"In Latin my name, Aurelia, basically means 'the golden one.' My mother literally named me her golden light through the storm that was her life. That is my job. To be everyone's light at the end of the tunnel. And I got stuck worrying so much about...
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Aurelia was in pain.
She could hear Jason yelling her name as he tried to reach her, but he was pushed back by the large shadows around her.
Aurelia was almost completely obscured by the darkness of fear. The shadows tried to seep into her, her body naturally trying to absorb all of it, but too many shadows danced across her skin. Blood clouded her vision even more than the darkness did. There was too much fear. Too much darkness. Too much for her body to handle.
She was dying. Slowly bleeding to death as the thing gods once proclaimed a gift turned her into a puddle of black and dirty red.
Seems I'll see Thanatos even sooner than I thought.
"What is happening to her?" Piper asked, trying to help Jason past the darkness to reach the daughter of Pavor but it was like hitting a solid wall—the shadows wouldn't give way. Another explosion shook the forum and another large wave of shadows joined the ever growing darkness.
For some reason, Aurelia thought of the night her mother died. She always thought that she would never experience anything that hurt more, physically and emotionally, than that. That was the day her life fell apart—the day her mother gave up, the day Reyna killed Uncle Julian, the day she and her cousins ran away from Puerto Rico to find a new life. It was the day her entire life exploded like a phoenix, leaving her to rebuild it from the ashes.
The pain when she was nine years old felt like a mere prick of her finger in comparison to right now. And she knew that today her life was going to be burned again, only leaving ashes.
Aurelia struggled to her feet, every molecule in her body in immense pain. The forum was still vibrating from the after-effect of the explosion. People were still screaming in fear and outrage, adding to Aurelia's pain. Blood continued to drip down onto the ground and on her dress, staining her mouth a vibrant red. The pain was continuous, but the retching came in waves. She had one quick second to take a breath of air—but all she tasted was the disgustingly sweetness of the shadows.
"HELP!" Her voice was desperate and loud—louder than it had ever been before, like a sonic echo around the forum. She stumbled forward, away from Jason and towards the Pomerian line. She needed her necklace. "HELP!"
Her throat was dry and her voice turned hoarse as her yelling turned into quiet pleads, mixed in with choked sobs. "Someone, please, help me."
Over the edge of the hill, a figure came running towards the large collection of shadows.
