Fates Intertwined

56. | Leverage

Aurora let out a soft groan as she regained consciousness. Her temple pounded and she reached up to touch it, only to find that her hands were bound behind her. She groaned as she tried to adjust to the harsh lighting.

When her eyes refocused, she realized she was in a room she had never seen before.

Aurora's gaze snagged on the figure standing over a table, fidgeting with the creation on the table. She was on the floor, so she didn't get a very good look at it.

Just then, the figure turned and Lina grinned at her. "You're awake. Finally."

"What am I doing here?" Aurora asked as Lina walked toward her and crouched before her.

"You are here because Hydra is taking too long, and I'm not a very patient person." She scrunched her face. Then she stood up, returning to the table. "Do you like my little lair? I found it hiding in the castle when I went on a little excursion."

"So you do work for Hydra."

Lina turned with a grin. "I've been working with Hydra since you showed up in Zyran's basement." She turned then, lifting her necklace that Aurora had caught her fiddling with many times before. "See this? One press of a button, and Van Helsing comes running."

"Why? Why do all of this?" She shook her head.

Lina crouched beside her again. "You see, Hydra, or Van Helsing rather, promised me something. He promised me unrelinquishing power." She grinned. "I was supposed to hand you over to him and then he'd give me your power, so long as I worked for him. But little did he know... I was gonna kill him." The corner of her eyes crinkled, but there was no emotion in her eye. "See, Victoria was nice enough to lend me the spell to undo Van Helsing's little immortal streak, and the second I had your power, I was going to use it."

"Why do you care about power?" Aurora asked, confused. "The Lina I knew never cared about power—"

"That Lina is gone." She snapped, getting in Aurora's face. "She was gone the second you got us into the whole Curse of Forgetting bullshit." She sneered. "Do you know how it feels to have your only family forget about you? To look at you like you're a total stranger?"

Aurora's brows furrowed. "The Curse of Forgetting didn't affect you."

Her maniacal smile was back. "Nope. What a torturous gift." She jumped to her feet with a feigned sigh. "Hydra has failed to do what I've asked, so I decided, what the hell, I'll just take it." She turned, shrugging her arms with her smile firmly in place.

"You can't have my magic." Aurora whispered as she began to fuss with the rope holding her wrists captive.

"That magic was supposed to be mine!" She was in front of Aurora again, glaring. "I deserved that power! I deserve it. You were supposed to die in that fire and then your magic would be mine."

Aurora's eyes widened. "It was you." She stated. "You're the escaped experiment of eighteen-sixty-four."

Lina snorted. "I didn't escape." She stood up again. "An apprentice of mine started the fire in the lab, and thanks to that, I was able to run and perfect my plan. Although, I would've much rather do it in Van Helsing's lab. Ugh, the adrenaline rush from the serum. You know how it feels." She grinned at Aurora once more.

Whoever this Lina was, it wasn't her best friend. This Lina was terrifying, and almost...mad.

"It's addicting. To have that power running through your veins, taking over every molecule in your body." She crouched beside Aurora, holding a knife in her hands this time. "It's...ecstasy."