Immortalia

Chapter 19 - A Real Kiss

Aaron?

“At my expedition to the Sacred Land, I showed Daniel Hawkins my home in order to leave something for Aaron. It is a letter explaining everything.”

Aurora’s surroundings shifted once again, and she saw Shani place something in a hidden compartment beneath a bed inside the castle. The vision blurred out, and this time Aurora heard Shani’s voice echoing inside her mind. “I need you to find that letter. I bestow it upon you to continue my dream—you have to free our people.”

Without knowing what to do, Aurora simply stared helplessly as the vision turned darker and finally faded to a deep darkness.

***

Air. Aurora jerked up, gasping for air. Someone next to her groaned and she turned her head, surprised to find a half-asleep Aaron holding her hand tightly.

“Wha…” he started, but when he saw her sitting there on the bed, staring back at him, he sat up straight. “Aurora! You’re okay…” He let out a deep breath. “Thank God. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“What happened?” she asked, uncertain how to act around Aaron. “Is everyone okay?”

“We’re fine.” Aaron laughed. “The rest of the group is going to be so thrilled when they hear you’ve finally woken up—are you sure you’re feeling alright?”

She nodded before taking a moment to glance around the room. She was on a bed with sparkling white sheets. The fabric was soft against her naked skin, and Aurora could feel her cheeks heat up when she realized she was essentially naked. Clutching the sheets, she tried to find something to say. Aaron must have noticed her embarrassment because he quickly averted his eyes to the tiled floor.

“Where are the rest?” she asked, glancing out the large window. Aurora noticed the colored glass and realized that she was currently in the castle of Queen Sari.

“They are around—even Zachary.” Aaron chuckled. “He’s become really friendly with the Queen. Apparently, she’s teaching him a new way of looking at life.”

“Really?” Aurora raised her eyebrows, and then shrugged. After all, it wasn’t the strangest thing she’d seen throughout her years.

“Yeah. If you wait here, I’ll go get all of them. We’ve all been anxiously waiting for you to wake up.”

“For how long was I unconscious?”

Aaron stood up from his chair and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his pants. “You’ve been out for about three days. We took turns to keep an eye on you—there were times when we were almost sure you’d already died.”

Maybe I did, Aurora thought, but she didn’t say it aloud. Part of her hoped that Aaron didn’t know about Charlie Callahan’s discovery about her routine. They’d never discussed it, but then again, they hadn’t needed to discuss it before. Her hallucinations had stopped around the time where Aaron appeared in her life. She glanced at him through her eyelashes. His overgrown bangs covered most of his forehead and left most of his face shadowed from the light. She could see him bite his lips as if he was nervous about something.

“Are you okay?” she asked.

He looked up and smiled. “Yeah. Now I am.” He gestured to the door. “I’m going to find the others now.”

Aurora didn’t reply, just watched the way his back muscles bulged beneath his shirt as he walked out of the room.

“Jesus, Aurora,” she muttered. “What the hell is wrong with you?” She shook her head lightly in an attempt to rid herself of her the memory of Aaron’s beautiful features. She felt vulnerable for some reason. Hoping to snap herself out it, she focused on Shani’s revelations.