The Legends of Kartas | Ongoing

14. BETRAYAL

If Jungkook had to explain what hell was, he would say it was what he was experiencing now. After the assassin fled, he waited for the pain in his body to subside before trying to wake his friends. Snow opened her eyes with a groan, massaging her head, but Elias remained unconscious. No matter how hard Jungkook nudged him, he didn't wake, so Jungkook, with Snow's assistance, carried Elias out of the slums.

Without shadows to hide them, getting caught by the night watch was inevitable, so they made a detour through the forest surrounding the castle's perimeter. Dragging Elias to the gardens, watching his face contort in agony, and hearing his pained groans was torture. It was all Jungkook's fault. He was the one who convinced Snow to search for the demon, and Elias came because Snow persuaded him. If Jungkook had listened to Snow, if he had fought a little harder, if he didn't underestimate the demon, none of this would've happened.

He was unprepared, and his friends had paid the price. His grip on Elias's waist tightened as he recalled what had happened. Elias was right. Jungkook wasn't a hero or a saint; he was selfish and was no better than a demon. Clenching his eyes shut, he concentrated on Elias's weight draped over his shoulder, but that couldn't distract him from the guilt that wrinkled his soul.

"Jungkook." Snow's voice drew his attention to her sea-green eyes. Her milky hair was smeared with blood, and a bone protruded from her right arm. The cloak covering her gray tunic was torn and mangled, some of the stitched jewels missing. The sight only made Jungkook more ashamed. "Stop pondering about what happened, and focus on getting into the castle."

Jungkook was unresponsive. Snow knew him so well, and he felt fortunate to have great friends he could trust. Nodding, he trudged onward. They had a little trouble because of Snow's injured arm, but that was the least of their worries once they stood before the tiny opening underneath the rose bushes that provided passage through the castle walls.

Jungkook went first, carefully adjusting the two swords strapped on his sword belt and pocketing Elias's cracked glasses for safekeeping. He wriggled through the hole, enduring the scrapes from the thorns, and once he made it to the other side, he brushed himself off.

Snow passed Elias's sword, which Jungkook strapped to his sword belt. Then came Elias. A human body was more difficult to pull through, but Jungkook managed. While Snow crawled through herself, Jungkook set Elias's glasses back in place. Cracks glistened crookedly under the moonlight, but at least the lenses weren't completely broken.

The three swords smacked against Jungkook's legs as he lifted Elias's limp body over his shoulder. Snow did the same. They walked through the gardens, cautious of wandering guards and twigs hidden in the lush grass. Passing the statue of Luxias, they sneaked towards the castle's entrance.

A sentinel was bound to be on guard, but they could do nothing about it. The risk was necessary. Elias's feet scraped against the stone paths as Jungkook rounded the last rose bush. Torchlight from the castle warmed his skin. There wasn't a sentinel in sight, and Jungkook didn't waste this opportunity. As he and Snow heaved Elias through the threshold, Jungkook glimpsed a sword laying idly by the bushes.

The sentinel had abandoned his post. If Elias was conscious, he would've tracked the sentinel down and punished him with a month's work of shoveling manure in the stables. However, at the moment, the sentinel's absence was a blessing—one that Jungkook wouldn't take for granted.

Shadows contorted over the walls as they meandered their way through the corridors, purposely avoiding the night watch's routes. They were in the same hall Elias had led Jungkook through that day he had encountered the demon. His heart sank.

This is all your fault.

He shook his head to clear those thoughts away. Elias should be his main focus. With newfound energy, he surged around the corner and rammed into another person, knocking them down. The first thought that crossed his mind was that a guard of the night watch wandered away from their route and had accidentally found them. Jungkook tipped Elias's weight onto Snow as a ball of light glowed in his palm.