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★★★
CHAPTER THIRTY SIX:
DAYS AWAY
★★★
In the span of a day, Aurora had grown sick every time Harry had been in her presence.
Aurora felt as though a dark, insatiable force was gnawing at her from the inside, its presence a constant reminder of her vulnerability. In the mornings she would get pulses of pain that throbbed in her temples like a warning bell, sharp and unyielding. It all made it too difficult to think clearly. She caught glimpses of herself in the mirror—pale skin, dark circles under her eyes, and blood flecking her nose, a sign of the magic's relentless grip. The sensation was more than just physical; it gnawed at her spirit, whispering doubts and fears that twisted around her mind like a vine. Every moment spent with him felt like a ticking clock, a countdown to when he might discover the truth of her suffering.
It was not easy as she expected to stay away from Harry for a couple hours, it didn't help that they hadn't seen each other in weeks and he was only just back a few days. They had a need to be around one and it couldn't be filled without her feeling like on the verge of death.
In the stillness of the night, Aurora sat curled on the cold tile floor of the bathroom in Merlen, her back against the door as if it could shield her from the darkness of this curse drifting from Harry's presence into hers. The soft sound of Harry's snoring filtered through the closed door of her bedroom, a melody that had once soothed her to sleep. Now, it felt like it was amplifying her isolation.
"Get out of my head, get out, get out." She pressed her fingers to her temples, willing the relentless pounding in her head to subside.
Each throb was a reminder of the dark magic that coursed through her veins, a parasite feeding on her strength, sapping her spirit. She chose this, she chose to do this – she knew that this would be bad, but she thought she already faced the bad side. The pain she felt right now was in-imaginable, it had been unliveable.
The nausea twisted in her stomach, a constant companion that made it difficult to breathe. Aurora had always been strong—resilient even in the face of danger—but this felt different. This was an internal battle, one she fought alone, and the toll it took on her body was visible in the pale skin and dark circles under her eyes that haunted her reflection in the bathroom mirror.
Every moment spent in the same room as Harry became an exercise in restraint. The warmth of his presence soothed her but it also stoked the sickness within her. She could sense his growing concern, the way his eyes lingered on her, searching for signs of what she desperately tried to hide. He knew something had been wrong, she knew he did.
