ELVEN | K.TH

20

RINEI

Cold.

I wake up to the sound of glass shattering.

Someone's tugging me upwards. In the darkness I can't see his face clearly, but I can tell it's Jungkook. His eyes burn with silent agony.

Jungkook...?

"Get up." He growls, his voice sharpened for the first time. "Now, Rinei. Now."

The sound of shattering glass continues. It's coming from the other side of the house, where Mother and Father sleeps together.

I jerk out of the blankets. The moment I do, I'm stunned by the harsh way my brother's hands wrap around my waist, placing me on top of the small cabinet. Then I realize where I'd felt the cold come from— he'd opened the window, and gusts of chilly wind was rushing into the room.

"Go. Go."

I don't understand.

But I do what he says. I jump out of the window using the cabinet, landing in the forest grounds just behind our house.

Jungkook soon follows.

What's happening?

Mother. Father. I sign, my face pale. What about them? Are they okay, Jungkook? Are they—

He doesn't answer me. He only pulls me deeper in, into the woods where he'd warned me countless times to never wander. The trees soon surround us, the darkness, only lit by the light of the moon.

He just keeps pulling me in.

Jungkook!

Finally, I stop him. My entire body's trembling, and I look up at him with terrified eyes. Only then do I see his own eyes, full of tears. His face is ashen, stone cold with pain.

Tell me what's going on. I sign, desperately. Please.

"It's the elves."

...elves?

His voice is a dark, hushed whisper. Every word trembles, even though he tries to keep it still.

"They shot arrows, through the windows."

So that had been the glass shattering. I immediately whip around, my eyes wide. My hands flash rapidly.

Then what are we doing here? We need to go back and get Mother and Father, Jungkook! Are you out of your mind?

But he stays silent. And slowly my hands stop signing, slowly falling back next to my sides.

No.

Please. No.

I'm going back. I sign, my bottom lip shaking violently as I turn around. But then he grips my wrist, holding me back. And I know, then and there.

...stop.

Stop. Please.

A sob rips from my throat, coming out of my lips as an ugly, twisted sound.

It isn't true.

"I'm sorry." He whispers. "They're gone. I got to you— got to you right after I saw the arrows. I was so scared, so scared that they'd come for your room next. Your window."

Tears run down my brother's cheeks. He grips my shoulders, and his hands are shaking like leaves in the autumn wind.

"Rinei, I couldn't do a single thing. They were so fast. So quick— I had to get you out, before...before..."