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Alone in her room, Hani prepares for a night of violence.

Standing in front of the room's ornate, gilded mirror, Hani scrapes her hair into a tight twist, dragging her fingers across her skull and fighting back a wince as she knots the hair into an austere bun, trying not to look at her red roots. It has been long since she went into battle—very, very long. Her last skirmish was in, predictably, 1888, when Jack the Ripper was tearing his way through London's female population. Hani didn't let that slide for very long. She didn't steal his soul through a kiss, either.

She just killed the bastard.

Her fingers still remember the movements of battle preparation. She finishes knotting back her hair and moves on to tying her black combat shoes as tightly as she can manage, yanking the laces back before weaving them together in unbreakable ties.

She is clad in clothes that are easy to move in, black yoga leggings and a loose black sweatshirt. She would have chosen a tighter shirt, but she's hidden her scarlet daggers on her forearms, keeping them ready to be flicked out at a moment's notice. She does not wish to dwell on what will happen after the red blades capture Seokga's attention. A downfall of this strategy is that she must keep her arms straight, so as to not disturb the sheathed knives, but Hani can manage. Her fox bead is a fine weapon, and one that channels energy from her outstretched palms. She is not completely compromised.

Hani sighs as she stares into the mirror and runs her fingers across the little valley of red on either side of her hairline.

There is no telling how this night will end. None at all. At the end of it, Hani could be dead. Somi could be dead. Seokga could be dead.

The thought makes her chest ache with fear and guilt. It's premature, she thinks, to even realize such a thing, but Hani does not want to live in a world without Seokga. Without his cruel sneers that melt into soft smiles. Without his odd eating habits of coffee and ramyeon.

And if he is never reinstated as a god because of you?a bitter voice hisses into her mind. Do you think he will want to live in a world with you then? This peace that you have found with him will shatter soon, either way. Look what your selfishness has caused. Somi, hunted. Seokga, doomed to wander Iseung for hundreds of years more. Stupid, foolish gumiho.

Hani blinks rapidly, turning away from the mirror to avoid seeing her eyes gleaming bright with tears. Instead, she takes a deep breath in an effort to compose herself. Let's kill the eoduksini first, she tells herself, striding to the door. The rest will be handled later.

She finds Hyun-tae standing near the window wall of the downstairs living room, holding his hat in his hands, his white hair bright in the apartment's dimness. Hani silently joins his side, staring down at the inky darkness covering the city below. Seokga is nowhere to be seen. Good. Hani does not want him to hear this conversation.

"Hyun-tae," she says softly, "I need to ask you for something."

He turns to her wearily, shadows deepening the skin beneath his bespectacled eyes. "I will do anything for Ms. Somi," he says with a hint of his usual, scholar-like promptness. "I don't believe that she is…evil. Whatever it is that I can do to help her, I will do it to the very best of my abilities."

Hani nods, still staring at the world below. "I need you to take her away from this city," she says quietly, pressing a palm to the cold glass. "Somewhere far, far away. Take her to Tokyo or London. America. Mexico. Just take her to somewhere that Seokga cannot immediately follow. Hide her. Do as you have promised me and keep her safe."

"He plans on killing her." Hyun-tae's voice is flat. "Doesn't he?"

"There's no explanation that Somi can give to dissuade him," Hani murmurs. "Seokga knows this. I know this. Somi will die tonight if you do not act." She stares at her reflection in the mirror, and this time she does not turn away as her eyes fill with tears. "The only thing that Somi is guilty of is following her nature. She's been manipulated, approached in a moment of fragile vulnerability. And you're right, Hyun-tae. Nam Somi is not the Scarlet Fox." She presses her palm more harshly against the glass. The coldness bites into her skin. "She is hurting and she is scared. She is driven by her shame and her desire to cease feeling it. When you take her, tell her…that I am so sorry. That I'll come for her soon. That I'll teach her how to control them. Her Cravings." She swallows hard. "Once Somi leads us to the eoduksini, I need you to do whatever you can to get her out of range. Her fox bead has grown in power, but you need to match her strength. Take her away. And keep her safe. Keep her fed until I arrive. Can you do this for me?" Hani finally looks to Hyun-tae. His skin is pale, his eyes drained and fatigued—yet his face sharpens with determination. "Can you do this for Somi?"

He bows his head. "I will keep to my promise," he says softly. "I will protect Ms. Somi until the end."

"Good." Hani feels faint with relief. Hyun-tae can be trusted to have Somi's best interests at heart. Of that she is certain. "And do not speak a word of this to Seokga the Fallen."

"I would not dare." Hyun-tae dons his hat once more, and turns to the window as well, his eyes scouring the streets below as if they can somehow pinpoint Somi in the shadows.

Hani raises her fifteenth and final cup of coffee into the air. "Cheers," she says to Hyun-tae and Seokga, her stomach churning. She hates this drink. Her mouth tastes foul, but the caffeine has begun to do its job. Hani is close to bursting with energy. She could not sleep now even if she tried. Her fingers spasm around the coffee cup, and she bounces her knee up and down to relieve some of the nervous energy from the disgusting beverage.

"Cheers," Hyun-tae echoes promptly before determinedly gulping his own cup down.

Seokga arches a brow. "Cheers," he says wryly.

Hani grimaces and drains the coffee to dregs. She wipes her mouth on the back of her wrist. Her heart is thundering against her chest from the caffeine and she hopes she doesn't go into cardiac arrest. She's relying rather heavily on her gumiho genetics to prevent exactly that.

"What next?" Hyun-tae asks.

"We find the bodies," she announces, "and we hope that they've been left by Somi. If they have, the trail will still be fresh. I'll track her."

"And you plan on doing that how?" Seokga asks warily. "I've been meaning to ask."

"Shifting." Hani rolls her shoulders, uncomfortable as the caffeine buzzes along her blood. "I know Somi's scent. In my fox form, my senses are doubled. I'll follow her, and the two of you will follow me to wherever she's retreated."

"The eoduksini will try to drag us into nightmares." Seokga sets down his mug. "If Hani's theory proves true, it won't work. We'll remain awake."

"We kill him. Working together as a unit. When he dies, the darkness around New Sinsi should be lifted."

"It's a strong plan." Hyun-tae nods, adjusting his hat. "It is nearing eight. I expect that a call will come soon. All we can do now," he says quietly, "is wait."