Made for Min | SOPE

twenty | "do you accept my offer?"

The sound of Hoseok's screams was something Yoongi hadn't expected to hear so soon. He'd heard Hoseok yelling plenty of times before, in real life, and foreseeable futures, but knowing that Hoseok was calling for him a couple of seconds after Yoongi had left the room— well, it scared him, to say the least.

Jungkook had been the first one to arrive at the room. It made sense, considering he had been the closest— Yoongi was already on the opposite side of the palace by then. To Jungkook's surprise and immediate worry, Hoseok was nowhere to be found, though his scent indicated that he had been in the room split second before he disappeared.

"No sane person would have taken Hoseok from under our noses," Jungkook said, inspecting the room. "There isn't a trace of anyone else in here. No one I can identify, at least. It's not one of us."

Yoongi tried his best to remain calm, to behave rationally. If he didn't, he could make the situation worse, which was the last thing he wanted to do. He turned to Yeonjun, noticing the stormy look on his face. Yeonjun was unfocused, distanced from reality, and for now, he was the only one that could figure out who had been in the room with Hoseok before he was taken away.

"Noon, daylight," Yeonjun shook his head, scoffing lightly. "She's insane."

Yoongi's blood ran cold. "She?"

Yeonjun nodded grimly, and Yoongi's eyes flashed in recognition.

"Do you know where She's taken him?" Yoongi asked, jaw tightening. At the sound of Yoongi's aggravated tone, Jungkook placed a hand on Yoongi's shoulder, mostly to calm him down. Yoongi only glanced at him; his gaze mostly focused on Yeonjun, who was currently trying his best to locate Hoseok.

Yoongi shouldn't have left him alone. He should have known that Artemis would start interfering the second Hoseok and Yoongi were making true progress. He'd severely underestimated Artemis and her unnecessary need for control. He'd let his guard down. With two weeks still left on the clock, he assumed Artemis would take the same steps she did with his other brothers. He should have known that he'd be Artemis's clear exception.

"He isn't around here," Yeonjun sighed, focusing back into the present. "Nor is he in her resting place. My best guess would be Delos, and none of us can enter without Her permission. If not Delos, then Aeaea. To enter Aeaea, you would need Circe's permission. I'm sorry, Yoongi. If Artemis does not want Hoseok found, she will make it impossible for us."

Yoongi's lips pressed into a thin line. "If I know anything about Artemis, is that She'll take Hoseok back to her throne. She loves to show her power. If we're lucky, She'll show him her esteemed Hunters."

"The Moon does not allow us to visit Her during the day," Yeonjun said. "We can only contact our mothers. I doubt they will be pleased hearing of Artemis's mischief."

Yoongi grimaced.

Getting his mother involved was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew that She would help him with anything, but asking his mother to involve herself would only escalate the damage. It was already a hassle knowing that Artemis would side with the humans, no matter how much bad they had done. She would side with Kim Seokjin, with the humans, with King Micah, just to ensure that She would get Her way— so that Artemis could finally win in the end.

Besides, Yoongi was too proud to ask his mother for help. If his other brothers could succeed, then he could, too, without directly asking for his mother's aid.

Still, Yoongi loathed the idea of Hoseok being alone with Artemis. Artemis wouldn't directly kill him— She would never want to hold herself responsible, and his mother would never forgive Artemis if She did try to. It was more of Artemis's style to influence chaos; that way, if things went awry, the humans had no one to blame but themselves.