Kongar (Kutay)
At last, the time had come to take my heart. I had waited for this moment for years, and I would do whatever it took.
There was no way I was going to lose to a Lycan. The helpless look on Arkan's face when he saw Kayra in my arms had been worth every second. The memory alone brought an involuntary smile to my lips.
I can't do this to my master.
I shook my head sharply.
I can do whatever I want.
That nosy girl had ruined my entire plan. Ever since she gave me a name, I had become a prisoner of dark magic. She had practically turned me into her slave. And now I found myself constantly at war with my own mind.
Giving me a name had never been part of my plan. That idiot Targen must have added it. Even so, if Sarya had opened the chest, she never would have given me a new name.
Yes.
She wouldn't have.
She loved Kutay.
That's why my plan had been flawless.
How dare she open the chest in Sarya's place? She would pay for it with her own heart. After all, she had chosen this fate herself. She was the one who had decided to take Sarya's place.
As if that weren't enough, she had dragged me around like a puppet for days. After spending so much time among those furballs, I had started smelling like them.
Without thinking, I sniffed myself.
Beneath the scent of dog, another, sweeter fragrance filled my lungs. Before I realized it, I drew another breath.
Kayra.
I quickly pulled my nose away from my clothes. Then I felt my heart begin to race. Slowly, I turned around.
She must have woken up.
"K-Kongar," she whispered. "Is that you?"
I had already lit the candles and checked the enchanted words on the parchment one last time. Everything was ready.
I had been talking to Kayra for the past few minutes.
Why was I doing that?
All I had to do was take my heart. Then it would all be over. On top of that, she kept mistaking me for that pathetic Lycan.
I didn't need a soul. I needed a heart.
"Goodbye," I said.
Then I brought my hand down toward her chest like a blade.
My heart.
Mine.
"Damn it."
I cursed under my breath. My damned hand hung there, just short of touching her skin. Was the dark magic's hold still that strong?
I tried again.
"Why isn't it working?"
I tried again. Then again. Again...
But it still wouldn't work. Instead, I felt my eyes begin to grow wet.
Was I... crying?
I frowned.
Why would I cry?
I tried again.
With every attempt, more tears streamed down my face. But I couldn't give up. Everything had been for this. All my efforts... My entire life...
Kayra.
Kayra.
This time, I found myself saying her name as well.
"Kongar!" she shouted. "Look at me!"
At her command, my hand froze in midair. Then I slowly turned my head toward her.
There was pity in her eyes.
She pitied me.
How dare she?
She was the one who was going to die.
My hand, suspended in midair, began to tremble. Within seconds, the tremor spread through my entire body.
This wasn't normal. I had almost regained control of my body.
In an instant, I was beside her. I cupped her head between my hands and brought my face close to hers.
"Who are you?" I asked.
My master.
No.
She was nothing more than a sacrifice who had taken Sarya's place.
I couldn't let my mind play tricks on me.
I couldn't throw everything away.
"Why can't I do it?" I said. Then I buried my nose in her hair and took a deep breath.
Why did she smell so good?
Could she... be her?
"No, you're not," I said.
She couldn't be.
"What are you talking abo—"
Before she could finish, I crashed my lips against hers.
She resisted at first, but then she began to kiss me back. The moment our lips met, a faint tingling spread inside my mouth.
Something deep within me stirred.
"This isn't right," I said.
After destroying everything in the room that could be destroyed, I returned to Kayra and rested my forehead against hers.
"Why?" I asked. "Why did you open the chest?"
"I don't know either," she whispered.
She had ruined everything.
"Sarya was supposed to open it," I said.
Then I slammed my fist into the wall.
Several chunks of earth broke loose from the ceiling and were about to fall onto Kayra. I quickly flung my hand toward them.
Had I been afraid... for her?
No.
The only thing that mattered to me was the heart.
Not fate.
I couldn't stay there any longer.
As black smoke enveloped me, I left.
---
Kayra
"Help!"
I'd been shouting nonstop ever since Kongar had left me alone inside this earthen chamber. If he was just going to leave me here to die, he could've at least taken the heart he wanted so badly.
Maybe then I could've died in peace.
"Is anyone there?" I shouted.
I fell silent and listened to my surroundings for a while.
The only sound I could hear was the faint trickle of earth falling from the ceiling.
What was I trapped beneath?
I had no idea how long Kongar had been gone, but the candles in the chamber had nearly burned down. At this rate, I'd soon be left in complete darkness.
My chest began to tighten.
Was I going to die from a lack of air in here?
"Kongar!" I screamed. "Bastard!"
My anger kept growing.
"I'm going to kill you with my own hands!"
"You?"
The voice coming from my right made me scream.
I turned my head and saw Kongar.
"Kongar," I whispered.
A tear slipped down my cheek with the relief of seeing him again.
What was I doing?
Why did seeing him make me feel relieved?
Ah... right.
At least I wouldn't have to stay here with my hands chained, waiting for a slow death.
"Where were you?" I demanded.
Kongar loosened the bow tie around his neck and tossed it into a corner. Then he undid a few buttons of his black shirt.
What was he doing?
His well-defined muscles were revealed beneath his dark skin. I couldn't tear my eyes away from them for a few seconds.
If my hands hadn't been chained, I would've slapped some sense into myself.
Something was seriously wrong with me. How could I be thinking about something like this in a situation like this? Or was this some kind of defense mechanism my brain had come up with?
I mean... there were scientific studies about things like that.
Otherwise, being attracted to Arkan while also feeling drawn to... a being I didn't even know what it was... was completely ridiculous.
While I was wrestling with my thoughts, Kongar leaned against the earthen wall across from me and looked at me. He looked exhausted. The confident expression he had worn before was gone.
"What happened?" I asked.
He didn't answer.
"Weren't you going to kill me?" I asked mockingly.
The moment the words left my mouth, I regretted them. I shouldn't have provoked him.
His jaw tightened.
Then he started walking toward me.
My heart raced with fear.
But then something I never expected happened.
He cupped my cheek with his cold hand and began stroking it gently.
"Yes," he said emotionlessly. "You'll die once I take my heart."
My skin went cold.
"But I can't seem to take it," he continued.
"Why?"
Why?
Why was I even asking?
At my question, his hand froze against my cheek. A few seconds later, he withdrew it, only to begin stroking the spot over my heart again.
I felt as though I was getting used to this touch.
"If only I could..." he said as he dug his nails into my skin.
I let out a pained whimper.
"I can do this much. But if I take it out this slowly, my heart will die."
His words sent a chill through my blood. Yet he said them as calmly as if he were talking about something completely ordinary.
"Then I'll die too," he added.
"What are you going to do after you take the heart?" I asked.
A slow smile spread across his lips. He withdrew his nails and placed his hand over his own chest.
"Its place is here."
"Is dying really that terrible?"
"Why would I choose to die when I could be immortal?" he replied.
He had a point.
"Why don't you have someone else do it—"
Damn it.
I'd said that out loud.
As black smoke engulfed him, he vanished in an instant.
"No! Come back!" I shouted.
The moment the words left my mouth, he reappeared.
But he wasn't alone.
He shoved a red-eyed man toward me. The man nearly stumbled but quickly regained his balance and came to a stop beside me.
"Who the hell are you?" the red-eyed man shouted. "Get me out of here right now!"
"Take my heart out first."
"Take your heart out?" the man repeated, the disbelief evident in his voice.
While I was trying to make sense of what was happening, I cut in.
"He's talking about my heart."
The moment he heard my voice, he turned toward me. As he studied me, he sniffed the air. When his lips parted, I caught sight of two long fangs.
A vampire.
"You brought a vampire here?" I shouted at Kongar.
Kongar shrugged.
"They may not be as fast as I am, but they're fast enough," he said.
Maybe I should've let Arkan tear him apart.
"The heart must not be damaged," Kongar said to the vampire. "If it suffers even the slightest injury, I'll snap your neck."
Kongar walked toward the vampire.
The vampire suddenly darted past him, trying to escape, but every single time, Kongar caught him with black smoke and sent him right back to where he had started.
"You're wasting your effort," Kongar said.
Then he began murmuring words I couldn't understand. As he spoke, the very air inside the chamber changed, sending chills down my spine.
The vampire clutched his head with both hands and began to scream.
"A-Alright... Alright!" he cried in agony. "I'll do it!"
When Kongar finally fell silent, the vampire took a deep breath and walked over to me. He placed his hand against the wound Kongar had made, then licked his finger.
"Delicious," he said.
My stomach turned.
In an instant, Kongar seized the vampire by the throat and hurled him across the chamber. Then he appeared beside him and started punching him. His fists moved so fast I couldn't even follow them.
"Who," Kongar said, his voice growing harsher with every punch, "told you that you could touch her?"
He kept beating the man as though he had gone mad.
"Weren't you going to kill her anyway?" the vampire protested, trying to shield himself.
"You will not touch her!"
Those words made my heart race. If I was still affected by what he said, even in a situation like this... Maybe this heart didn't really belong to me.
Dragging the vampire along with him, Kongar appeared in front of me once again.
"Do it," he told the vampire without taking his eyes off me.
As the vampire straightened his clothes, he shot Kongar a brief glance before raising his hand.
I was really going to die.
But this time...
I wasn't going to take my eyes off Kongar.