Fates Intertwined

54. | Hurt

Aurora stirred. As she woke, her body ached and she felt a pounding in her head. She opened her eyes, taking in her surroundings.

She was in her bedroom, in her bed, but how had she gotten there?

Her gaze fell to the man sitting hunched over on her bed, beside her legs. Zyran sat awake, playing on his phone in his wait for Aurora to wake up.

"What are you doing?" Aurora whispered as she pushed herself up.

His head snapped toward her. "Hey, you're awake."

"How long was I out?"

"Only a few hours. Three, at most." He smiled. Aurora sighed, pressing a hand to her temple. "You really have to stop this passing out thing. I don't think my heart can handle any more panic." It was meant as a joke, but Aurora couldn't find it in her to laugh.

"What happened?" Aurora finally raised her gaze to meet Zyran's.

"You lost control of your magic and started a spell after someone tried to kill me. I broke the spell, but you never woke up." He explained.

"I barely remember that."

"Well, it definitely happened." He stated. "Talk about a ball going sideways."

"What about Nara, and Eric?"

"They're fine. Well, they're alive, I should say." He grimaced. "We don't know if Eric was affected, but Nara was knocked out when you lost control."

Aurora blew out a breath, leaning her head back against the headrest. They stayed quiet as Zyran glanced at the floor.

"Rory..." He started. He seemed like he wanted to say something but didn't know how. "Back at the school, before we left, you said that Lina could've been working for Van Helsing. Why?"

"She hates me for one." Aurora answered, then sat up straighter. "But it's the things she's said. She knew about my family long before you guys did. And when she was doing the ballet, it was..."

"Graceful?"

"Yeah. I mean, ballerinas are good at what they do, but to make it look seamless? That's not easy, especially for only practicing for three days. With Lina, it was like...it was programmed into her head."

"So... What? Do you think she's working for Van Helsing?" His brows furrowed.

"You want me to be honest?" Aurora asked, raising her brows. He nodded. "I think Lina is the experiment that escaped in eighteen-sixty-four."

"Why do you think that?"

"She doesn't do a very good job at hiding it." She retorted. "Or maybe she stopped caring." Zyran sighed, then his hand was inching towards hers. She pulled her hand away with a shake of her head. "Don't."

"Why?" His brows furrowed.

"Because I'm not going to risk something that could endanger either of us." She sighed, climbing out of bed. She was still in her dress, but she was barefoot, her heels sitting neatly in front of the wardrobe.

"Don't you want to at least try? Otherwise, we're never going to know what spell you did." He spoke.

"And if we were wrong?" Aurora asked, turning back to him. "Are you really willing to risk our lives just to find out if we can be together?"

"Yes!" He burst. "And I'd do it in a heartbeat."

Aurora turned back to her wardrobe, grabbing her clothes from inside. "It's dangerous."

"That's a risk I'm willing to take."

"I don't want you to get hurt, Zyran."

"You're hurting me now!" He blurted. Aurora snapped to him, eyes wide. "All this talk about being afraid of me being in danger and the threat that Octavia poses on us, it all seems like excuses. If you don't want to be in a relationship with me, then just say that. Don't lead me on!"

"Of course I want to be with you." She snapped, angry that he'd think such a thing. "I would kill to be with you. But I lost my family once before, I'm not ready to lose you, too."

"Your family died by the hands of another. This is different. This is magic. This is breakable!" He pushed to his feet.

"You don't know that!"

"Then we find the cure." He said firmly. "This can't be it. This can't be how we live our lives together."

Aurora sighed, taking her clothes with her to the bathroom. "I don't know a cure, and I don't believe there is one. It's best just to be careful. Not risk anythi—"

Her words were cut off as Zyran strode toward her, cupping her face and smashing his lips against hers. The clothes in her hand were forgotten as she felt herself bask in the feel of him against her, of his lips against hers.

Slowly, she pulled away, her eyes hooded. "Why'd you do that?" She whispered, but she couldn't feel anything but desire as she stared up at him.

"To prove a point." His voice was gravelly and low, sending a spark of warmth through her.

Her eyes drifted down to his lips, swollen from her touch, and then she was pulling him down toward her. Her nails dug into his skin, but he didn't mind. He loved the feel of her, their lips colliding in a war never thought to happen.

Aurora didn't have much experience in the intimate category, but with Zyran, it came naturally. She enjoyed the touch of him, the burning of his hands against her waist, moving down to her thighs.

But the best part wasn't the feel of him as she wrapped her legs around his waist, or the weight of him as he pressed her down against the bed, his hands roaming her body.

It was the fact that they had kissed, and nothing happened.