The Cruel Prince |norenmin| ~~ Discontinued

>>10<<

"Be careful okay?" Jeno stopped him by grabbing his wrist. When Jaemin met his dark eyes, a small smile formed his lips. "If you die, I'll be mad at you." 

"I will not die." Jaemin scoffed and rolled his eyes. They were already inside the territory and just the simple fact that everything seemed so alive there, made the prince feel so exposed. There could be any spy hidden well in the giant trees that seemed like breathing for air each second, or the king's people might have turned into leaves so no one would notice them being close to the barrier. "He won't dare to hurt his own brother before Doyoung's coronation."

"We'll see about that." Jaehyun's voice rang in his ears from somewhere. When Jaemin looked in his left, he saw the tall elf leaning by one of the smaller trees. He had his arms crossed over his chest and seemed like he wasn't about to move from there too soon. "Once you reach the castle, he might try and lock you up somewhere. Yuta will give you a set of keys after you are changed in proper clothes and he will also be around. But you are right, he wouldn't dare hurt his little brother right before the coronation." 

"He'll do it after." A fourth voice spoke right behind Jaemin, startling the half-elf prince. When he glanced behind, he was met by the pale face of a half-elf that was hanging upside down by a branch. A smirk formed his lips right before he pushed himself up then landed on his feet. "He's preparing right now. He is too busy with his plan to pay attention to you. He will threaten you when you're back, but he will most probably tell you you're dead once he becomes the king." 

Jaemin didn't know what to say in reply so he just nodded and looked away from Yuta. His eyes met Jeno's. He already knew what his best friend was wanting to say, but despite that, Jeno kept himself quiet and just held the eye contact with the blue haired prince. 

"Okay, let's split up then." Jaehyun announced and pushed himself from the tree. 

"Let's go Jaemin." Yuta touched his shoulder to get his attention. When the half-elf met his eyes, he nodded in response. "See you soon Jaehyun. Don't get killed." The spy told his friend who only gave him a glare which made Yuta chuckle and start walking away. 

"Good luck." Renjun's soft voice suddenly rang in Jaemin's ears, making the tall prince look at the mortal. He had his face covered with the mask again. His hand patted his shoulder before he looked at Jeno. "Let's go." He told the elf before joining Jaehyun by the tree. 

"I will not die." Jaemin told his best friend who just pursed his lips and looked at his hands. "You are so dramatic I swear." He sighed and ruffled Jeno's hair. "We'll be fine." The blue haired male spoke in a softer tone and tried to fake a smile. He tried to show the elf he wasn't that worried, but they were both worried so he couldn't really fake it. "See you soon, okay?" 

"Yeah." The brunette mumbled and what he did next took Jaemin by surprise. He pulled the prince in a hug and held him tight as if he was scared the if he let go he would lose him. Despite feeling his face heat up, Jaemin also wrapped his arms around the elf's waist and rested his face on his shoulder. "Be careful." 

"You're so dramatic." Jaemin mumbled and for some reason, he didn't feel like breaking the hug anymore. It was comforting and warm and it felt so safe. "But I will." The prince replied back. 

"I..." Jeno was about to say something else but suddenly stopped, making Jaemin frown in confusion. Did he see something behind? "I love you." The elf whispered the sentence in his ear. 

Jaemin suddenly felt lost. Did he hear him right? Yeah sure he did when they were so close to each other. But why now? How? Jeno was an elf, how could he have feelings like humans did? Most importantly, did he meant it in a friendly way or did his words had other meanings?