ggukath
made this amazing trailer for this book! please go watch it, i am in love 💜
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It was dark wherever you were. And cold. You lifted your hands to try and cover your arms, but the sound of metal clinking together stopped you. You tried to blink and adjust to the darkness, barely making out the outline of cuffs around your wrists.
Panic set in you, and you tried to scramble to your feet, but they were bound too. Your breathing increased and you felt like you were suffocating in the darkness. What was happening?
"Help! Someone!" You cried, attempting again to stand up. On wobbly legs, you noticed the metal bars, shedding the tiniest amount of light. You managed to get over there, leaning against the bars as you shook them. "Hello? Is anyone there?"
"Be quiet," a gruff voice spoke, his voice echoing through the dark corridor. "King Alatar will be back to see you."
You cowered back, sitting on the ground again as you pondered your situation. There was no way out of here. You were stuck, no keys, not even the guard would show his face to you. You felt around your pockets, feeling for the map that you always kept on you, sighing in relief as you felt its familiarity.
It seemed to radiate energy now. It was like you could feel the magic it held. Footsteps were loud as they walked over to where you were held and you scowled as you saw it was Alatar again. His hands were clasped behind his back and he was wearing a midnight blue robe with white stars, making him shimmer even in the darkness.
"Where am I?" You asked loudly.
"Why, in Empyrean of course."
"And my friends?"
A deep laugh echoed throughout the cell. "Friends?" He spat. "You really think they're your friends? A bunch of supernatural creatures able to kill a mere human with their bare hands." His laugh was now menacing. "No. They won't be coming for you." He turned to walk away.
"Namjoon will," you said, watching as his steps faltered slightly. He turned back around, furrowing his eyebrows.
"My son works only for me. You may think he's on your side but he isn't." He waved a hand to the guards. "Make sure no one comes in or out, guard her. I'll be needing something she owns later."
You sighed in defeat. Maybe he was right, Jimin had snapped at you before you left. You weren't sure how much time had passed, but you were sure the others weren't looking for you.
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Night had passed and the sun had finally begun to rise. Yoongi was awake, not sleeping at all in the first place, watching carefully as the sun rose. Everyone had slept in the same spot, not wanting to miss any chance of the portal coming back. Yoongi felt impatient, what if you were being tortured?
Namjoon woke next, rubbing his eyes as the sun streamed through the gaps in the trees. He noticed Yoongi's harsh stare and just rolled his eyes. "We'll go when the others wake up."
"No," Yoongi said. "We'll wake them now, there's no time to waste."
But he didn't have to wake anyone up, the sun was bright enough to cause everyone to stir, Hoseok relishing in the warmth as he stretched. "Are we ready?" He said, eager to get going. Jungkook yawned, but nodded.
"We're ready, it'll be easy. All we have to do is use the sun and then we'll be transported." Everyone nodded.
"Sounds like a plan," Jin said. Jimin took in a deep breath and began concentrating on the morning sun, Jungkook joining him. Both brothers almost in a trance as they gathered as much magic as they could to be able to transport all seven of them.
"Okay, we're ready—" Jimin turned around to see no one, Jungkook following him, pausing at the sight of the empty clearing. "Where'd they go?"
"Taehyung?" Jungkook called, quickly walking back to the clearing by the lake. "Namjoon! Yoongi! Where are you guys?"
Jimin gasped and walked over to a shiny object, quickly picking it up. "Jin's necklace," he murmured. He turned to Jungkook, his eyes shiny. "They're gone."
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"Let go of me!" A familiar voice rang through the corridor, making your ears perk up. You shuffled as best you could to the entrance of your cell. Your body felt weak, your map being the only sense of comfort you had. "Don't touch me."
"Be quiet." It was the guard's voice with someone else. Someone whose voice tended to sound happy and cheerful.
"Hobi," you weakly called out. "Hobi!" You were louder this time and you could see three figures coming towards you. The cell across from yours was unlocked and Hoseok got thrown inside, banging on the bars.
"You'll pay for this." The guards just snickered and left, leaving Hoseok angry.
"Hobi," you called out again, your voice comforting.
"Resi?" His voice was slightly shaky and you felt a stab of sadness. Did they hurt him? "Is it actually you?"
"Yes, it's me, Hobi. What happened?" He slumped down onto the ground, you could make out his figure in the dark. Flashbacks of being held in a cell ages ago went through your mind. It was happening again.
"Well," he breathed in. "After you went through the portal, it disappeared, we couldn't do anything expect wait for the sun. So we did, and everything was going well, Jimin and Jungkook were getting its magic. Then—" he cut himself off, letting out a sigh. "I watched as Jin collapsed to the ground, then Yoongi, then Taehyung. Then I saw Namjoon looking at me, then blackness. When I woke up, I was outside this place, the others are nowhere to be found."
You could hear the sadness in his voice and desperately wished you could reach out and comfort him. "It'll be okay, Hobi. We'll get out of here. I promise." He nodded, but stayed silent.
Footsteps broke the silence and you stiffened, so did Hoseok. It was a different guard this time, he was carrying a parcel. "Put this on. Orders from the King." He threw it at you and you flinched.
"How? My arms and legs are bound."
He groaned and quickly unlocked the cell, undoing your hand cuffs, but left your feet still bound together. You massaged your wrists and unwrapped the parcel as the door was locked once again, the guard retreating.
You pulled out a pure white dress. The top half was a corset with white fabric streaming out through the bottom. Lace lined the edge of the corset and you wrinkled your nose in confusion. Hoseok was watching from the other side, the whiteness of the outfit standing out in the dark. "A dress?"
You hummed. "I wonder why." Deciding to cooperate, you quickly undressed, face heating up in the dark as Hoseok was across from you. You were sure he could see. You slipped the dress on, feeling slightly freaked out as it fit you perfectly. You tucked the map in your bra. The corset sucked you in and you coughed awkwardly. "I hope this is not for perverted reasons."
"Better not be," Hoseok growled as he eyed your form. "You look like an angel." You giggled as he smiled, happy expressions dropping as footsteps came back again.
"Good," the guard simply said, unlocking your cell, reattaching the handcuffs. "Come with me."
It wasn't like you had a choice. You sent Hoseok a knowing look. I'll get us out of here. He smiled bitterly, his form slumping against the wall of the cell as soon as you left. You were all in a foreign area now, who knows what could happen.
The guard took you through many winding corridors, until the bright sun blinded you, making you squint. He kept dragging you along, and you noticed you were heading back inside a building. A big one.
The halls were covered in art, many paintings of people, landscapes, some were quite disturbing. Skulls, blood, torture. A silver and purple flag hung against the walls as well. You weren't in Empyrean.
The guard pushed open two doors, entering into a ballroom. It was bigger than the one at the mansion where the ball was. A piano was in the corner and to your left sat three thrones. Two were occupied, one empty.
Your stomach twisted at the sight of a familiar figure in one of the thrones, sitting next to his father, clad in deep purple robes with silver. He looked handsome, but you were too hurt to focus on that right now.
"You look wonderful, dear," Alatar's cold voice rang out through the room. You ignored him though, eyes focused on the other person.
"Namjoon," you hissed out.
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