The next day was a whirlwind of emotions. Namjoon had headed back to Wolf Woods, shifting into a beautiful silver wolf, nudging me one last time before taking off. Yoongi had gone back t to the Inferno, the pit becoming fiercely alive from the fire had dropped into it. Jungkook returned to Departed Castle, a wry smile on his face as he said his goodbyes.

Jin gave me a last smile before spreading his magnificent wings. He said he had his own issues to take care of and knew it was time to explain his choices, hoping there would be understanding and mercy. Jimin had returned to Fairy Grove, eager to test out his powers, knowing where he was supposed to be.

Hoseok had offered to drop Taehyung and I at Vacant River, knowing the journey was a long one. After we said our farewells to the others, Taehyung and I climbed on Hoseok's back, the siren holding tightly to me, his face buried in my shoulder. After Hoseok landed a few hundred yards away, we said our final goodbyes and he rose into the sky, a glimmering figure of black and red.

As we had headed out this morning, Taehyung has asked me to accompany him and I couldn't help but agree. I wanted to spend time with him, especially after what had happened between us the night before. I was afraid to say goodbye, afraid of what would happen if I did. Would I ever see him again? Would it be the end so easily?

Taehyung and I walked slowly towards the Vacant River, stopping on the bridge that crossed over it. Taehyung leaned on the railing, his eyes on the murky water below. He seemed to be lost in thought before he suddenly turned to me. "Do... do you trust me?" His eyes were worried as he studied my face.

Nodding my head, I put a hand to his cheek. "After everything that happened, of course I trust you, you gave up who you are for me, to save my life."

Taehyung nodded. "Then... then I want you to meet my family."

My mouth dropped open at his words, unable to believe he was asking me to do this, asking me to meet his family. "How... how does that work? I can't breathe underwater."

Grinning, Taehyung held up the bracelet on his wrist. "This will help. It will allow you to breathe when you are under the surface of the river."

I hesitated, not worried that Taehyung would hurt me, but worried instead that his family would hate me. There was such hatred between humans and sirens that I was afraid me being with him would be nothing but trouble. However, I knew if there was any hope of this going further, of there potentially being a future with Taehyung, I would need to take that step. Putting everything on the line, I nodded my head.

Taehyung slipped the bracelet off his own wrist then fastened it on mine, the pretty charm hanging from the delicate silver chain. Without another word, Taehyung dove over the railing of the bridge, breaking the surface of the water with barely a ripple. His head popped up almost immediately and he grinned up at me, his blue hair wet and hanging over his perfect forehead. "Jump n/n. I promise I will catch you."

I climbed up onto the railing and sat with my legs hanging over the edge. The river didn't look deep enough, but I knew things could be deceiving, especially in this part of the realms. I looked around me, studying my surroundings. Just to my left was the spot where I had met Taehyung, where his tail was caught in the reeds. I could still see the reeds that had been damaged from his frantic thrashing around as he had tried to free himself from the green shackles. The river below me was flowing quickly, water rushing below the bridge as though it was trying to escape.

I looked down to see Taehyung below me. He had his head and shoulders above the water and I could see his bare torso. I looked down at the bracelet on my wrist, remembering that without it, Taehyung would have a tail.

Taehyung nodded and I let go of the railing, feeling myself fall through the air. As promised, Taehyung caught me before I was pulled under. He had his hands on my waist and gave me a smug smile as he pulled me close. "Falling for me, huh?"

Rolling my eyes, I pinched his cheek. "Sure. I guess you could say that." Taehyung's eyes widened and I shrugged my shoulders. "Well I literally just fell off a bridge for you."

Taehyung eyed me for a moment then leaned forward, pressing his forehead to mine. "Are you ready? I promise it's going to be okay." I nodded my head and Taehyung gave me a reassuring smile. "When I take you under just breathe normally. It will feel like you're breathing on land. And keep a hold of my hand." I simply nodded again.

Without another word, Taehyung pulled us both under the surface of the water. As the murky water covered my head I began to panic, automatically holding my breath. Taehyung moved in front of me, cupping my cheeks with his hands and his pretty eyes met mine. He stroked my cheeks with his thumbs, a simple attempt to calm me and pull me from the panic I was beginning to be consumed by.

"Trust me beautiful." I could hear Taehyung's voice just as clearly as I did when he was on the land standing in front of me. "It's going to be okay. I promise you."

Nodding my head, I relaxed and let my breath go. I expected the water to fill my lungs, but the feeling never came. I took a couple of experimental breaths, surprised when it was just the same as breathing on land. After the initial panic passed, I took a few moments to take in my surroundings. Although from the surface, the water seemed cloudy, underneath it was an entirely different story. It was crystal clear and much deeper than I originally thought. The schools of fish swam past me in every shade of the rainbow, along with the several brightly colored sirens, their tails matching their hair.

I turned my attention to the siren in front of me and my mouth dropped open. His clothes had disappeared completely, his beautifully toned bare chest on display. My eyes traveled downwards and I caught sight of his tail, a stunning bright blue that matched his hair.

When my eyes traveled back to Taehyung's face, he had a smirk on his pretty lips but didn't mention the blatant way I just checked him out. "Are you alright?" Taehyung's voice was gentle and I gave him a small smile, trying to adapt to the idea that I could breathe underwater. It was the strangest sensation I had ever felt. I was clearly surrounded by water, but it wasn't water entering my lungs but oxygen. "Okay. Let's go then beautiful." Taehyung laced my fingers with his and began to swim downward.

I wasn't the greatest swimmer, but with Taehyung's firm grip on my hand, I was able to keep up. We had been swimming for a few minutes when the river widened near the bottom revealing the tops of a golden palace. I looked to Taehyung curiously and he just shrugged, his pale cheeks turning red.

"Um... when the original... original queen was killed by the human army, my... my parents took over. My father was the king's brother. When the queen died, my father was crowned." Taehyung looked embarrassed but the realization hit me. That meant Taehyung was a prince. It all made sense when I thought of his impeccable manners, the way in which he carried himself.

"Will you... will you eventually take over?" I was scared to try and speak but soon realized it was no different then on land.

Taehyung shook his head. "No. I have no interest in being king. I have passed the crown on to my sister, Eon Jin. She would make a much better queen then I would make king. She truly cares about the people and I know she will treat them well, do the right thing."

Knowing Taehyung had no intention of being king made other thoughts rush through my mind. What would become of us? Would we even be able to see each other again? Would he even want to see me again? Pushing the thought from my mind, I followed Taehyung as he swam into the palace. Several sirens swam past us and they stopped to stare at me in surprise. I knew it must have been shocking to see a human with the prince, but I avoided their gazes and stayed near Taehyung's side.

A flash of bright purple hair and a tail the same color suddenly stopped right in front of us, her eyes wide. "Tae? What the heck are you thinking?" Her beautiful eyes matched her hair and were not unkind as they studied me, just worried.

"This is Y/N. She... she saved me when I was trapped in the reeds then helped break my curse." Taehyung's voice was strong as he pulled me close, moving his hand from my hand to wrap around my waist. "I... I brought her to meet mom and dad."

His words hit me and I realized I was in front of Taehyung's sister. Damn it. This is the first family member I meet? "It's... it's nice to meet you." My voice came out hesitant as I spoke and the girl's eyes softened.

"I'm Eon Jin, his sister. It's a pleasure to meet you and thank you for helping my brother. Most... humans don't do that." Turning back to Taehyung, Eon Jin gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Lucky for you, they're in a good mood today. They're not happy with what happened with you, but they've been worried since you just disappeared."

Taehyung nodded and, after a quick kiss to his sister's cheek, pulled me into a large room off to the left side. Seated in matching golden thrones were two more sirens. They were both older than Taehyung, but exuded power as they conversed between them. The woman's tail and hair were a bright jade green that shimmered under the water, while the man's black hair and black tail made him seem scarily intimidating. They looked up when we entered, the looks of shock on their faces mirroring the one I had seen on Eon Jin's face. They both rose and approached us and Taehyung immediately pulled me in close, almost protectively.

The woman spoke first, her eyes showing her happiness at seeing her son. "Tae? Honey you came back! We... we were so worried about you. You disappeared without a word and we had no idea if you were alive or dead." The woman hugged him and then seemed to notice me. "And... and you brought a guest?"

"Taehyung? Why would you bring a human down here? She doesn't belong here." The man's voice was rough, his eyes angry.

Taehyung straightened up at the man's words. "Mom? Dad? This is Y/N. She helped save me."

The man studied me for a moment, his eyes curious. "Why? Why would you help a siren?"

"He needed it." My response was simple. I wasn't going to try and come up with some long drawn out reason on why I had helped Taehyung. I knew if his parents didn't like me now then there was no way me explaining my reasons would change it.

"She also convinced the Dark Wizard to help me." Taehyung's eyes were wide as he spoke.

Taehyung's dad sighed, the sound exuding years of frustration and stress from running a kingdom. "Tae you know our laws. You know why it is this way."

"Yes because your brother's wife decided to have an innocent woman killed for daring to fall in love with a human. Humans aren't terrible father. This one right here is amazing. Taehyung's voice was strong as he spoke. "Y/N is amazing and... and I love her." Taehyung's bold declaration stunned me. I turned to him in surprise and his eyes pleaded with me to understand. "That's not... that's not how I wanted you to find out. But it's true. I... I love you beautiful."

Cupping his face between my hands, I searched Taehyung's face. His eyes were brimming with love and I could see he meant it. "I love you too Tae. So very much."

Taehyung leaned his forehead to touch mine then turned back to his parents. "Please. Please support me in this one. Don't be like the queen from so long ago and make me choose love over family. I love her. I love her so much. I want to spend my life with her."

Taehyung's parents looked at each other, their eyes communicating silently. His mother sighed and turned to us and I braced myself expecting the worst. This is where they tell him no. This is where they tell him that I need to leave. This is where...

"If she truly makes you happy son then we are happy for you." His dad's voice was gentle as he spoke, a contrast from the harshness he displayed when we entered. "If she makes you happy then you have our blessing." Taehyung's dad turned to me, a grin on his face. "If you think you can handle my son, who gets a little whiny at times, then welcome to the family."

Taehyung whined at the description, but then grabbed me around the waist, quickly pressing his lips to mine. "I love you beautiful. I love you."

Winding my arms around his neck, I returned the kiss then ran a hand down his cheek, relishing in the idea that this man loved me, that this stunning man wanted me in his life. "I love you too Tae. I can't wait to spend my life with you."