Fates Intertwined

47. | More Than

Her body froze as the light barrelled toward her, but then she was tackled to the floor, out of the way of the light. The body covered her, blocking her view from the light. But then the body was moving. She looked up at Zyran who hovered above her, his lips only a mere inches away.

Her heart rate skyrocketed as she realized just how close he was. Any slight movement, their lips would brush.

"Are you okay?" He whispered, his voice breathy. He seemed to notice, too. Or maybe it was from him sprinting across the training room at full speed.

She nodded, swallowing against the sudden dryness in her throat. "Yeah."

He pushed off her, crouching beside her as she slid up into a sitting position. She looked toward the broken light, then found the sword she had dropped buried underneath. She crawled toward it, pushing the light off and grabbing the sword.

"You, uh, know how to use that?" He asked, glancing at the piece of metal.

"Of course, I do." She said, pushing herself to her feet. She sighed at the piece discarded on the floor before stepping over it and walking to the wall to put the sword back.

Zyran stood. "You're just going to forget that a light fell on you?"

"I didn't forget." She replied.

"You're not going to do anything?"

"What am I supposed to do?" She turned to him. "A light fell."

"Do you have any idea how?"

Aurora shrugged. "Family's haunting me, I guess." She murmured. Then she turned to the bow and grabbed it off the hook. Grabbing the quiver, she moved over to the targets that were stationed in the far corner.

"You're not gonna figure out a way to get rid of them?" Zyran asked, stepping over toward her as she loaded the bow.

"Nope. If they kill me, so be it. Maybe then this all will end." Aurora muttered, focused. She raised the bow, aiming for the bullseye. She fired.

And missed.

"You shouldn't say things like that." Zyran spoke.

Aurora shrugged as she loaded another arrow. "It's the truth, isn't it?"

"No." He answered.

"Look, Zyran, I didn't kill them, but they obviously think I did. I can't convince them I didn't, so I have no other option." She raised the bow, taking aim. "It's not like we know anyone who can see the dead."

She fired. Missed.

"Your posture is wrong." Zyran commented.

"And how would you know? You an expert?" She retorted without meeting his eye.

"Nara went through an archery phase. She forced us to tag along to her lessons. She's horrible at it, by the way."

"Nara's done everything, hasn't she?" She murmured, focused as she took aim once more. She heard him sigh before she felt his touch. She jumped, her arrow whizzing and bypassing the target entirely. "What are you doing?" She finally met his gaze.

"Just...load up the bow." He instructed. Hesitantly, she did. She reloaded her bow and pulled back, ready to aim. "You keep raising your arm too high. And your feet are too far apart." He corrected her, pressing his body to align with hers in the perfect of ways.

Her brain stalled, caught up on the feel of him pressing against her, on the musky, minty scent that emanated from him.

His hand fell over hers, guiding her arm. "Relax, Rory. Relax, aim, and fire." He instructed.