Cursed

❀ Chapter Thirty-One ❀

Aurora

I wake up with brain fog and for a second I think I'm back in Hayden's apartment. With his tattoo-covered biceps wrapped around me in bed with his purple comforter. After blinking a few times the fog lifts and I remember that I'm in Zach's house and it's his arms that are holding me. We are both fully clothed in his childhood bed and I can't help but feel a little awkward. I remember asking him to cuddle last night but my decisions are different in the harsh light of daytime.

"Mornin."

"Good morning Zach."

"I'm going to make us some breakfast, then maybe we can talk?"

"That sounds good. I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable last night."

"No, I just... Coffee. I need coffee."

I can't help but laugh at how flustered he is and for a moment I completely forget about all of the Hades drama. He gives me a goofy smile and takes off down the stairs to the kitchen. I walk over to the bathroom and splash some cold water on my face. When I look up at my reflection I do a double take. Did I just see the pink orb? Looking behind me there's nothing but a plastic shower curtain and some white bathroom tile. Maybe I should tell Zach about the whole Aphrodite and the magic orb thing, just in case something weird is happening to me. Then he will at least have some warning beforehand. At this point I think he can handle the whole truth. Maybe it will even help me understand it better myself.

After trying my best to tame my disheveled hair I give up and join Zach in the kitchen. He's making a pile of fluffy buttermilk pancakes for each of us and I drench mine in maple syrup before devouring them all. We both sit back in our chairs with full bellies, sipping hot coffees.

"Zach there's something Hades said that I think you should know. I never meant to keep it from you. I just wasn't sure if you're ready to deal with more details that defy life as we know it."

"At this point, Rory, you could tell me that vampires are real."

"Ok then here it goes. You know how Hades says that Hayden was just a human shell for him to inhabit? Like a parasite within a host."

"Yeah."

"Well, he happened to mention that I'm also a shell for an immortal being like him."

"What do you mean like him?"

"He says that I'm a powerful goddess from his world and that my real name is Aphrodite."

"You've got to be joking."

"I wish I was Zach but I have proof. Just listen."

I proceed to explain how I didn't want to believe it at first either. But after I drove my car off the road, I was freaked out and frightened for my life. In a moment of true desperation, I decided to see if I could call out for any magical qualities that I could possibly possess and it actually worked. The magic I called upon was delivered to me in the shape of a glowing pink orb.

At this point, Zach's eyes are wide but he doesn't speak so I continue my story. I then tell him how I commanded the orb with my mind to lead me to wherever he was and that's how I ended up in the fields behind his house. It disappeared right before I could find him and then everything went black after that until I woke up in his room.

"If I'm understanding all of this correctly then there's some kind of trigger for the human shells to transform. For Hayden to become Hades he had to use drugs. But then what's your trigger supposed to be?"

"I don't know Zach. I'm still not sure about how all of this works."

Even as the words come out of my mouth, the realization of what the answer to Zach's question is just hits me. It's in the dream! I remember dreaming about Zach and then becoming Aphrodite. He must be the key to all of this. As if to confirm this, an orb of light appears over Zach's head. Except instead of glowing pink like it was before, it's blue. I don't bother to ask Zach if he can see it too because I know exactly what it means. Every cell in my body is vibrating when I look at him. I know what I have to do.