Darker Blood

Chapter sixty-five

Jungkook pov~

"Don't even think about it."

Jin's harsh voice cut me off before my knuckles even rattled against the wood of the ajar doorway, and I let my hand fall.

"They're just finishing up the ice, are you sure you don't want to go out?"

His teeth grinded together so hard that the sound filled the air. "Quite."

I walked through the partially open door anyway, gently placing the small bouquet of lilies on the side of his desk. The back of his head dropped a little in the chair facing the wall, cracks and watermarks adorning the delicate plaster.

"They're white ones."

He responded with silence and I looked around awkwardly, contemplating leaving already.

"Well, I'll go out and tell them not to wait for-"

"As noble as your actions were, breaking into the institute to rescue us, it was foolish."

I swallowed. "I know."

"You could have gotten yourself killed."

"I know."

He paused to take in a breath before holding it in his lungs, contemplating whether he should speak again or not. "You really love her, don't you?"

"Yes," my voice softened as a worried weight pressed down on top of my chest. "I really do. Are you doubting how I feel?"

"No," his voice was quick and sharp, crushing my suspicion. "I wanted to apologise for biting her without her consent."

Well, it's not really an apology unless you use the words 'I'm sorry'.

He huffed as his fangs twisted into a slight snarl. "I'm getting to that part, midget."

I backtracked, talking quickly to cover the sound of my feet retreating to the hollow safety of the doorway, my arm throbbing at the recollection of how he snapped it the last time we had a little 'disagreement'. "Listen, it's okay really, I know they forced you to do it, and she seems to be okay with it, so-"

"I'm sorry."

I froze where I was, staring at the chair he was hiding behind. "I know," I whispered.

His head dropped completely out of my view, and by the quiet gasps escaping his mouth, I could only guess he was crying again. I waited there, exactly where I was until he had calmed down enough.

"It's not your fault that he's gone, nor Ivy. It's theirs. They just targeted the innocent ones. There was nothing more that you could have done."

He didn't answer right away, and I finally turned away, only half-through the doorway to the forest before I finally heard him speak.

"I know," his soft voice uttered, sniffling as he held himself tighter in the solitary chair.

Inori pov~

I rubbed my fingers together over the flame, the warmth only just gently touching my skin as if my hand was a safe distance away from the fire. With a smile, I lowered my pointer right to the base of the flame, extinguishing it by accident while Taehyung watched with a gaping mouth.

"That's really not natural. Aren't you burnt?"

I shook my head as I examined my fingers. The skin was slightly red from the heat, but no painful burns adorned any of the fingers I'd put through the flame. "I guess the ice must be stubborn."