cloaked hearts↝ᵇˡᵃᶜᵏᵗᵃⁿ

09

𝐑 • 𝐏

━━━━━

Three months. It took Park Jimin three months. Three months to create an image on Alynthi's people. One month, and he snapped back. Two months and he had every girl in Alynthi wrapped around his finger. Three months and, it seemed, he had forgotten all about the girl who had saved him from being steaked.

"I'm going to tell him." Jennie announces out loud. "You are not. At least not yet." I say quickly.
"And you're going to stop me?" A grin I know so well forms on her lips. "There are better reasons out there to duel on, love," I reply, she laughs light-heartedly.

"A week. At least a week, I want to see him with a black eye." She says eagerly. I roll my eyes. "You're getting worked up over a vampire? How unlikely of you, Ruby." I bat my lashes at her.

"Ladies." A voice purred from behind us. It was a voice of shadows and of whatever lurked within, most quivered at it.

"Draven," I breathed out, he hovered in the air. I stepped forward, almost forgetting about the vampire we had been spying on while gossiping about Alynthi's people.

"Oh look, it's oh-so-powerful Dravie." Jennie muses, a bit annoyed but she hides it well. But it wasnt as if Draven hadnt noticed it. The male chuckled, the deep voice sending shivers down my spine.

Finally planting his feet on the rooftop, he says, "Quick to remind me why I like you so much." He winks at her, Jennie's mouth curled up; he was one of the few she liked. Sometimes.

"So, why have we been graced by your presence?"

"What? I cannot visit my lovely sister whenever I feel like it? You wound me, Firecrown. Surely, you have something to say about this, Roseanne?" He looks at me with a shit-eating grin as I hug him, a shadow curled around my neck; a gesture that I had gotten to love. His shadows spreading but not coming closer to you always meant bad. They had slithered around me the day we met. *They find you intriguing*he had said that day. I had snorted, missing his punch by only a few inches. *I don't get distracted that easily, love*I had yelled as my blow had landed on his jaw. It had been purple for the rest of the afternoon as I couldn't stop smiling.

"Is that the vampire?" He says with a laugh, the interest obvious.

"Don't. Be. An. Ass." I nudge him in his ribs hard enough, a technique that would make any other opponent struggle to breathe for the rest of their lives. He chuckles at my attempt, I silently slither my fingers across his wings. A groan leaves his mouth as he creates distance between us, moving closer to Jennie. Wings are very sensitive.

He gives me a knowing look, engaging conversation about how he handed the Fae their asses a week ago, Jennie snorts.

My hand unknowingly goes to the necklace around my neck as I continue my search for my client, the silver chain glints under the moonlight with an unusual glow.

"You promised to stop." His voice is low as I meet his gaze. The atmosphere had changed, the warmth i had felt gone, the temperature dropping. He has moved from Jennie who suddenly seems to find the damp floor interesting. "You expect me to?" The words sound harsher than I intended but he heard the meaning behind them anyway.

Silence. And a heartbeat later-

"Interesting." And that was it. He knew didn't want to talk about it. His gaze doesn't lighten, though that smile again played about his sensuous mouth as if the hinted conversation never happened. Pretending; it was easy, so so easy. I could pretend this conversation never happened. I could pretend my brother hadn't gone missing. I could pretend I wasn't dying inside. I could pretend the magic-desperately seeking a way out-I had been shoving down, stomping on wasn't killing me, making me weak by the second. I could pretend the fire that simmered inside me wasn't the only reason I was alive and breathing.