Chapter 005
1189 Words
Chapter 005
Aurora's POV
I didn’t stop shivering even after I got outside.
The chapel’s stone steps were rough beneath me, biting into my skin through the thin leggings I’d barely managed to throw on. I wrapped my arms tight across my chest, trying to push back the chill—but it wasn’t the cold in the air. It was inside me, clinging to my back, creeping through my bones like ice.
The item beneath the bed...
It recognized me.
The voice kept coming to me. No longer like a whisper. Now louder, inside my mind.
Aurora.
As if it owned it, it said my name.
As if it had bestowed it upon me.
I blinked vigorously in an attempt to erase the image of those eyes from my mind. That hue. Not gold. Not brown. Something changed, like oil reflecting fire.
I had previously seen eyes like that. In a sanctuary book. One that I was not supposed to read. A book about monsters that are divine. Ancient gods. Unions are prohibited. Something about creatures that were neither celestial nor fallen but caught between realms was mentioned in one passage.
My heart pounded more forcefully.
What if I actually had that thing?
What if it wasn't calling to hurt me?
Could it be calling me home?
Steps clattered on the stones.
My body was tense, I turned quickly.
Luciano.
At first, he remained silent. He simply halted three paces away and gazed at me. This time, his eyes didn't glow, but they didn't have to. His expression was enough to burn.
"What took place?"
I parted my lips. Nothing was revealed.
"What did you observe?"
"Under my bed, something."
He was not amused. He didn't even flinch.
“Was it human?”
"No."
Once his jaw moved. Twice. He then took a seat next to me.
"Did it say anything?"
It called out my name. Twice.
He appeared unsurprised.
"You anticipated this."
"Yes."
"Knowing there was something there, you sent me into that dorm room?"
"No," he muttered. "I hoped it wouldn't find you yet, so I sent you there."
"That's reassuring."
“Do you want the truth or comfort?”
Even though the words hurt, I didn't back down.
"I also had a dream," I said.
Slowly, his head turned. "Tell me."
A throne was present, A gold-buried place. The sky was ripped apart, and wings, One black and one white.
He took a deep breath. "You witnessed the scission."
"What?"
"You're awakening."
My entire body stiffened. "From what?"
"From the person they portrayed you as."
He leaned slightly closer. I was close enough to feel his warmth piercing my inner chill.
"There are things inside you, Aurora—marks, memories, power—that were sealed the moment you were born," he said quietly. They made you forget. to comply.
"I never did as I was told."
A corner of his mouth twitched.
“Good.”
His hand moved to mine, almost without thinking. I didn’t stop him. I should have, but I didn't.
His thumb traced the glowing lines on my wrist. Although they had dimmed, they were still there.
"These are more than just symbols," he said in a low voice. They are keys.
“Keys to what?”
“Everything.”
The stone beneath us rumbled.
I leaped. Luciano was on his feet already.
"You experienced that?"
He gave a nod.
Then there was another tremor. Then a third from beneath us.
My heart leaped into my throat.
“What now?”
He turned toward the chapel doors.
"They are causing it to awaken."
"Are you awake?"
He didn't respond.
The lights in the chapel flickered inside. However, nobody made contact with them.
The glass broke. From somewhere deep within the building came a scream.
Luciano moved fast. Without thinking, I ran after him.
The doors creaked open by themselves.
The pews were strewn inside. No light came from the lit candles. They had blue flames. Chilly.
Additionally, a hole had appeared in the marble floor in the middle of the chapel.
Something was climbing out of that hole.
It wasn't very big.
Not initially.
It appeared to be a male. However, it had an excessive number of joints. It has too many shadows sticking to it like damp silk.
Its head jerked in my direction.
It rasped, "Aurora."
With his hands up, Luciano moved ahead of me. Around him, power shimmered in the air like heat from paving.
“She’s not yours.”
"She was."
"She is no longer there."
The creature chuckled. My vision blurred at the sound. It was as if something old had suddenly slithered into my mind and knocked over the furniture.
Luciano shot out a flash of black light. It hit the thing in the chest. It stumbled and screamed, but it didn't fall.
He said, "I need you to run."
"I won't abandon you."
“You don’t have to go far. Simply avoid being in the same room as me when I do what I'm going to do.
"What are you going to do?"
I could see the fire growing behind his eyes because he barely turned his head.
"Violate the rules."
He flicked his fingers and pushed me back. A wall of magic snapped up behind me, separating me from the battle.
I was unable to see. Couldn’t help.
But I sensed it.
Feel the energy burst through the air.
Feel the glass in the stained windows tremble with the creature's roar.
My wrists started to glow again, and I could feel my own pulse pounding.
A part of me cried out to be released.
I touched the barrier with my hands.
Permit me to pass.
Let me assist you.
A voice, not mine, echoed in my skull.
Use me, then.
My back snapped tight as my body arched.
A burst of black and white light erupted from my hands.
The wall collapsed.
The thing was bleeding smoke and cracked open when I hit the ground hard. I saw it reach for Luciano with a final clawed hand.
I didn't consider.
I responded.
Once more, my hands glowed with pure gold. My arms' marks flared as if they were burning.
I let out a scream.
The light blasted ahead.
The animal froze. He gazed at me with wide, misguided eyes.
Then it shattered.
Not in fragments.
Into the dust.
Luciano fell to his knees.
I rushed over to him.
His breathing was labored. His temple was streaked with blood as his coat ripped.
I assisted him with sitting up.
He gazed at me in a daze. "That's what you did."
"I'm not sure how."
"It doesn't matter."
His forehead rested against mine. We remained in that position, trembling and breathing.
Then, all the blue candles suddenly blew out.
A second voice rose from the hole behind us.
Once I had never heard of before.
One that didn't address me by name.
They performed the song.
Again and again.
It's sweet and twisted.
And too, too close.
Was it merely a messenger that I destroyed?
Or did I just say something much worse about where I was?
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