Fates Intertwined

37. | Lullaby

"This is my life now. I have climbed this hill and now I will die upon it." Nara suddenly said, her jacket tied around her waist to cool her off against the heat — which was proving to be a failed attempt.

"Shut up. We've only been hiking for twenty minutes." Zyran rolled his eyes.

The Enchanted Woods was different than the group had expected it to be, needless to say. It was lively, colorful and full of rich greens. Only difference was everything seemed to be alive. The trees, the plants, the flowers. They all talked.

"Ow!" Lina abruptly hissed. "Something just bit me."

"Better hope it's not poisonous." Eric remarked.

"Very comforting, Eric." She scowled.

"You're welcome." He threw her a lazy smile.

Aurora tried to breathe through the pain in her lungs. She was already growing tired, and her mind was running a thousand miles per minute. She was caught up on the fact that Hope knew her name and brought up a war that she was supposedly running from.

Aurora wasn't running from a war; she was running from a monster.

"You're awfully quiet." Zyran commented, bumping shoulders with Aurora.

"Oh, sorry." She said before focusing on their ascend of the mountain. It was the only way to get around and Aurora assumed Evelyn would be hiding in the deeper part of the woods.

"No need to apologize." He assured. They fell silent, the soft bickering of Nara and Lina blending with the sound of the lively forest. He glanced at her again. "What did Hope say to you? Back there?"

She blew out a breath. "That I'm running from a war and that powers won't save me one-hundred-percent of the time." She mimicked her voice.

"Sounds a lot like someone else I know." The corner of his mouth curved.

She huffed a laugh. "Yeah. But what I don't understand is the whole war aspect."

"Well, what about it?"

"She said I'm running from a war, but there is no war. It's just us running from a man who, specifically, wants me." She stated.

"I don't really know." He shrugged.

"Me, either." She sighed.

***

Dark was creeping in, the sun setting and the moon rising. The five had decided to stop and make camp in a small hidden area. The fire Zyran made crackled, ashes floating toward the sky. Aurora watched it, her arms wrapped around her legs and her chin resting on her knee.

The temperature had dropped significantly, to the point Nara had to zip up her jacket just to stay warm.

Zyran plopped down beside Aurora, offering a bottle of water. She opened her mouth to speak, but before she could say anything, he did, "Before you start with the whole I only drink blood shit, you need to drink something. You've barely consumed any liquids and you look ready to pass out." She exhaled through her nose. "Take it. Especially since we've been walking all day."

With another sigh, she took the bottle, opened it, and took a drink. Which turned into two. Which turned into gulps. And within seconds, the bottle was empty. She frowned when it emptied.

Zyran raised a brow. "I have never seen someone finish a water so fast."

Aurora wiped at her mouth, capping the bottle. "Sorry." She grimaced.

He shrugged. "I don't care. You finished it; that's all I care about."

Aurora nodded. She looked around, finding Lina and Nara arguing again — though she couldn't determine if they were on the verge of fist fighting or making out. Eric was slumped against a tree, sleeping.

Aurora found herself turning back to Zyran, who was leaning back on his hands and staring up at the stars.

"Do you think we'll find her?" She blurted.

He turned to her then, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what if we don't find her in here and this was all just a waste of time?" She adjusted herself to lay down, staring up at the starlit sky. The stars were becoming her favorite thing to see.

"Well, I hope it wasn't just a waste of time. Because if it was, then we risked our lives for nothing." He answered.

"But what if we don't find her?"

"You're overthinking." He acknowledged.

She shook her head. "I am not."

"That's exactly what's happening. You're overthinking this and starting to believe that none of this is worth it." He argued.

"But what if we can't find her? What then?" She asked, her head lolling to him as she stared.

He sighed, staring up at the stars. "I don't know. If we don't find Evelyn, then we'll probably be on the run for the rest of our lives. And for you, that's a long time."

Aurora sighed. "Yeah."

"Don't worry. We'll find her." He assured her.

"I don't know how." She admitted, meeting his gaze. "We don't know where she's hiding, we're more likely to get lost than we are to find her, and we don't have a map."

"I don't think there is a map, considering everything's so...alive." He heaved out a breath, laying down beside her and staring up at the stars.

"Yeah." She murmured. She stared up at the sky, watching the stars, and after a while, she heard Zyran begin to hum a song. His voice was rich, despite it being a hum. He wasn't afraid to hide it. She turned to him, staring, but he stopped when he realized she was staring. "Keep doing that." She whispered.

"Doing what?" He asked.

"Humming."

"You're not gonna kick me like you did Nara, are you?" He quirked a brow, a small smile pulling at her lips.

"Not unless you deserve it." He smiled at that.

He turned over on his side, continuing to hum what sounded almost like a lullaby. It was soothing, especially when sung by him. Aurora turned on her side, facing him, and stared at him as he hummed the tune.

Her eyes fluttered shut, the song putting her to sleep. She felt the warmth that radiated off of him, even as he brushed her hair behind her ear and ran a finger over her cheekbone. She hummed, feeling herself fall asleep to the sound of his voice.

It was a comforting sound, and even though she was falling asleep, she trusted him. She trusted him with her life, and that was a very, very dangerous thing.