CONTINUED
Four roses and four minutes left before she met Yoongi in the courtyard.
The ball was already in full swing and an hour remained. Four men, one hour. Fifteen minutes with each. It was doable.
Grey exited the main ballroom through a patio door with Rin's marking on her skin a distant memory. Taehyung's kiss made her forget about everything, really.
The garden's venue was rather intimate. Green hedge bushes directed her down a cobblestone path. Crystal beads acted as curtains underneath floral arches entwined with fairy lights. Alabaster water fountains bordered the stones, the soft patter of water sounding just as loud as her shoes against the rocks. At the end of the winding road, a gazebo overgrown with blue flowers stood tall and lonely.
She leaned on it's railing and waited.
And waited.
And waited.
Grey did not have a watch, but she had a general sense for time. At least ten minutes had passed and there was no sign of him. She tightened her fingers around the roses, not wanting to believe that she would still have one left by the end of the night. She had already apologized to him and gotten him a gift to make it up. Maybe he never received it? Maybe he didn't care? What else could she do for him if he didn't want to speak to her?
Swallowing her regret, Grey was on her way back to the ballroom when an oval of black smoke clouded her peripheral. Yoongi stepped from the darkness, shadows still clinging to his all-black tuxedo.
"Sorry I'm late. I don't give a shit about global trade but that didn't make them shut their mouths about it."
She welcomed his cold front. "You came."
"I had to fight my way out, but I'm here. You have ten minutes to talk." Gosh, his apathy was so unforgiving. Did he ever smile?
"Listen, I shouldn't have barged into your room. I saw things that I was not supposed to see. It was your moment, and I invited myself to it."
He blinked, unfazed. "You're right. It was stupid."
"Okay, I give you that," she said quickly before he could jab her again. "I was stupid."
"You were."
She glared. "I get it. But there's more to it."
He crossed his arms, a gesture yelling at her to continue. So, she tried. "I don't typically feel music. I love it and I listen to it all the time, but I've never heard it before."
Yoongi's obsidian stare pinned her to her spot like a snake threatening to strike if she misstepped. Hostility radiated from his posture, his permanent scowl.
"I heard you when you played. I don't know. I can't explain it. There was a message and a story and it was so familiar that it pained me to listen but I couldn't turn away. It hypnotized me and it opened scars that I've been trying to close for years."
He rolled his eyes. "You heard nothing. Forget that it ever happened if you know what's good for you."
"Don't do that to me," she snapped, her outburst making him flinch. "Don't push me away. All I want to do is talk to you. It's okay to have emotions, you know. It's okay to be hurt. It's okay to let someone help you when you're upset."
He grimaced. "You think you can help?" His chuckle was ominous, emotionless. "Stay in your spoiled place and spare me from the savior talk. You can't save anyone. Get the hell off your high horse, Princess. The others might deal with this shit, but I'm not someone you can toy with. Stay out of my business."
Huh?
"Is that what you think I'm doing? Toying with you?"
Yoongi shrugged as though it was commonplace. Like he didn't care. And what killed her the most was that it was so agonizingly familiar that she felt like she was staring at herself in the mirror. He said, "Give up already."
Lowering her voice, calming her shaking fists she said, "Shut up."
"Excuse me?"
"Shut. The. Hell. Up." Her back straightened and blood rushed to her temples. Slowly, she dug into him. "You're afraid. You're scared of letting people in so you scare them away before they get too close."
"Enough," Yoongi sighed.
She made him look at her by stepping into his view after he turned to the side. "I don't know anything about your past, but I know I did this same thing after my parents passed away. I was like you, running everybody off and at the end of the day remaining alone. And guess what? They didn't come back to life and no one came back for me besides Amelia. The girl in the hospital? She came back for me. And I'm so blessed to have someone to pull me from that hole."
Tears welled beneath Grey's eyelids but she willed them not to fall. She would not crack before him. "I was only thirteen when I attended their funerals. They were buried right next to each other in a rose garden and I watched them sink into the ground. I was the last one to leave the cemetery. My heart hardened. I would not eat, I did not sleep, I would not speak for months after and when I did it was to lash out at everyone reaching for me--everyone trying to revive the part of me that I swore died alongside them.
"I held the guilt, Yoongi. Because I survived the wreck and they didn't. It almost destroyed me."
Her voice broke. "Your song reminded me of that but you know already that hardening your heart doesn't work. It just hurts more."
She was breathing hard, flushed, and raging. Even so, she was proud. Years ago the memory would have caused her to bring this gazebo to the ground. Ruin this entire ball and the happiness that came with it because she was not happy and she would have wanted the world to feel that same grief. Now, it was her release.
His silver earring swung like a pendulum as he looked to the floor. "I didn't know that."
"Yeah, no shit you didn't. I see right through you. You want me to hide from you, and I won't. You don't scare me and there's nothing you can say to make me feel small because you don't mean it. You spit it out, but you don't mean it. We won't always understand each other, but I want to be here for you. And you might not ever be free from this pain, but if I have the power to do anything, I will use it."
Grey pushed the rose onto his chest, adding an extra shove for the sake of frustration. "So take my damn rose and let me in! I like you. Stop making this so hard."
He plucked the flower from her grasp. Black waves engulfed the wounded prince, his frame becoming part of the shadows in the garden. Somehow, she heard his voice carry over the wind.
"Fine."
:::
Her conversation with Yoongi was draining, but it kept her hopeful. She'd break down those damn walls eventually. Even if it meant getting a bit scratched up in the process. Or bitten. Or kicked. Hell, she'd kick him back.
Relentless dancers enjoyed the last few minutes until midnight. While she planned her revenge, she lived through their movements since she couldn't dance herself.
"You look like you're ready to sleep or fight."
Grey shrugged. Yes, she still had an edge about her and no, she had not yet completely recovered. Namjoon read her eyes like he was reading a book. She didn't know what he was detecting, but she wouldn't mind if he figured out what troubled her.
If he discovered it or not, he didn't let her know. "Can I take some of the burden off your shoulders?"
"How do you plan on doing that?" Maybe he didn't know that there was a lot of it. Maybe he didn't care how much it was. He pulled up a chair next to her and Grey noticed then that he had a walking stick. She raised an eyebrow and pointed to it. "Are you injured?"
He shook his head, tapping the cane twice as he sat down. "Fashion risk."
"I love how bold you are."
He seemed surprised by her compliment, a small smile growing on his face. "Thank you, Grey. Let's get back to you. What can I do to make you feel better?" He leaned forward, relentless gaze studying and taking cues.
"You said you don't need a pen and paper to do some things, right? Tell me more about your... powers."
He said, "I work with probabilities, percentages, equations as they arise. I read people and I memorize the details people forget."
"So, you're brilliant?"
Namjoon shook his head. "I'm quick on my feet."
"Do you like being able to read people? You do it all the time and whenever I see you you've got a book. I love to read too, but why are you always in paperbacks?"
"I like to study people. Humans help me learn, but really books do something different that brings learning to an entirely new level. They keep me emotionally alive and they're the one thing I have a choice in engaging. When I observe anything my brain never stops working. When I read, all I do is read."
Wow. No wonder he looked like he was busy disproving theories and creating conspiracies about the seven wonders of the world when he was doing the mundane like making eggs in the morning or relaxing in the living room. That rapid firing in his brain was probably exhausting, but he still was enthusiastic about learning. She asked, "If you go through that all day, when do you feel the most at peace?"
He hesitated, eyes peering up at the ceiling in thought, then finding Grey. "I'm not sure yet."
"That must be difficult."
"Knowledge comes with a price."
She handed him a flower from her pile on the table. "My rose costs nothing."
He smelled it when it was in his hands and he gently lied it across his lap. "But there's meaning behind it," he furrowed his brow, blinking furiously, "Wait. How did you end up directing this conversation?"
She crossed her arms and shrugged. "Did your superhuman brain ever stop to think I want to learn about you too? You're far more intriguing than I am. And I'm forgiving you for lying to me in the library."
Namjoon laughed. A genuine, nerdy laugh. "I'm sorry. I didn't think I would see you again."
"You're forgiven," she smiled and stood from her seat, "and thanks to you I already feel refreshed."
An eager voice sliced through Namjoon's response. All high cheekbones and shimmying shoulders, Hoseok reached between Namjoon and Grey to snatch a rose from the table. "These flowers are amazing, don't you guys think?"
Namjoon and Grey exchanged glances, amusement on both of their faces. Hoseok raised an eyebrow like he missed the inside joke. "What's so funny?"
Namjoon pushed off his walking stick to stand up. He took Grey's hand and kissed the back of it. "If you need me, find me."
While he disappeared in the crowd, Hoseok shrugged. "Have you danced?"
"No, I've been pretty busy--,"
He bowed dramatically, offering her a hand while timidly staring at the floor. "Would you do me the honor?"
"I've never waltzed before," she admitted, placing her palm in his.
"You never flew before either. I can teach you how." The pair wandered to the center of the dance floor. One of his hands snaked around her waist. The other one cupped hers. She laced her fingers into his the way she'd seen it done in movies. The violin and harp began a new song.
"You look beautiful tonight." He took a step forward, she took one back. She mimicked his movements, keeping time to the rhythm shakily at first and then steadily when she realized the steps were repetitive and numbered.
She grinned. "Thank you. How long have you been dancing?"
He lifted his hand and she spun. "For as long as I can remember. It seems the same way for you, you're a natural."
"You're a great leader."
He chuckled, pulling her closer to his chest. There was something about his grace and poise that made this moment together effortless and seamless. Like they had always been here together in one another's arms, dancing. He was so wonderful that she stopped thinking about the steps. She stopped teetering on two left feet and fell under his control. He helped her glide, and he helped her fly, and he helped her smile. He always made her smile.
"Hoseok?"
"Hm?" He could not take his eyes off her.
"Do you ever feel like you fit well with someone? Like that person kind of fills in pieces of you and makes you better overall?"
The song was coming to a close, definitive strokes from cellos and the banging of drums signaling the last few seconds. It was ending surprisingly fast, and while she waited for his answer, she frowned because she didn't want to pull away.
"I have felt that before, but I haven't found the person I can always share that with."
Over the crescendo she said, "A soulmate. You're looking for a soulmate."
Grey barely heard his reply as applause roared through the main floor. The chamber musicians bowed politely towards the audience then flipped to a different page in their music books.
The lights cut out. Pitch black smothered the ball. Gasps and screams filled the air.
A feminine voice barked, "Silence. Cue the lights."
Chandeliers and string lights flickered back on one by one. A woman in a tight black dress was centered on stage. A cape of black lace fanned out behind her, and when she placed her hands on her curvy hips, black glitter shimmered over all the skin left exposed by the scandalous design.
Though her nails, outfit, and gems were blacker than ink, her mask was bone white. Her sultry voice carried over the ballroom as though it was no larger than a broom closet as she addressed the men and women on the front ends of the dance floor.
"Make room for our guest of honor, humans."
The crowd parted like the sea, creating a straight line that widened until Grey had clear sight of the stage. Hoseok positioned himself as a shield in front of her, holding his hands out to the side to form a barricade. Cold hands pressed through Grey's puffy sleeves and pulled her backwards into a solid wall. Grey raised an eyebrow at Jin who was holding her from behind. His jaw clenched and his eyebrows furrowed angrily.
Grey could not move and neither could any of the other guests. Like her, they were immersed in the gorgeous sound of the woman's voice. The only difference was that shock rendered Grey immobile while the eyes of the crowd were glazed over, unresponsive.
The lady's scarlet lips curled into a feline smile, her golden eyes setting Grey ablaze through the mask. "I was right to think crashing your tea party would be too easy."
Hoseok growled, fists balling. "You weren't invited for a reason."
His insult fell down the masked woman's back like water. She ignored him like he was merely a child. "I'm your midnight entertainment whether you like it or not."
Rin had emphasized midnight, insisted that Grey had to be at the show to witness the performer. The fiery hair, the attitude. All of it was ringing a bell but she couldn't place a name to her face. She'd met this woman somewhere. If only she could recall...
Yoongi winnowed next to Grey. "Last time I checked you didn't have a talent."
She tossed a bit of her straight crimson hair over her shoulder. "My talent is kicking your ass but that's gotten boring. I'm not here for you, I'm here for the girl."
"Vanity, before you do anything dangerous evacuate the building." Namjoon pushed through the mass of bodies until he was at the forefront. "No one needs to get hurt."
Vanity. That's her name.
Vanity made a show of taking a deep breath that seemed to last for eternity. "Under one condition: I speak directly to her. All of you stay out of it."
Jungkook shouted from the top of the staircase. "Don't agree to those terms! She's a Siren! Let her talk and we don't know what we'll get!"
Namjoon blinked at the youngest, whirling back to Vanity who rolled her eyes.
"Your choice, Joonie. My soldiers and I don't mind having sparring practice with your sheep."
Namjoon's knuckles were white as he squeezed the walking stick. "Get everyone out, now."
Vanity commanded the venue as a general would command her underlings. "Grab your things and leave. Do not re-enter this room for any reason lest you want a blade lodged in your skull. For the sake of Seokjin's reputation, give raving reviews about the party. It was a blast until the very end."
People left the room in droves. They herded the exit, squeezing and calmly stampeding over the threshold like mindless automatons made of bolts and gears.
Jin glowered. "You're so kind to consider me."
"I know." Vanity smirked. "But would you hush? We made a deal." Jin's hands slid down Grey's upper arms to her forearms.
He was tall enough to speak clearly over the human girl's head. "Lay a finger on her and you'll answer to me."
"Keep talking and you'll answer to my army." Vanity put two fingers to her lips and whistled.
First came shadows on both walls of the corridors. Attached to them were skeletons with paper skin. Grey could recognize them with her eyes closed. Rows of irkans stormed the corridors and funneled onto the main ballroom floor surrounding the angels and Grey. An entire legion of nightmares. Bone wings, iron claws, dripping jaws snarled a few meters away. Some of them had rows of teeth or metal spikes sticking from their spines. Some of them had snake tongues and reptilian eyes and webbed fingers.
All seven angels faced the rallying demons, fists raised or weapons drawn. Her friends had gone from business associates to Anaphiel.
Vanity smiled at Grey with a psychopath's crazed kindness. "I want to talk to you woman to woman. No combat, no unnecessary bloodshed, no death. I'll give you a chance to respond on your own, but you will answer. Also, you look a bit slow so if you're taking too long or if these pathetic men get in my way I have what you can consider extra motivation."
Vanity snapped her fingers, searching for something over Grey's shoulder. "Rin! If you can come here for a second."
Rin?
Dread clawed down Grey's back at the sight of Rin marching towards Vanity. The peppy bounce to her walk vanished, replaced with uniform discipline. Vanity snatched the girl's neck, nails sinking into the skin and drawing a thin stream of blood. Rin's head was slowly turning in an unnatural angle. Vanity was still squeezing it, threatening to snap her thin neck.
Grey's voice broke. "Don't hurt her!"
The evil woman giggled and tossed Rin's body like she was a rag doll. Grey's coworker crumpled to the floor. "Interesting. You spoke up for her. Typically, humans sacrifice because they care for other people that don't give a rat's ass about them. I wonder, would Rin do the same for you?"
Grey struggled to find her answer. A coffee run and some chance encounters in the office didn't warrant an answer to that.
"I don't know."
Vanity's laugh was as mesmerizing as a bird's song. "Pitiful. Anyway, while I would normally call your whining noble, it's your weakness. It gives your secret away."
Grey raised her voice. "Wanting to save someone from pain is not weakness."
Vanity clicked her tongue. "To want to save anything at all takes nobility. Goodwill. Both principles are rooted in love. Love wipes useless species like yours off the map. You should be more like me if you want to survive."
"A murderous bitch?"
Vanity's eyes widened and the demons screeched. From Grey's peripheral, Jin's neck craned back in shock; the corner of Yoongi's lip twitched upwards. Ahead of her, the woman took off her mask and tossed it on the floor. She was the most beautifully scorned woman Grey had ever seen.
"I'm a skeptic." Vanity's hips switched as she sauntered towards Grey. In her heels, the Siren had to be a few inches taller. "I don't believe everything I'm told. I don't assume honesty or the best in people. Idiots with pure hearts do that."
Grey involuntarily hid her ring behind her skirts. Vanity hissed, "I already saw it. Don't hide it from me. I know an aura ring from miles away."
Realizing that the distance between them lessened by the second, Grey began to panic. "What do you want with me?"
Vanity rolled up her sleeves. "Your heart."
The ballroom doors flew open. A gust of power strong enough to make Seoul quake blew Grey's hair and dress back from the impact. A dark shadow stepped into the light. It was a man with silver hair and luminous green eyes. He wore a loose button-up shirt and slacks with his hands clasped behind his back.
His glare radiated authority. The regal squaring of his shoulders demanded the attention of all in the room. "You thought taking a pure heart would be this easy?"
Grey didn't think it was possible, but fear struck the immortal's expression as she beheld the new guest. In disbelief, Vanity said, "Nico?"
The man that must have been Nico walked down the steps, not cowering from her gaze.
Grey caught Vanity's next words over the rapid beating of her heart. "You're alive?"
The demons barked at Nico, clawing at his sleeves and hissing when they discovered that the faint glow around him burned their talons. The irkans parted, allowing Nico to pause somewhere behind Grey. "Amor vincit omnia, Vanity."
Vanity visibly winced, then stood tall like his presence didn't make a difference. "You aren't in your true form. All this time on Earth must have weakened you."
Nico shrugged. "Either way there are eight of us and one of you after we finish your demonic creations. I discourage you from touching Grey."
How did he know her name?
Vanity contemplated his threat. At least twenty-five of her soldiers circled Anaphiel and Grey's new savior. From the human girl's calculations, it would take the angels a good amount of minutes to plow through them, but there would be nothing stopping Nico from reaching the Siren. Grey figured Vanity must have realized that. The sides were evenly matched.
But for Grey, there was still one advantage that the men did not have. One piece they miscounted on the board.
"Rin," Vanity said. The bundle of pink lace on the ground stirred and came to Vanity like a servant. Vanity used one arm to hold Rin to her body and dug one sharp nail into the skin below Rin's ear.
Grey stomped her foot, her mask falling from her nose to the floor. "Stop doing that!"
The Siren laughed, her nail dragging a bit across Rin's throat. She smiled at Nico, then at Grey. "If I can't have your heart, then give me the ring."
No. The aura ring belonged to her. She'd grown dependent on it. Attached to the safety it provided. Taking it off meant putting herself on the list of targets again.
Taehyung's shout rang through the main floor. "Don't do it!"
"Let Grey know how you feel," Vanity said to Rin. The girl that was hijacked by Vanity's power began to squirm in the immortal's grip. Her breathing was shallow, doe eyes wide in panic as her neck would not move. Rin's piercing scream tore at Grey's heart.
Grey yelled from her stomach. "Let her go!"
"The ring."
She yanked the jewelry from her finger and threw it at Vanity. The Siren caught it with her free hand.
"I don't get it," Vanity said to Nico, "why are you and the princes protecting this girl? It's not like any of you care whether she lives or dies."
"Because it is the right thing to do," Nico said. "She did not ask to be involved in this."
"No way!" Vanity put her free hand on her hip, offering everyone in the room besides Grey a knowing smile. "I think I see it now. This is how you plan to get back to the Eternal Realm? This is how you're going to break the curse of the Fallen? By true love's confession?"
The Siren snorted. "I know that the ways back home are limited, but I didn't think you'd all be stupid enough to invest your hopes in a human."
The curse? True love's confession? The terms swirled around Grey's head, biting at her intuition to ask what it meant. No one told her about a curse or anything having to do with love.
Nico's calm demeanor faltered. "Vanity--,"
Grey interrupted. "What is she talking about?" Since she didn't know Nico, she turned to Jin.
Seokjin shook his head. "It's not what you think."
Grey asked the angel as he approached. "What's going on? What's this curse?"
Jin grabbed her elbows, searching her eyes. "You have to trust me. It's not what you think."
"She doesn't know?" Vanity pointed an inquisitive finger at Grey while directing her question to Seokjin. "No one told her you guys are using her?"
Using me? Grey ripped her elbows away from Seokjin, glowering at Vanity. "Tell me what you know. Tell me!"
"There's a curse on every angel that Falls," Vanity began. Jin made a move to charge her, Yoongi appeared before him and put a hand on his chest. The Siren went on, "Their powers remain and they have a chance to return to glory but they turn Dark if left on corrupted Earth for too long without retribution or atonement for their sins. The Darkening process varies for all of us, but three consequences are the same.
"We remain immortal without natural wings, our nature changes from morally good to the human principle of free will, and we forfeit the ability to feel love or the emotions attached to it."
They forfeit the ability to feel love.
"To the Fallen, love does not exist."
The world was slowing around Grey, screeching to a complete stop.
"What does that mean?"
"Grey, they feel nothing for you."