Shrouded Hearts

Chapter eight

Aria's eyelids fluttered open, greeting the dawn that crept through the decrepitude of the old barn. Rays of sunlight poured in like molten gold through the gaps in the broken rafters, casting a patchwork of light and shadow across the dusty floor. The air was cool and laced with the scent of musty hay, tantalizing her senses with the promise of another day survived. She laid in coarse straw, its scratchiness a minor discomfort compared to the warmth it provided. Beside her, on the floor, Leo lay motionless, his breaths deep and even, the stern lines of his face softened in slumber.

The serenity of the moment imbued Aria with an unexpected sense of liberation. Here, beneath the fractured roof that permitted the sun to dance upon her skin, she felt more alive than ever, unshackled from the foreboding clutches of their reality—if only for a fleeting breath.

As the urge to rise stirred within her, Aria shifted, intending to embrace the day. But a sharp jolt of pain lanced through her left leg, eliciting an inadvertent gasp. Leo was instantly awake, his dark eyes snapping open, alert and intense.

"Who's there?" His voice was a low growl, edged with the remnants of a nightmare perhaps not entirely faded.

"Nobody but me," she reassured quickly, noticing how his body tensed, ready to pounce on any unseen threat. With care that belied his rough exterior, Leo rose to his feet to help her.

As she slowly pushed herself off the prickly hay, she scrunched her face in disgust towards him. It was a look that conveyed the sheer disdain and resentment she felt towards him for witnessing her in such a vulnerable state. He extended his hand to her, but she could see the faint glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he observed her stubbornness despite her obvious pain. The scent of dry grass and sweat lingered in the air around them, adding to the tension between them. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to stand, determined not to show any weakness in front of him.

"Something has been on my mind," Aria began, once upright, leaning heavily against the splintered wall for support.

"Yeah?" Leo responded with caution, his body tense as if preparing for an impact. "What's that?"

"What happened to all five soldiers who caught me?" The question seemed to strike him like an arrow, his confused expression speaking louder than words.

"Lightning got all of them. It was a bad storm." Leo's gaze drifted away from hers, veiling whatever truth lay behind his brown eyes.

"I didn't realize my magic worked when I'm unconscious," Aria mused, her tone betraying skepticism. She studied him, searching for something, anything, that might hint at the veracity of his claim.

"Learn something new every day, huh?" He offered a half-hearted chuckle before swiftly changing course. "Who told you anyway?" he asked.

"Did you kill them?" The words tumbled out bluntly, absurd even to her own ears. Why would he? For her?

She laughed, a short, nervous sound, but it faltered as she caught the shift in his demeanor. In an instant, the jovial facade crumbled, revealing the weight of a possibility she hadn't truly considered until now.

"Do you seriously think I could do that?" There was no inflection in his voice, his face a blank slate that frustrated her attempts to read him.

"I don't know," she admitted, her honesty bringing forth a silence that hung heavy between them. "If you did, I would understand. They sucked." Another shrug, but it was hollow, echoing the uncertainty that churned within her.

Leo's brows knitted together, a testament to some internal struggle that Aria could not decipher. Without another word, he turned his back to her and strode toward the barn door. Light flooded in as it swung open, silhouetting him against the brightness outside—a figure torn between darkness and light.