Nyx || ATEEZ OT8

20| Truth-talking threats of thorns

𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭: 3,300 words

𝐉𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐡𝐨

The following days after Hongjoong had returned from the dead, Jongho was seated in the common room along with a few of the others, being tired of staying alone in his room all day long.

Despite he wasn't much for admitting it, had he been thinking a lot about what Seonghwa had told him about talking with San again. Because, the phoenix was right; San and he were supposed to be the closest among them all, and yet, it nearly seemed that they were the most distanced among them all, or, it just felt like that Jongho thought. It probably wasn't true as some of the other princes really despised each other merely based on the fact that they came from different kingdoms.

Jongho included himself, even if he did not show it. He shouldn't befriend the others; he was here only for business, nothing else. Which, San already had failed at... and Jongho was still disappointed with him.

The siren cracked his fingers while distracting his thoughts from flooding his head again. Currently, neither Yunho, Yeosang, nor Wooyoung noticed his dreading self, busy with the conversation going on between the four of them.

"You guys, you don't really believe what Hongjoong said, right?" Wooyoung sat on the deep green furniture, legs curled into himself as his wide eyes turned to look up at the handsome werewolf prince on his right side before crossing over to Yeosang sitting on his own sofa on the other side of the room, and at last, Jongho, sitting in the singled armchair between the arrangement.

"About killing ourselves to get out of here? Nah, that bastard is full of shit, and I am sure you already could tell," reassured Yunho, grinning a little to brighten the mood.

The dragon cracked a smile himself, leaning over and giving Yunho's shoulder a playful push, "Yah, I already know that, but who knows? He seemed quite sure of the fact, and, I just thought that it would be better to reconsider every clue we are given instead of just tossing it all away the instant we think the information is useless. After all, we can't really expect what the Great Sorceress wants us to achieve in order to be freed... It's nearly impossible to figure out what she possibly would want to gain from all of this. For, locking 8 princes in the same castle until they somehow solve the curse by themselves sounds a bit weird, doesn't it?"

"Wooyoung, you shouldn't ever listen to a demon. They don't want you anything good whether they seem convincible or not - they're cunning creatures who feed off your emotions. Obviously, they only want to stir feelings in you, may it be anger or fear, they don't really care about that when the outcome is the same," Jongho said steadily, expressing how serious he was with the way his eyes darkened.

Yunho drew an arm around Wooyoung's smaller frame when he noticed how the other had stiffened at the words he was being told. The act seemed so natural, so fluid, that Jongho couldn't help but stare. For some reason, he found it rather irksome the more he watched the werewolf's hand softly stroking down the length of the other prince's arm in a relaxing manner.

The fairie shuffled a little around on the furniture before he pinched the silence with his soft, honey-like voice, "Hmm, you're right about that, Jongho. Although the sorceress has clearly something up her sleeves with the matter of our situation, I do not believe this to be as easy as one would think. We're working against dark magic here, something not to be trifled with. If the demon really has heard her saying that the only way to break the spell is by sacrificing one's life, then I wouldn't doubt the reason to be true. Dark magic is cruel."

"But that doesn't mean we have to fulfill it. If it actually is true, then there surely must be another way to break free from the spell, right? What about your magic? Can't you just redo the whole thing?" the smile had faltered from Yunho's face, and Jongho didn't think the crease on his forehead suited him any bit.