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19. The Smoke & Butterflies

19 | THE SMOKE & BUTTERFLIES

The angry flame flickered and whipped dangerously, ready to consume all that it could touch. The Hood brought his other hand up, shifting the fire from one palm to the other.

"Now, this would be the perfect time for me to tell you not to play with fire, but that would just be too unoriginal," he said with a dark chuckle. "You're bright enough to get the message."

My body shuddered as it was finally confirmed that what happened to Jimin was not an accident.

"You're a monster," I spat.

Faster than I could blink, the distance between us vanished and my chin was caught between his gloved fingers. I gritted my teeth and tried to pull away, but his grip was iron.

"I warned you not to tell anyone. I told you not to force my hand, but you did," he hissed.

"I didn't force anything. You chose to harm an innocent person. You're despicable."

A stinging heat instantly radiated from his fingertips, strong enough to pass through the leather of his gloves. My jaw clenched in refusal to show any discomfort. As much as I tried to remind myself that it was only a nightmare, the assumption that I couldn't truly be harmed was one I was afraid to make. None of what was happening made any sense, and it was risky to behave as if the rules were known to me.

"You wouldn't be talking to me this way if you remembered who I am." His face was right beside my cheek and his breath kissed my skin.

The thought of doing nothing and waiting for the nightmare to end was tempting, but the image of Jimin in that hospital bed threw out any chance of inaction.

With all the force I could manage, I shoved my hands against his chest and sent him stumbling back. My breath hitched as his hood nearly fell away, and his head snapped back to me with a pair of luminous orange eyes, bright against the dark void of his face.

I stared in horror. "What are you?"

The cloaked figure straightened up, eyes still shining hauntingly as they fixed on me.

"What I am matters less than what you are, Jangmi. Perhaps you should start asking questions about yourself instead of me." The rasp in his tone sent chills over my skin. My hands squeezed into fists.

"You must be a real coward," I said, heart drumming as he took a step forward. "What is it that scares you so much that you have to hide behind letters and dreams? You don't even have the guts to talk to me in person."

Without so much as a blink from him, the trees surrounding us were suddenly ablaze with a frenzy of red and orange. The fire devoured the forest as swiftly as the winds blew, loud cracks and snaps meeting my ears. Flaming branches and leaves fell all around us while smoke weighed heavily in the air.

As I dodged one of the fiery branches, I was yanked into a pair of cloaked arms. His body was hot, the temperature of his chest burning against my back. I fought to break free of his grasp, but he only strengthened his hold with my every attempt to flee. My gut twisted as I felt his teeth scrape along my ear.

"You like to pretend you're so strong, don't you? You act as if you're brave, but I know you, Jangmi. You're terrified of me. You hate that you know nothing and have no control. You dare to call me weak when you're the one without any power here!" His chest rumbled against me as a deep, guttural growl tore from his chest, and I cried out at the inhuman sound.

"Y-You-" I gasped for breath against his tight hold and the suffocating air, "You said you wouldn't hurt me."

Hesitantly, his arms loosened around me. With a gentleness that was absent before, he turned me around to face him. My brows furrowed as the glow of his eyes faded and disappeared. The fire around us slowly diminished, leaving behind the charred skeletons of trees.