The Turning

(Thirty-Four)

I.M stood in front of the large window. He stared at the glass shards scattered upon the windowsill. Gunhee was gone. His newest fledgling and their newest clan member was gone.

A heavy sigh escaped his lips. He hadn’t expected Gunhee to awake so quickly. It had only been an hour since their return to the penthouse. The image of Gunhee punching through the window kept repeating in his mind. He wished he could have stopped him.

“Hangil is no more.”

I.M clenched his fists, turning to face the last two council members. The last thing he wanted to do was listen to them speak. He had wanted to go after his fledgling but then the council arrived just as Gunhee left. Unfortunately, he had been stopped before he could go after Gunhee. 

“As the one who defeated Hangil, I made an announcement that there would be a transfer in leadership from Hangil to me,” Boram said. “Chorong will continue to work by my side.”

Shownu nodded.

“In a few days new negotiations will be discussed,” Boram said. “But for now, we will rebuild.”

Shownu nodded. “That is good to hear.”

“Why are you telling us all this?” I.M asked, arms crossed.

I.M wanted the council to leave their home. All he cared about was Gunhee. He didn’t know what was going through the new vampire’s head. Gunhee waking early worried him. I.M knew the new vampire wasn’t feral, but he still couldn’t help but worry about him.

Boram looked at him. “This is what you and your clan were fighting for. A new future, something better. That’s why I’m telling you this information.”

I.M frowned, eyes narrowed.

“You’ve done a great deal to help the plan along,” Boram said.

Kihyun scoffed, arms crossed as he sat on the couch. I.M glanced at him. He could hear the disgust in Kihyun’s voice. He couldn’t blame him. Boram was aggravating to listen to at the moment. He glanced around the room, analyzing the rips in his clan members’ clothing and the holy water burns on their skin. It was clear they had been through a lot.

Kihyun leaned forward. “You mean we’ve suffered a great deal to help your plan along. There are so many things you left out as if our thoughts on the matter didn’t occur to you.”

“Vampire kind and humankind were in danger,” she said. “The plan was carefully created. However, there had been a last-minute interference from I.M, so my sister and I had to devise a new plan based on what was happening at the moment. Despite this last-minute change, everything was necessary to get to even that point. Perhaps, the last-minute change was what we needed to win in the end.”

“Necessary?” Kihyun asked, eyes narrowed. “You should have thought of a better plan. I watched my clan suffer a lot. You tortured Hyungwon, nearly got Jackson killed, kept I.M at the council, set a building on fire with our new member Jooheon inside, and caused our clan so much unwanted pain. Two humans nearly died because of you. And you want to say everything was necessary to my face.”

“Kihyun,” Shownu said, shaking his head.

The shorter vampire quieted.

“You feel insignificant,” she said. “But I assure you, this victory wouldn’t have happened without every single one of you. Sacrifices had to be made and I will not apologize for it.”

I.M narrowed his eyes. “Why did you come here? We have more important things to do then look at you both.”

Shownu reached out, calming him with a small burst of reassurance through the bond. I.M sighed, taking a seat on the couch by their leader. I.M guessed Shownu was trying to make sure they didn’t cause trouble. Honestly, I.M wished he could throw the council out.