cassiopeia ꒱ markhyuck

two

"It does not matter what pleases me. I worry that what pleases me might not please you, Your Grace." Jeno murmured softly.

"I don't care," Mark said firmly, turning his attention towards the sorcerers that were waiting for Jaemin's command to begin the ritual, "I will take any omega, I just need a mate. Please do not worry yourself over finding one that pleases me, because I will be happy with any omega you bring for me."

Jeno hung his head and muttered a small little "yes, my lord". Jaemin rolled his eyes at him before turning to his group of sorcerers.

"Well then, shall we begin the ritual?"

The sorcerers all took a bit of the strange, glowing potion that Jaemin had made earlier and poured it onto the stone floor, creating a small pool of liquid that they could stand in. They used the potion to cover their hands, smear symbols across their faces and chests, before they all stood in a circle on the floor and held hands.

"Stand back," John murmured, using his arm to push Mark towards the back of the room and away from the ritual. The sorcerers all began to chant in an unknown language, reciting the spell Jaemin had written to open the portal. The chanting grew louder and more insistent, before suddenly the puddle of liquid began to swirl and the stone ground underneath began to crack and glow. Jisung gasped, keeping his hand on his sword in case he needed to jump to Mark's defense. Jeno's face visibly paled as he stared and watched, and Mark felt a pang of guilt for subjecting one of his best soldiers to a task that he was sure was more than frightening.

The cracks grew wider, and soon the chanting was drowned out by the noise of wind. Gusts of air blew into the lair, making papers and scrolls fly off the shelves, and John stood fully in front of Mark to shield his body. After a few long minutes of the wind howling angrily, the noise gradually quieted down to a low hum. When Mark was finally able to peek around John's body, there was a glowing vortex in the center of the circle.

"The portal is open," Jaemin said, raising his voice a bit to be heard from across the room. Jeno gave a curt nod and began to walk forward bravely.

"Jeno," Mark called out suddenly, stopping the man in his tracks. Jeno turned to him and bowed his head.

"Yes, Your Grace?"

"Come back safely," Mark sighed, looking at Jeno sincerely, "I would be devastated if we were to lose you. Please be cautious."

Jeno gave him a little smile and nodded, keeping his head bowed. "Of course, Your Majesty."

And with that, Jeno turned on his heel and stood in front of the glowing portal, taking a large deep breath before jumping through.

┈ ୨ 👑 ୧ ┈

Donghyuck should've known that it was a bad idea to walk alone at night as an omega.

He had been having trouble falling asleep, feeling restless and antsy after being cooped up in his dorm and studying for his upcoming exams all day, so he had decided the try to take a walk to clear his head.

"Are you going out?" His roommate called from the living room. He was a beta, and Donghyuck didn't usually talk to him very often, so he was almost startled by his normally quiet roommate suddenly initiating conversation with him.

"Uh... yeah. I was just gonna take a quick walk before bed. You wanna come?"

"Nah," his roommate said simply, shrugging and taking a bite of his freshly made ramen, "stay safe though, you might be a guy but you're still an omega. I heard alphas are getting bolder these days, more omegas are getting jumped."