The Burden of Destiny | Sequel to The Aura Within

27 | Unraveled

How long had it been? A few hours? Days? Weeks? Months?

All sense of time was irrelevant to Hope the longer her vacant eyes remained fixed on the ceiling above her. Dark undereye circles had developed from her lack of sleep, greatly contrasting with her sickly pale face. Many of her injuries had begun to heal and she was beginning to get used to moving her body without feeling those terrible aches. However, the fresh scars inflicted on her from that day remained as if to warn her of the moment she was just within the reach of death. A nightmare that came to life for the second time in her life.

Her mind kept replaying the night she confronted the tyrant who took everything from her. All of the questions she had asked about her father, about her power, and about the destruction of her home, had all been answered by someone whom she now knew as her uncle. Just the fact that they were family by blood made her stomach turn. How could someone like her be related to a monster like him? None of this made sense, and the two people who had all of the answers either misled her or took those answers with them to the grave.

Claudius van Dyne was not only her uncle, but also an aura guardian like her father. Two brothers who shared the same goal but had different means of making it a reality. It sounded an awful lot like the story her mother used to tell her as a child. Hope had always wondered why she never found that particular story in book form. She recalled the strange look the bookkeeper gave her when she had requested it at the local library. Now, years later, she finally understood why it was never written on paper like other children's stories.

The brothers were Claudius and Jasper themselves. Their goal was to carry out the legacy that their mother/mentor left behind. The dark side of humanity was the very thing that caused them to change their paths, for better and for worse. Of course, it all made sense now. Her mother told her that story as a mere fairy tale because the truth was grim. Wasn't that the reality behind every fairy tale?

An ugly revelation disguised as a beautiful, blissful illusion.

Hope couldn't even begin to let herself grieve knowing now that her uncle was the puppet master behind the real-life nightmare five years ago. Queen Rin, General Hayes, Elliot, Nicholas... everyone knew except for her, the only person with blood-related ties with that monster. The person who fled from the destruction with only her life. She found herself even more disappointed that her own mentor kept this from her. The one person she considered a second father. The one person she put all of her trust into. That same person kept her in the dark this whole time, and she felt foolish for allowing herself to think otherwise. 

Tears began to gloss over her exhausted eyes before they rolled down her face. She had done a lot of that since that day. Her chest began to ache, and this time, it wasn't because of her injuries. This must've been what heartbreak felt like. When someone you trusted betrayed you. Part of her wondered if this was what Claudius felt when his brother turned his back on him. However, that wouldn't have changed a thing; she still hated that man with a burning passion.

A knock on the door startled the blonde woman. Hope sniffled and hastily wiped away her tears before turned herself to face the window, her back facing the door. A feeling of dread welled up within her when she heard Nicholas's voice coming from the other side.

"I have your meal for you," he said. "Your medical advisors say that you need to eat in order to regain your strength."

Go away... Hope grabbed the extra pillow and pressed her face against it. For some reason, the simple sound of his voice made her want to cry more. Please, just go away.

Nicholas had a feeling this was going to happen. He wasn't all that surprised when Hope remained silent after he announced his presence. This wouldn't have been the first time either. When she had woken up again after her meltdown months ago, he wanted to come and see her. His heart dropped when Soleil broke the news to everyone that Hope didn't want any visitors. Getting updates from her medical caretakers wasn't enough to satisfy him. He needed to see how she was doing with his own two eyes.