stone, letting her enter. Taking the step towards him, that would change who they were forever.

She made her way inside, recognizing the sound of rushing water. Taking in the large columns and light marbled stone walls. The smell of fresh and salted water rushed her, electrifying her senses.

And then she saw him.

Oh, how she saw him. Leila couldn't help but bite her lips, her eyes taking him hungrily.

He is divine.

The prince of the eclipse sat with his back to her, broad shoulders gleaming wetly and golden in the light. His arms showed controlled definition, as they rested over the sides of the pool. Sinew stretching, dipping, water dropping in rivulets over his hard body. His lower half was hidden from her, but how she wished to see it. His raven hair was dripping wet, the ends curling around his veined neck as he rested it slightly to the side. His long fingers gripped the sides of the pool, rivers holding onto the silver of his rings. They would lift occasionally, tapping at harsh stone under him. Making the rest of his muscles flex, and move magnificently under the light.

A god.

Leila startled, when his deep voice caressed every part of her. Setting her alight with its sensual playfulness. Making her forget her own name.

"Ignis," Taehyung curled around his name for her, taking it into his mouth like how his tongue took her, "It is impolite to stare."

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(A/N: jimin is such a demon rn but he is SO FUN TO WRITE!

okay tea time I had no clue where I was going with his character until I wrote him in the carriage. And I was like damn, what if he's just terrible and he's pretending to be nice? I never imagined I'd create such an enticing villain with him and I'd love every second of it!

What do you think of what the deity told Jimin?

Now Leila is really waking up. Like yes m'am he's been drooling over you since before you arrived. Let's give her some grace though. She only experienced these things through the eyes of others, and was shunned. She's not going to catch every single emotion every time.

How do you think her knowing will change things?

Also there will def be more her / Setareh (she's such a Taurus)&Jeongguk / Lily / moments but we gotta deal with other things first...trust me there are more than enough chapters left to close up all ends <33333

How do you think Taehyung is going to react to the king and Sorina? On the next episode of Solace LOLL Also the next chapter is gonna be lets just say....the new spiciest chapter I have ever written. So stay excited for that!!!