Fates Intertwined

24. | The Truth

Aurora was the first to land in the shop. She grunted as she landed on the table in the small lounge, cracking it under her weight. Nara let out a puff, landing on the couch, and Eric landed on the glass container with crystals on display. The glass shattered, coating the floor as he fell. Then Zyran landed on the ground with a groan. Lina was the only one of the five to land on her feet.

She caught herself, standing up straight in front of the door. She cracked her neck and shook out her arms. "Still haven't gotten used to that."

The beads hanging from the doorway clicked together as a honey colored hand parted them. "What the hell are you doing in my shop?"

Aurora let out a wheeze, rolling off the broken wood, as Zyran pushed himself to his feet. "Ow." He winced, rubbing his neck.

"Who are you?" The woman who had come from the back narrowed her eyes. Her hair fell in dark curly waves and she wore a black blouse and pants that suited the smokey eye makeup look she sported. Her skin was like honey and she had an unenthused look on her face.

"Sick couch." Nara grinned, pushing herself up on her forearms.

"Is no one going to answer my question?" She crossed her arms.

"I'm Lina." Lina finally spoke. The woman quirked a brow.

"I'm Nara." Nara said and pushed herself up as Zyran lent a hand to Aurora, pulling her to her feet. He brushed off the pieces of glass and wood that stuck in her hair, then she bent down to grab the snow globe. Thankfully, it hadn't broken.

"I'm Zyran." He inclined his head.

She turned to Aurora. "And you are?"

Aurora let out a stiff, nervous smile. "Has it really been that long?"

Her features slowly fell, her eyes darkening. "You should leave. You're not welcome here." She turned and began making her way toward the back. "And make sure your friend doesn't die on my floor."

Aurora ran behind the counter, finding Eric laying on the floor with his eyes closed. "Eric!" She rushed to him, crouching beside him despite the glass. Grabbing a piece, she cut her wrist and lifted his head to feed it to him. Even though he was partially unconscious, the blood dripped into his system, his wounds healing. The blood around his face stopped and his face stopped bruising. She exhaled a relieving sigh.

Zyran was by her side. "Eric?"

He let out a puff of air before sitting up. "Relax, brother. Death has failed to claim me this far."

Zyran let out a laugh. "Good. Wouldn't want you leavin' me."

"You can't get rid of me that easily." He smiled.

Aurora pushed herself up and walked into the back. She had her back to Aurora and was fidgeting with a cloth full of crystals. "Seanna, please."

"You should leave, Aurie—" She sighed. "Aurora."

"We need your help."

She let out a scoff. "That's all it ever is with you, isn't it? You don't care about me unless I can help you." She scowled, turning around to face her.

"You were the only person who understood me, Seanna. And I'm sorry for the way things happened, I am. But if you want the truth, Van Helsing took me. Didn't you hear?" Her brows furrowed.

"No. I wasn't in town, remember? I left to visit my sister and by the time I returned, you were gone and no one knew what happened to you. Some didn't even know you existed." She crossed her arms.

"Hypnos did." She blurted.

Seanna's brows furrowed. "Hypnos? As in the god of sleep?"

Aurora sighed. "Andreas. He knew what happened."

"Andreas told me you abandoned me." She took a step forward, clearly angry at having brought him up.

"He lied."

"And I'm just supposed to believe you?"

"I never wanted to abandon you, Seanna. You were my only friend after I lost my memories and I don't blame him for lying. It was either that or you would try and save me yourself." She said, sounding defeated.

She let out a huff. "Well, he was right about one thing." She mumbled.

"What happened between you and Andreas? I thought you two were in love?" She took a step toward her, placing her hands on the table separating them.

"What me and Andreas had is history." She scowled. "I could care less for him." Aurora nodded, but she could tell that he still mattered to her. And she, him. She let out a sigh. "So how come you didn't contact me?"

"I still don't quite understand modern-day technology." She grimaced. "And I only escaped a few days ago."

"Right. I forgot you were taken in the eighteen-hundreds." She pointed. "So Van Helsing?"

"He's a monster, and for some reason, he's been obsessed with me since the day I was born." Aurora shrugged.

"Wonder why." She murmured. "So, how are you going to fight him?"

"I can't." She sighed. "Which is why we need your help."

"With what?"

"Doing what you do best." She shrugged. "Finding someone."